My name is Donna Lyne Dumalag, and I am a student at Stenberg College in the Early Childhood Education program. This program has taught me many skills and given me valuable information regarding childhood education while having fun and making life-long friends!
Foundation of Education
she designed.
In ‘Foundation of Education,’ I designed my future daycare. I learned how to start a daycare center as a business, including licensing rules and regulations, such as emergency and safety guidelines, etc. Many philosophies and theorists who have influenced the early childhood field inspired my ideas for my daycare.
My future daycare’s philosophy would be to incorporate cultural diversity. I enjoyed decorating my daycare centre, laying out the tables and chairs, and putting up fun and educational posters. I ensured that I followed licensing rules and regulations when I was designing nap rooms, playrooms, and storage rooms.
Observing and Recording
Before taking this course, I learned about the five areas of childhood development, sometimes referred to as SPICE: Social, Physical, Intellectual, Creative and Emotional. I applied what I learned in my next course, ‘Observing and Recording.’ I observed and noted details of one child’s S.P.I.C.E. development through indoor and outdoor activities.
During one of the outdoor activities, we learned different styles of dinosaur yoga. The stegosaurus pose is one of my favourite poses because the children and I learned how to maintain our balance. This activity engages the children’s motor activity. I also love reading books to the kids because they enjoy listening. They often re-enact the stories through role-playing afterwards.
These indoor and outdoor activities helped me realize that I can learn in a play-based daycare centre by observing and collaborating with them.
Guidance and Caring
The Early Childhood Education program also focuses on the role of the adult in guidance, discipline, and behaviour management. I acquired the skills necessary to deal with different behaviours, including the guidelines on how to manage various behaviours and how daycares implement these guidelines.
The basic guidelines are to ‘Be kind, Be safe, and Be neat.’ These rules taught me how children learn when to show kindness, use materials with safety, and show respect to the environment and materials.
Family, Teacher Relations
Thai pudding with tapioca pearls.
In Family, Teacher Relations, my team and I created an activity about Thailand’s culture and food. I made Thai pudding with tapioca pearls for our diversity assignment. During this module, I truly learned so much. It was interesting to learn about the diversity of other countries and understand different cultures.
We also role-played a parent-teacher meeting. My co-teacher and I discussed food and nutrition with the parents. We talked about possible allergies and the food groups that can help children with their nutrition. I enjoyed this role-playing activity because it taught me how to deal with parents and cooperate with my co-teachers in a collaborative manner.
I still have more to learn in this program. So far, this program has taught me to share my knowledge with the children and, with the help of my instructor, I have developed many resources and materials that will assist me. My instructor supports our studies and prepares us to become great Early Childhood Educators.
Above all, I learned that as a future educator, I am a role model responsible for promoting healthy social, emotional, physical, creative, and intellectual development in all children.
I have learned so much from this program! I will never forget how important it is to follow the daycare centre’s philosophy, so that children can achieve their full potential.
