2) P.A.T.H. examples from each group member (Present,

Authentic, speak your Truth, and Human)- this is in connection to your role as a future educator

3) Outstanding Questions group may have (readings, course expectations)

4) Early Childhood Sector News/Social Media

5) Attendance of group members

Friday January 17th, 2025

Authentic - Encouraging children to be their authentic selves by building strong connections and relationships so the child and family feel supported within the community and learning environment.

Speak the Truth - By having open communication and allowing conversations on this topic with the children, we can provide them with a safe space where they are able to express themselves freely and wholeheartedly.

Human - By being able to show empathy and understanding to all children within our care. We can show this by acknowledging and showing respect towards other cultures.

Authentic: As an early childhood educator, to be more authentic with children in my care I think it is important to stay consistent with routine, words and actions. When children know what is expected of them, they tend to feel safer. I will engage in open communication with my students by expressing my own feelings in an appropriate way. An example of this would be, “I’m having a tough day, but I am still here for you”.  Having these kinds of interactions with children will encourage them to express themselves and how they are feeling. This will help children to recognize and trust their feelings and gain a sense of self.

Speak the Truth: As an early childhood educator, it is important to create a safe environment where children feel comfortable sharing their feelings and emotions without judgment. Promoting children to express their thoughts and feelings will help to encourage open communication within the classroom. This will help boost their confidence and self-regulation skills.

Human: As an early childhood educator, developing strong and positive connections with each child is vital to a child’s overall well-being. We are responsible for fostering their sense of belonging and security. It is important to always respond empathetically, notice how children are feeling and show compassion towards them, comfort them and support them. By building these positive relationships with the children in our care and viewing each child as an individual we are helping to create a more trusting relationship with them. In turn they will view us as reliable and dependable.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay/mishkeegogamang-first-nation-youth-suicide-1.7436462

Chloe Dupuis

Asiya Kashif

Alexandra Wheeler

Friday January 31st, 2025

Authentic: Creating and fostering a genuinely caring and inclusive classroom environment where children feel safe to engage in exciting new experiences that aid their development, as well as providing areas that the children can use to self-regulate when they are stressed, as high stress levels can affect gene expression in a negative way.

Truth: By working alongside other educators, families and children, we can support transparent communication and share our experiences as we strive to ensure that children's development is supported in all areas of their lives.

Human: Providing consistent responsive, empathetic care to children, and adapting our methods of interaction to suit each individual child.

Authentic: By interacting with honesty, love, and respect toward children, we provide an example of authenticity and work to have genuine conversations with them that let them express their feelings and views in a secure environment.

Truth: When we encourage multilingual learners, promote inclusive language practices, and acknowledge a range of linguistic backgrounds, we as educators are speaking the truth. We think about how we can make classrooms inclusive so that every child feels appreciated.

Human: When we recognize that every child has an individual path to take and has to be accommodated, we as educators recognize our humanity. We will now consider how empathy and adaptability help children's language, particularly when it comes to children who have multilingual backgrounds and speech development deficiencies.

Friday Feburary 7, 2025

Teamtechone. “Language Development in Early Childhood - the Full Breakdown.” ISHCMC, 29 Oct. 2024, www.ishcmc.com/news-and-blog/language-development-in-early-childhood/. Accessed 05 Feb. 2025.

Morgan Blythe

Chloe Dupuis

Alexandra Wheeler

February 28, 2025

Authentic: ECE's can become more open and transparent about food and nutrition with children by having conversations and sharing personal stories related to food and nutrition. We are able to connect on a deeper level and build a trusting relationship. We can do this by, sharing our own experience with food, sharing recipes, talking about traditional foods and our own memories of cooking. Implementing this within our educational practice could help children develop a positive relationship with food.

Speak the Truth: Implementing and providing age-appropriate nutritional information within the classroom. Early childhood educators can promote this by teaching children about the food groups and the benefits of each one. Set up visual aids within the classroom, such as food pyramids to help the children understand the concept.

Human: Showing empathy and understanding by acknowledging and validating all children's feelings about food. We can encourage and praise children when they try new foods or make healthy choices. As ECE's it is our duty to create a supportive and inclusive environment for exploration without judgement.

https://www.pm.gc.ca/en/news/news-releases/2024/11/22/healthy-meals-kids-savings-ontario-families

Last year in November, Trudeau announced an agreement with the Government of Ontario to increase school food programs. This highlights the importance of providing proper nutrition.

Friday March 14th, 2025

Authentic: It is known that children mirror adult's behaviors. So as ECE's it is our job to set an example of the behaviors we would like to see. It is crucial to model honesty, fairness, kindness and empathy to children. Building genuine connections with children and by being consistent in your expectations we can show children that their feelings truly matter. It is important we celebrate differences and embrace the different backgrounds of the children in our care. This helps to teach children inclusivity and understanding.

speak your Truth: Creating opportunities for children to express their perspectives and let them work through resolving conflict. Use open communication by using clear and age appropriate language to discuss certain morals such as kindness and respect. It is important we gently guide the children in our care by supporting them taking responsibility for their own actions and help them to understand the impact of their actions.

Human: Teaching children to care about their peers and their feelings through role-playing activities can help them step into another child's shoes and help teach empathy. We need to model that it is okay to make mistakes. Use those opportunities for growth. Normalizing their errors will show them that making mistakes is part of being human. Teach children to treat everyone with respect and kindness. This will help teach children to recognize their humanity and others.

Morgan Blythe

Chloe Dupuis

Alexandra Wheeler

Friday March 21st, 2025

Authentic: By fostering responsive relationships with the children in our care and embracing their individualities and uniqueness, we can support their learning and encourage them to take risks and be courageous.

Truth: As future ECEs, we can foster an environment that prioritizes emotional safety so that we can embrace the vulnerability which inevitably comes with courage.

Human: We can demonstrate to the children in our care that they are valuable members of our community, and their learning journeys are important to us through celebrating not only our victories, but also the lessons that we can learn and share from mistakes.

March 28,2025

Authentic: As an educator, I reflect on my own teaching and adjust accordingly in terms of what each child needs. I teach students not only theoretical understanding, but also share my own learning experiences with students so that they will understand the value of problem solving and therefore explore their ideas and solutions. It shows trust and ensures that children are comfortable to express their thoughts.

 Truth: As an educator; my voice matters and there is a need for me to speak my truth, such as by taking away screen time and allowing children to truly play, being authentic for a greater amount of consistent hours. Integration of technology is complicated but I also promote the need for hands -on activities to foster play which retains the memory of what has been learned and also the development of problem solving ability in children.

Human: For me as an educator, cognitive development and emotional development are of the greatest importance to children who are experts at crying until you listen and/or ignoring you. I make a safe place for  children to learn by making mistakes, having empathy for their struggles and celebrating their success, building them up in their problem solving skills and resilience as a result.

Morgan Blythe

Chloe Dupuis

Alexandra Wheeler

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