| Programs in Action
Programs in Action
Connecting to a New Home: Butterflies and Beyond
Extending is an important stage in the program planning cycle. It lengthens children's interests into the different developmental areas. In doing so, it also creates connections to the world around them. For a newcomer arriving in Canada, making these connections can be particularly important. Staff at the Chinese Association of Mississauga CNC program are always looking for new ways to build on these interests. When the children kept going back to the book The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle,
it gave them an idea.
Roxana Radu: Journey to CNC
Roxana Radu’s journey to CNC was unusual. While following her plan to teach ESL to adults, she had an experience that changed her life and goals. We had a chance to talk to Roxana about her
unconventional journey to CNC.
Changing Outcomes Through Child Profiles
The process of child observations is a key strategy used in CNC programs to plan for each child. Observations are a way to collect data on the child their interests and their growth. How this is done varies from program to program. The Catholic Cross Cultural CNC program introduced a model that moved away from just collecting information when the child enters the program to a
more defined portfolio system.
Observing Immigrant and Refugee Children: What’s Different?
Observations are key to supporting the development of every child. This is especially true for immigrant and refugee children settling into their new country. Yet, for newcomer children, observation takes on an added dimension of complexity. Ann Hutchings is supervisor at the Graybridge Malkam CNC program in Ottawa.
She shares a few key things to consider when observing immigrant and refugee children.
Can Technology Help with Child Observations?
The staff at Newcomer Centre of Peel have a commitment to meet the individual needs of the child. This is not easy, as the program has over 100 children with 15-16 per class. Given these large numbers, caregivers were having trouble finding time to record observations. If they tried to jot down an observation as it happened, it took attention away from the group. When they waited until the end of the day, they struggled to remember what took place. They tried different observation techniques, including notepaper on a wall and a shared camera. None of these worked well. This is a frustrating situation faced by many programs.
Read how a CNC program brainstormed a better way to observe and document using technology.
Don’t Abandon PD: How One Program is Incorporating Professional Development
CNC teams have always displayed a strong commitment to constant improvement. PD sessions often have great turn-outs, as caregivers want to keep learning. The last few years have seen a significant decrease in organized PD opportunities. For some programs, however, it didn’t mean the end of PD.
Read on to find out how the CCLCS CNC program incorporates PD.
