Discovery Child Care brings nature into the classroom and takes the classroom into nature, offering an environmentally aware foundation of early learning for children, from infants to school-age. www.discoverychild.on.ca
Thursday, 18 April 2013
We Treasure Feedback From Our Families!
Here is a wonderful email I received from one of the families at our Harvie Road location. Thank you for taking the time to let us know how we're doing.
"Our two girls have taken advantage of the infant, toddler, preschool, kindergarten and school age programs at Discovery (Harvie Road). Discovery stands out above the rest because of the incredible outdoor play space, the quality of their meals and snacks, their efforts for continuous improvement, and their teaching staff. The outdoor play space is
complete with a three distinct play areas for different ages, gardens, sandboxes, a slide, a music area, a bike path, shade trees, a tennis court, and a skating rink in the winter. The meals and snacks are cooked from scratch on site by the same friendly face that we saw when we arrived for our first day seven years ago. Discovery has implemented several improvements over the last few years; a security system to restrict access to the centre to authorized parents, new "branding" of the centre with gorgeous painted murals, standard monthly update cards for parents including photos of their child's activities, the addition of an infant care room with cribs, eco-healthy child care designation, and more. The teaching staff is amazing - they work individually with each child to help them reach their potential, they communicate directly with parents by name, and they're FUN!
When any child encounters the possibility of a new environment, the concept can be daunting. We found that any demonstration of hesitation from our children was met with compassion and creativity on the part of the teachers at Discovery. Now it is not uncommon for either one of them to say, "Can't we just stay for a few more minutes?"
On a side note, I want to specifically recognize the efforts of a few teachers -
Angela - I know she's not there anymore, but I have amazing memories of her gentle spirit with my one-year old.
Jody - Jody has been creative and patient with A's little spirited self.
Alicia - On E's first day seven years ago, I was waiting out in the hall to hear how long she would keep crying. Alicia walked by, touched my shoulder, and said, "it gets easier". How did she know I was trying not to cry myself? Maybe I'm more transparent than I realize!
Chelsa - Chelsa always greets me by name when she sees me. No big deal for some, but a demonstration of relational strength to me.
Everyone else has been great, too - these few just stand out and I wanted to be sure that you know."
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Hello to E's family
ReplyDeleteI would like to take a moment to thank E's parent (I am assuming you are E's parent) as now that I am typing, I cannot go back to check.
It is so meaningful to us (all of us in the field of early learning and care) that you took the time to write this post to share your thinking about the impact that the teachers and this centre have had on your child and family.
To hear that our work is valuable and to know that you agree with the importance of connecting children with nature resonates with me and everyone at Discovery (I feel confident in making this comment on their behalf).
Thank you for sharing your thoughts, I look forward to a future post.
Cindy Green
Faculty, School of Early Childhood Education
Seneca College and an avid Community Consultant