The Ontario Early Years Policy Framework is available on the Ministry of Education Website in pdf format. Below is a description from the website indicating the content of the resource. Educators involved with children for ages 0-6 should have a read through this invaluable resource.
Ministry site states:
The framework is supported by a set of principles and is meant to provide strategic direction to our early years partners both within and outside of government.
This framework also identifies priority areas for action. Our immediate focus will be to:
- continue with the implementation of full-day kindergarten by September 2014
- create an effective approach to implementing Best Start Child and Family Centres by September 2014
- improve the delivery of children’s speech and language services
- stabilize and transform the child care sector.
Today I had the opportunity to go to a voluntary day of training at our school board’s office. It was wonderful to meet other educators who have worked in the Early Learning Kindergarten (ELK) for this past year, as well as meet new colleagues who will venture into their first year of the program next week.
We discussed how some of the ELK classrooms have worked, including partnerships between the DECE and the Registered Certified Teacher, the flow of the day, and play-based activities that have been tried and that children loved. The theme of the day was play based learning and the vital role it plays in teaching our children.
What a wonderful way to begin a new school year!
The following four documents can be found at: http://eyeonkids.ca/early-literacy
Science and literacy in the elementary classroom (The Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat/Ontario Association of Deans of Education; Elliott, 2010)
Reading fluency (The Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat, 2010; Capacity Building Series)
Let’s talk about listening (The Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat, 2009; Capacity Building Series )
A world of words: Enhancing vocabulary development for English Language Learners (The Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat, 2009; Capacity Building Series)
Early childhood education: A global scenario. A study conducted by the Education International ECE Task Force (June, 2010). Available at: http://eyeonkids.ca/international-early-years
The following international early years report are now posted on the EYEON website at: http://eyeonkids.ca/international-early-years
Children’s access to print material and education-related outcomes: Findings from a meta-analytic review [Lindsay, 2010; Learning Point Associates for Reading is Fundamental (RIF)]. The report is available at: http://www.rif.org/assets/documents/RIFandLearningPointMeta-FullReport.pdf
Vital communities, vital support: How well do Canada’s communities support parents of young children? Phase 2 report: What parents tell us (Crill Russell, Birnbaum, Avison, & Ioannone, n.d.; Invest in Kids). Effective today, Invest in Kids will be winding down their operations due to the economic downturn. More information is available at: www.investinkids.ca