The Full-Day Early Learning – Kindergarten Program

4The Full-Day Early Learning–Kindergarten ProgramA Healthy Physical EnvironmentCommunity PartnershipsThe physical environment can affect both conditions for learning and opportunitiesfor physical activity and healthy living. The physical environment includes theschool building and grounds, routes to and from the school, and materials andequipment used in school programs. A healthy physical environment would includeclean and accessible facilities, shade structures and a naturalized play environment,the availability of healthy food choices, and the absence of environmentalcarcinogens, including any that might be found in cleaning products. The designof the built environment can enhance or restrict opportunities for physicalactivity and healthy living.School-community partnerships provide access to resources and services that canoffer additional support to school staff, children, and families in the developmentand implementation of healthy school initiatives. Various organizations, includingpublic health units, can collaborate with Early Learning–Kindergarten teams todeliver programs and services within the school setting.A Supportive Social EnvironmentA supportive social environment has a positive impact on children’s learning.Children are more able and more motivated to do well and achieve their fullpotential in schools that have a positive school climate and in which they feelsafe and supported. “School climate” may be defined as the sum total of all thepersonal relationships within a school. When these relationships are foundedin mutual acceptance and inclusion and are modelled by all, a culture of respectbecomes the norm. Children, members of Early Learning–Kindergarten teams,and parents all benefit from a supportive social environment, and there are variouspractices that can foster such an environment – from formal measures (e.g., schoolpolicies, programs, and guidelines that promote inclusion and the removal ofsystemic barriers; bullying prevention, healthy foods, and anaphylaxis protocols;clubs and organized support groups) to informal behaviour (e.g., occurringwithin unstructured peer interaction or free play).Determinants of HealthThe World Health Organization declared in 1948 that health is “a state ofcomplete physical, mental, and social well-being, and not merely the absenceof disease or infirmity”. In 1998, Health Canada developed a list of factorsand conditions that can have a significant influence on a person’s health. These“determinants of health” include income and social status, social support networks,education and literacy, employment and working conditions, physical and socialenvironments, biology and genetic endowment, personal health practices and copingskills, healthy child development, availability and quality of health services, gender,culture, and other influencing factors. Together, these factors affect an individual’soverall state of physical, mental, social, emotional, and spiritual well-being. Theyinfluence not only whether a person stays healthy or becomes ill but also the extentto which the person possesses the physical, social, and personal resources neededto identify and achieve personal aspirations, satisfy needs, and cope with theenvironment. These factors also have an impact on children’s learning as a whole,and are strongly connected to learning in health and physical activity. Althoughchildren have varying degrees of control over these factors, it is neverthelessimportant to be aware of them as contributing factors in child performance.

Elementary Schools for the Twenty-first CenturyOntario elementary schools strive to support high-quality learning whilegiving every child the opportunity to learn in the way that is best suited to hisor her individual strengths and needs. The Full-Day Early Learning–Kindergartenprogram is designed to help every child reach his or her full potential througha program of learning that is coherent, relevant, and age appropriate. It recognizesthat, today and in the future, children need to be critically literate in order tosynthesize information, make informed decisions, communicate effectively, andthrive in an ever-changing global community. It is important that children beconnected to the curriculum; that they see themselves in what is taught, howit is taught, and how it applies to the world at large. The program recognizesthat the needs of learners are diverse, and helps all learners develop the knowledge,skills, and perspectives they need to be informed, productive, caring, responsible,healthy, and active citizens in their own communities and in the world.Introduction5

BUILDING A LEARNING COMMUNITYTHE CHILD AS LEARNERPrinciple 1: Early child development sets the foundation for lifelong learning,behaviour, and health.Young children learn best through activities that are relevant to their lives andvaried enough to be challenging and engaging. Children develop their knowledgeby building on their past experiences and the learning they have already acquired.Since most children experience learning as pleasurable, they are naturally inclinedand even eager to learn when they first come to school.Every child grows and develops in a number of interrelated areas – social, emotional,communication/language, cognitive, and physical. To address the full range ofeach child’s developmental needs, the Full-Day Early Learning–Kindergartenprogram should provide opportunities for learning, self-expression, self-regulation,and self-discovery in a variety of areas – for example, in music and drama, games,language activities, and cooperative activities with peers.Every child is unique, and has individual needs. Children develop at differentrates and in different ways. Their diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds anddaily realities contribute to differences in the ways they develop and demonstratetheir learning. Consequently, children need opportunities to learn in ways bestsuited to their individual needs and at appropriate times in their development.They need to be given learning experiences that fall within the range of thingsthey can do with and without guidance – in other words, experiences that fallwithin their “zone of proximal development”. Some children will benefit morefrom one type of teaching strategy than another; some may need more time thanothers to develop knowledge and skills, and to achieve the learning expectationsin the program.Self-RegulationThe abilities of children to regulate their own emotions, behaviours,and attention increase over time with maturation, experience, andresponsive relationships. Supporting self-regulation is a central focusof early development because self-regulation skills lead to physical,social, emotional, behavioural, and cognitive competence.(ELECT, p. 8)

Self-regulation is central to a child’s capacity to learn. It is “a cornerstone ofdevelopment and a central building block of early learning” (Charles Pascal,Every Child, Every Opportunity: Curriculum and Pedagogy for the Early LearningProgram, p. 4). The ability to self-regulate, or to set limits for oneself, allows a childto develop the emotional well-being and the habits of mind, such as persistenceand curiosity, that are essential for early learning and that set the stage for lifelonglearning. Self-regulation involves attention skills, working memory, and cognitiveflexibility – qualities that provide the underpinning for essential skills neededthroughout life, such as planning and problem-solving skills (ibid., p. 4). Selfregulation allows children to have positive social interactions and sets a patternof behaviour that will benefit them throughout their lives.Children demonstrate: social self-regulation when they are able to regulate their behaviour.For example, they can focus their attention, follow instructions, cooperatewith the teacher and other children, and remember things they need toknow and do;Social, emotional, and cognitive self-regulation and the ability to communicatewith others are foundational to all forms of learning and have been shown to bebest developed in play-based environments.THE ROLE OF TEACHERS AND EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATORSPrinciple 6: Knowledgeable and responsive educators are essential.The Early Learning–Kindergarten team comprises a Kindergarten teacher andearly childhood educator(s) (ECEs). The team determines the quality of the learningprogram that young children will experience. Effective Early Learning–Kindergartenteam members are themselves reflective learners who have a passion for the successof the learners in their care and a deep respect for the children’s individual differences.Team members recognize that their own learning is a continuous and reciprocalprocess – they learn from each other, and from the children and their families. emotional self-regulation when they are able to control aggression,and when they are aware of and able to respond to the feelings of others(e.g., recognizing that their “outside voice” may disturb others and usingtheir “inside voice” instead).Self-regulation is not about compliance with external authorities –it is about establishing one’s own internal motivation for adaptingto, and understanding emotional and social demands. In fact, formany children, requiring compliance undermines their own abilitiesto self-regulate.(Pascal, Every Child, p. 4)Building a Learning Community7

8The Full-Day Early Learning–Kindergarten ProgramThe Early Learning–Kindergarten team uses reflective practice, planned observation,and a range of assessment strategies to identify the strengths, needs, and interestsof individual children in order to provide instruction that is appropriate for eachchild (“differentiated instruction”). This includes whole-class instruction, small-grouplearning, independent learning, and activ

The Kindergarten Program, 2006 (Revised)when the Full-Day Early Learning–Kindergarten program is fully implemented across the province. Beginning in September 2010, all new Full-Day Early Learning–Kindergarten programs will be based on the expectations outlined in this draft edition of the document.