Learning Centre Journal
Here's where you'll find the latest from our Reggio-Inspired Learning Centre, including news, information on upcoming events, and stories from our educators. Be sure to sign up for our newsletter, too!
Borrowing Friends’ Ideas: Strategies for Building Bridges
September 17, 2024Children are constructors of knowledge. They theorize ideas for their wonders and are happy to put them into research by trying things out. Working with the Social Constructionist Learning Theory, … Read More
Cultivating Strong Relationships
September 8, 2021As educators, we know that the stronger relationship we have with the children, the better we can learn together. As September arrives and we welcome new children into our programs, … Read More
Children Can be Risk Assessors Too
September 21, 2020Risky Play is always a topic that comes up in our work with children: how do we allow risk without jeopardizing the safety of the children in our programs? A … Read More
“Difficult” Discussions
June 15, 2020Emily was holding a multi-colour flower while riding the bike. As she was driving by, she told me that the flower was for George Floyd. Emily said she’s having a … Read More
Story Time at The Village
May 11, 2020Our educators at Frog Hollow have been thinking of ways to connect with children who are not able to attend their childcare centre due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Educators and … Read More
Observation & Cognitive Knots
April 28, 2020On our online workshop on April 16th we introduced and deeply investigated the concept of “cognitive knots” which was new to many of our attendees. Carolyn Edwards, defining cognitive knots … Read More
Dear Neighbours: A Message of Hope
April 8, 2020Since the start of staying at home due to Covid 19 virus, many of us have had almost no contact to the outside world or our families and friends. At … Read More
Clay Monster
March 31, 2020Our February 2020 Conference was led by Suzanne Axelsson, who helped us see technology and the “digital” with a different perspective. “Screen-time” has become taboo in the world of Early … Read More
A conversation with August
March 24, 2020The outbreak of the Covid-19 virus has made many changes to the usual patterns we see in our everyday lives: people are staying at home more often, stores are packed … Read More
How does re-visiting a shared experience influence our perspectives?
October 25, 2019From Maryam, our Learning Centre Director: Re-visiting is one of the most important roles of Pedagogical Documentation. Through the process of re-visiting, educators children and families get the chance to … Read More
Observation: a Difficult Day at the Infant Room
October 18, 2019From Maryam, our Learning Centre Director: Observation and reflection is the foundation of Emergent Curriculum. As educators, we must be able to record our observations, our thoughts and our feelings … Read More
Angela’s Uncomfortableness with Clay
October 11, 2019For the past two years we have been challenging ourselves at Frog Hollow to explore the language of clay. Clay is a magical material. It is simple and yet filled … Read More
Making Children Visible
October 4, 2019Making Children Visible is our favourite initiative at the Learning Centre. Through this initiative, we bring children out into the community through community projects. In turn, these projects remind adults … Read More
5 Reasons We’re Excited to Have Suzanne Axelsson Speak at our Annual Conference
September 30, 2019Suzanne has over 25 years experience of working with children in a variety of settings: preschools, schools and museums, etc. She has also worked as a teacher, special needs teacher, … Read More
The Magic of Loose Parts
September 20, 2019Loose Parts have been a huge part of our culture at Frog Hollow. The children in our programs are used to the concept of Loose Parts and when a new … Read More
Alex’s Music
September 13, 2019What is it like to be a partner in learning with children? How do we, as educators, listen actively to what the child is expressing with their 100 languages? How … Read More
Parent Interview: Ping
September 6, 2019Family involvement in our Reggio-inspired children’s programs is so important. When families can see and understand the experiences that we share with their children, this beautiful approach is enriched for … Read More
Hugo’s Fossils
August 30, 2019An Introduction from Hugo’s mum: One of the magical things about the Reggio approach that I have observed as a parent is that there are so many opportunities to witness … Read More
Sves’s Potions
August 23, 2019Reflection is a vital part of the educator’s practice in the Reggio Emilia approach. As educators, we come across hundreds of “AHA moments” in our journeys with the children. It … Read More
Meeting Time: A Shared Experience
August 16, 2019Our “circle times” at Frog Hollow have changed dramatically since we started to think about promoting a Culture of Collaboration in our children’s programs. Traditionally, our circle time has been … Read More
Making Children Visible on the Drive
August 9, 2019Last summer, as part of our Making Children Visible initiative, we spent the day on Commercial Drive, asking people passing by about their ideas to make the Drive more accessible … Read More
You Get What You Get and You Don’t Get Upset: What We Tell Children Matters
