Four seasons of workshops...

I am proud to share that it has been almost four seasons of TransformEdWorkshops at the St. George's Golf and Country Club!  Next Sunday, October 25th, 2016 marks the last one of the year (perhaps for a while - since I will be going on maternity leave in January) and I look forward to partnering with both Crayola and Louise Kool & Galt to create some intriguing provocations!  For those attending, I can't wait to observe and document your reactions to the inspiring early childhood materials!

Over the course of the last couple months, I have been working hard to reflect upon over five years worth of my own provocations, projects and pedagogical documentation process to share within this Fall session.  As a blogger, I somehow can't seem to keep up with all of the amazing learning that occurs on a daily basis and ideas for posts that might be of value to the readers.  My hope is that this workshop will give me the opportunity to discuss some of the never before seen experiences and make more visible our Reggio-inspired evolution in Full-Day Kindergarten and beyond.

Speaking of content that I haven't had a chance to share on the blog, I would like to take the opportunity to highlight our four day #TransformEdWorkshop summer series from June-July 2015...

The following topics were covered:

• Travel to Reggio Emilia: Rediscover the early childhood approach that has inspired educators globally
• Inquiry planning: Finding a balance between an emergent curriculum and standard curriculum
• Thinking and learning time made visible: iPhoneography and portfolios a combined session
• Getting started in FDK: Bringing it all together and feeling more prepared for September

Here are a few photographs of our time together:

It includes a photo of me at three months pregnant and our youngest audience member to date!

When I present at workshops, conferences, or institutes, I always hope to inspire.  The most rewarding part for me is to network with other educators and make possible my journey for more children.  

During this summer series, one participant (Jackie Clarke) signed up for the entire week and travelled all the way from New York!  She was inspired to create a blog about her journey:  Roots and Wings after our time together.  It is moments like these that motivate me to continue to offer more learning opportunities for adults!  

I would like to offer special thanks to the following:

• All who registered and participated!  We had educators from all across Ontario, one from British Columbia, New York, and even as far as Beijing.   
• My former student Ava Augustin @ava_augustin and her family who generously shared her FDK portfolio and journey with us.
• Ellen Brown @EllenBrown28 (Pedagogical Documentation Building Canadian Connections) for her guest speaker appearance and setup support.
• Our partners: Sands Alive! @sandsalive @incrediblenovel - Louise Kool & Galt - Lolo Floral @lolo_floral info@lolofloral.ca - PERMABOUND Books @PermaBoundBooks lori@lcrsales.ca 
• The St. George Golf and Country Club
• My father-in-law for helping me to bring all of the materials to and from the venue.

Here are a few photographs captured by participants:

Be sure to check out our hashtag on Instagram and Twitter for more... #TranformEdWorkshop

1. Michelle van Heugten of @creative_explorations

2. Maureen Cicinelli @maureencicinelli

3. Antonella Fabbro @antfabb

 4. Amanda Langeveltdt

See you next Sunday for the Fall #TransformEdWorkshop!  Joining us will be #4EverInspired's: Trista Dutt of @KindieKorner, Jocelyn Schmidt of @ourkindergartenjourney, Vanessa Bianchi of @EvolvingEducator, and my SK/1 Grade team Heidi Theis of @h_theis and Sandra Foryszewski of @ourmanywonders.  Can't wait!!!

Stay tuned for an upcoming post on our experience together with Crayola and Louise Kool & Galt!

What we learn with pleasure

we never forget.

-Alfred  Mercier