Terra - Staff appreciation day

These mosaic tiles were designed and made in groups of 5-6 people who work at Terra. There are between 60-70 people working across Terra, including teachers for parents in school and the early childhood teachers, social workers, administration support and health professionals on site.

Team building and growing together through spending time together on creative projects strengthens relationships and creates a space for dialogue. I liked the idea of 'staff appreciation' rather than 'professional development'

Attention to detail

Around the other side of the centre is the pirate ship where all sorts of high sees adventures are had. I was not able to take photographs of the teachers and children, however I saw teachers and children interacting and discovering together. Children were racing trucks along the ground stopping (thankfully) within inches of our feet.

This is the gate through to the garden and view to the street. A parent at the centre made this gate. How is the for a sense of community?

Debra and I were having a lovely chat!! It was such a lovely day

The Castle

I have warned Ralph that there could be numerous requests for one of these from many NZ services. You gotta love this!!! It almost took my breath away - how cool to have one of these

 The children are able to go outside from early in the morning until they have had enough. This is the first time I have been in a centre in Canada where the children are able to be outside from early in the day and have access to water. To be fair the weather is improving.

This is the inside of the castle with spaces for children to be without all necessarily having to be involved in the same play. 

There are tables for social play and higher levels for the children to have an elevated perspective of the space. 

Even though it is quite big, there is still a lot of space for the children to play be involved.

 Keeping the theme of 'Lions Gate' going with the castle, there are two large lions guarding the entrance. Careful thought given to the detail and keeping the spaces connected through bridges and stones.

You want one too??

Meet Debra and Ralph

These visionary people are the owners of the Kinder Campus - 'Hilltop' in Edmonton - one of two centres owned by this family. Amazing people living their dream with their own children as well as participating children, families, teachers and their community. I am struck by the passion and deep commitment to quality early childhood education that drives decision making here and firmly places  the child and family at the heart of the matter. As I share some of the perspectives you will gain more of an insight of what I experienced while visiting with them at both centres.

An outdoor environment that reminded me of home 

A shaded sandpit with diggers and trucks

Lots of logs for children to use for their own purposes...who knows maybe there are cities being made here and construction vehicles??

These milk crates are very popular with the children right now. They enable children to make obstacle courses and constructions for their own goals for learning and engagement. 'Open' materials that invite children to be creative and resourceful

The house outside with the bridge and stones....it is quite impressive what is possible here with limited natural materials....when I asked a group of teachers a few days ago about the natural materials available freely in the environment the answer was 'pinecones'. Perhaps we take for granted the abundance of natural materials papatuanuku provides for us.

Ralph is really clever at making things...this is a castle for the children, proudly flying the Canadian flag. I can only imagine how many worlds the children conquer while occupying this castle as just across the way is an approaching pirate ship!!

There is a water pump in there - currently out of action as there have been stones added to the mechanism.

Above is the pirate ship - look closely - there are canons!!

The pirate ship was made to cover up a cable wire that came within the boundary of the centre and needed to be 'hidden' for compliance and good sense

Just in case the pirates get lost and unsuspecting passersby have not got their wits about them - dangerous territory between a castle and pirate ship!!

Look carefully for the houses in the tree painted by the toddlers for the birds

Respecting the right for children to be immersed in beauty!

 Dining alfresco - outdoor furniture to create spaces for social time over food. When children are immersed in experiences and conquering the world, the snacks come outside to the children rather then interupting their 'flow' experience.

Spring has arrived in Edmonton and planting is a big thing. I have been watching Mary Lynne doing the 'spring dance' with flower pots as the weather here is still a little temperamental. There is a water feature trickling in the background to enhance the ambiance of the outdoor space.

The gardens are planted, tomatos and herbs are in. There are many fruit trees here and the children and teachers make preserves as the fruit comes into season. This sounds a lot like some of the exemplar experiences we read about in Te Whatu Pokeka and Kei Tua o te Pae.

A big wall was too ugly so a 'fake' window was installed and flower boxes planted. Simple ideas to make the space more inviting and engaging for children and families. The children and parents walk down the path past this and a big blank wall does not align with the rest of the environment. Something small that makes a difference.

Here come the blossoms and new growth of spring

Some reflections on the visit to an infant and toddler centre...

The teachers orchestrate the environment and carefully prepare for teaching...questions like the following did not even get responded to as everything is considered to be interdependent and are supported through relationships and proposals for learning.

"How do you supervise all the children"

"What about health and safety?"

How often does this come into your mind before considering the magic moments? I have some sketches I will post later on.

The following photos are of the book I purchased with photographs of the centre and information.

The following photos are of the notes I took while on the visit to the Infant and Toddler centre as we were not allowed to take photographs.

This is a sketch of a wall display when you enter the centre. It was impressive. There is value placed on the values and beliefs that underpin the centre - my squiggly lines represent words and the boxes represent photographs of children and spaces

 Below is a sketch of how the space was set up - creating a depth of field and layers of reflection. Things were hanging from the roof - the lace plastic etc, and there was a plastic 'squiggle' on the projector surface creating a pink 'squiggle' on the wall.

 I loved this idea below - there was a small book A5 size with photos of landscapes - 100's of landscape pictures from around the world. there were small plastic animals and the children could place the animals in the landscape on the pages. I had a play with this one, changing the page and placing some different animals on

 Below are the comments made from the teacher about  supervision in the environments. It is interesting to note that careful consideration is given to the way the whole environment is orchestrated (their words) and there are agreements about how the space is used between adults and children. Adults are tuned in to children and always thinking about safety. I have been gifted a new word - co-responsibility

There is emphasis on dialoguing with the space - not just about the space under feet - considering volume as well. 

There was discussion about the right for children to be able to retreat away from the 'gaze of adults' and have the right to conceal themselves away.

At this centre, considerable research was done to design the building and space. This research has been used to inform the design and development of subsequent centres, so while it might seem an extreme amount of resource to invest in designing one centre, the learning is distributed in the future for developments. Something to be said for sharing what we have learnt.