The images in our logo reflect both the philosophy and the personality of Islington Village Child Care Centre.
The apple is an iconic symbol of learning. It reflects our desire to encourage growth and development; physically, emotionally and academically. We chose a red apple because of its bright colour, one that exudes energy and indicates a stimulating environment.
The heart speaks to our love of children. Creating an atmosphere where children feel safe and nurtured is absolutely essential. For every age, from babies right up to school age children, we strive to create a positive atmosphere with trusting relationships and lots of fun.
The tree in the middle of the logo represents our notion of community both as a childcare center and on a larger scale, our role within the neighbourhood. The tree is strong and vital and full of fruit, each apple a little different from the next. We like to believe that those apples represent the unique character of each beautiful child who comes through our doors.
Islington Village has created a centre of bright and stimulating spaces to learn and play. A nurturing and positive atmosphere is encouraged by warm and friendly staff, all qualified in Early Childhood Education.
We aim to promote health, safety, nutrition and well being at Islington Village Child Care Centre as:
§ Snacks and meals are catered by Real Food for Real Kids, thoroughly complying with the Canada Food Guide, pertaining to each age group
§ Safety is maintained with a gated playground
§ Security cameras observing entire premise
§ Ensuring that all staff, students, volunteers as well as any person providing care or service at the centre have obtained a vulnerable sector police check
At Islington Village Child Care Centre our goal is to support positive and responsive relations between children, parents, caregivers and staff through:
§ Ongoing sharing of information by way of electronic daily reports and /or email updates
§ Celebration of family oriented days i.e Mother’s Day
§ Communication boards within each classroom, regarding staff schedule, daily experiences, outdoor play
We encourage each child to interact and communicate in positive means, with caregivers support in strengthening their abilities to self regulate by:
§ Caregiver role modelling appropriate and positive means of communication
In order to foster children’s exploration, play and inquiry caregivers:
§ Refer to the ELECT document to plan experiences and activities
§ Rotate and provide materials, toys and supplies that keep the children in each age group engaged and provoked for exploration
The curriculum and program method of Islington Village Child Care Centre staff provides child-initiated as well as adult-supported experiences by:
§ Recording daily observations of children
§ Documenting emerging interests and skills on program plan and through Individual Program Plans
§ Supporting and engaging with children in their on-going exploration during sensory, creative or gross motor experiences
§ Respecting children's interests and their choices when mixing materials from different areas of classroom
§ Caregivers support children's learning by making all toys, materials and supplies available to be use at all times of the day
At Islington Village Child Care Centre, children learn through play. Therefore our goal is to plan for and create learning environments and experiences in which child’s learning and development will be supported by:
§ Our curriculum is play based, child directed through daily observations and cues from the children
§ Engaging children's natural curiosity of the environment by introducing elements of the outdoors, with tree branches for décor
Throughout the curriculum, indoor and outdoor play, as well as active play, rest and quiet time are incorporated, while giving consideration to the individual needs to the children by means of:
§ Referring to Big Apple Red Room schedule (when available as a gross motor room), to incorporate more active, physical and gross motor engagement
§ Weather pending; indoor gross motor activities will be organized in the classrooms
§ Specifically planning and organizing “outdoor gross motor” experiences as outlined on the Islington Village Child Care Centre program format
§ Participation in weekly yoga, within up each age group, set up with yoga mats, yoga pictorials, yoga dice, movement cards and relaxing music
Each classroom is set up to engage and fosters all developmental skills, including physical, emotional, social, cognitive domains. Emergent curriculum programming is practiced as per CCEYA guidelines. “Emergent curriculum is a philosophy of teaching and way of planning curriculum that focuses on being responsive to children’s interests to create meaningful learning experiences. It can be practiced at any grade level”.
Our goal at Islington Village Child Care Centre is to continuously grow and re-evaluate our practice and methods of communication, in order to foster the engagement of and ongoing communication with parents about the program and their children.
§ We encourage parent feedback, in daily correspondence through email
§ Inviting parents and families to participate in annual fundraisers and charity initiatives
§ Sending out monthly newsletters and calendars
§ Formatting a parent info page on the centre website
At Islington Village Child Care Centre we strive to use the environment and the community as the third teacher, and involve community partners and allow those partners to support the children, their families and staff.
§ Special Needs Resource Consultants are invited to support staff and families with strategies
§ Referring community resources such as Speech and Language Pathologists
§ A music instructor and weekly schedule in all age groups allows the children and staff to absorb basic music theory
§ Annually we arrange an Oral Health Screening with Toronto Public Health, to inspect childrens teeth and ideally instill positive views on oral health and teeth brushing and flossing
§ Regular visits from community partners at Brentwood Library
At Islington Village Child Care Centre our aim is for children to learn by the best means possible. Our staff require support in relations to continuous and ongoing professional development by:
§ Organizing and registering staff for seasonal workshops through CityWide Training, and Humber College, and as well as courses available through Mother Craft College
§ Participation in training modules and webinars sponsored by the CCEYA and/or CECE
At Islington Village Child Care Centre we hope to document and provide evidence of our ongoing efforts to create a program and child care centre that thrives on the engagement and connection of children, staff and families. By means of:
§ Inclusive and celebratory displays, on birthday boards, family trees, class photos and other displays throughout the centre
§ Newsletters on a monthly basis
§ Emails with photo attachments to parents
§ Complying with IVCCC Open Door Policy, inviting parents and families to participate in everyday program
Our vision at Islington Village Child Care Centre is based, also, on the How Does Learning Happen? document, introduced by the Ministry of Education. The document is a guide about “learning through relationships for those working with young children and families. It is intended to support pedagogy and curriculum/program development in early years programs” .
The foundations of How Does Learning Happen? include well-being, belonging, expression, and engagement. “These foundations, are a vision for all children’s future potential and view of what they should experience each and every day”.
As co-learners and partners in learning, at Islington Village Child Care Centre, children, educators and families feel a sense of well-being, engagement, belonging and expression. These foundations foster optimal learning and development as well; inform the goals for children and the expectations for our program.