July 25, 2019Maryam, the Director of our Reggio-Inspired Learning Centre, shares some of her thoughts on how the language we use with children can have a huge impact. Educators in the Early … Read More
Building to Understand Collaboration and Flexibility
July 19, 2019A group of children at our 3–5 Satellite Program have been exploring buildings as they work towards understanding collaboration and flexibility. Miho observed that the forms of the children’s constructions … Read More
Reggio-Inspired Mentor Program
May 31, 2019Our Reggio-Inspired Mentor Program begins in September. This program is designed for Reggio-Inspired programs who would like to implement in-house mentorship for their own educators. The program aims to train … Read More
The Earth is Not a Place to Throw Garbage
May 10, 2019The following reflection comes from an educator from our Nootka school age program: The Earth is not a place to throw garbage; it’s a place to live. —one of the … Read More
The Beauty of Serendipity
May 3, 2019Serendipity can be thought of as a happy accident. It is what many scientists and artists come across during their explorations; it is the birth of many amazing creations in … Read More
The Reggio Approach in School-Age Programs
April 25, 2019Often we hear that the Reggio approach is only appropriate for younger children. At Frog Hollow’s Children’s Centres, we have deeply looked into this claim, and we disagree with it. … Read More
Pedagogical Encounters
April 12, 2019Pedagogical Encounters are public tours that allow participants to observe our children’s centres, and see our Reggio-Inspired programs in action. These Encounters are much more than just a tour; in … Read More
ECEBC Leadership Conference 2019
April 3, 2019We are honoured to be presenting at the ECEBC Leadership Conference, and excited to be part of their evening tour this week. Maryam, Gary, and Anna will be presenting on … Read More
Living With Material
March 29, 2019For a long time, The educators from Frog Hollow Kids World programs were not sure how to use clay in their programs. They continued to challenge themselves, offering the clay … Read More
Mentoring Reggio Educators
March 22, 2019The Reggio Emilia approach is rewarding, fascinating and exciting. But it is also complex and requires much work, practice and dedication. At Frog Hollow we have realized that training our … Read More
New Workshops Open for Registration!
March 15, 2019We’ve posted new workshops and tours for Spring 2019. Scroll down to read what’s coming up at the Learning Centre, and follow the links for more info and to register. … Read More
Custom Workshops and Tours
March 8, 2019On January 19, 2019, Frog Hollow Learning Centre provided a Custom Workshop to the educators of Bright Eyes Academy. The educators at this centre have been exploring the Reggio Emilia … Read More
Interview: Maryam Discusses the Encounters Exhibit
March 3, 2019Although she’s out of the office at the moment, Maryam Naddaf, Director of our Reggio-Inspired Learning Centre, was kind enough to share her thoughts on the Encounters Exhibit, which recently … Read More
Conference Wrap-up
February 25, 2019Our Second Annual Conference was a huge success; thanks to everyone who participated! On the evening of Thursday, February 21, we launched the conference with an inspiring session with Sara … Read More
An Evening with Educators of Capilano Children’s Centre
February 11, 2019On February 5th, we hosted Adrienne Argent, an instructor at Capilano University’s exceptional Early Childhood Care and Education program, for her presentation on the material presented in their exhibit at … Read More
Join Us For Evening Events!
January 25, 2019Now that the Making Children Visible Exhibit has begun, we would like to invite you to two evening events that we’re hosting in conjunction with the Exhibit, and the upcoming … Read More
The Encounters Exhibit has begun!
January 18, 2019Thanks to those who attended the Open House at the Roundhouse on the evening of the 15th, where we officially opened the 2019 Encounters Exhibit. We are looking forward to … Read More
Encounters Exhibit Presentations
December 21, 2018We are very excited to host two presentations as part of the Encounters Exhibit. Open House and Presentation: Join us at Roundhouse Community Art & Recreation Centre to hear about … Read More
Being Present
December 14, 2018Today I want to share an observation from Mike Graham, one of our educators at Frog Hollow, and remind us of the importance of Being Present. As educators in early-years … Read More
Cognitive Knots
December 7, 2018Recognizing “Cognitive Knots” and welcoming the uncertainty they offer is one of the ways our educators at Frog Hollow “observe” children and engage with their ideas. In The Hundred Languages … Read More
Relationships and Connections
November 30, 2018Relationships and connections are important principles of the Reggio Emilia approach. Educators of Reggio Emilia believe that humans are interconnected and interdependent beings. Lella Gandini speaks of educators, families and … Read More
The Reggio Emilia Approach
November 23, 2018Here at the Frog Hollow Reggio-Inspired Learning Centre we’re always looking for ways to spread the word about the many amazing benefits of the Reggio Emilia approach to early childhood … Read More
6 stages of Curriculum Design
November 16, 2018Progettazione, or the “Projection of Curriculum” is a complex and yet rewarding process in which educators of Reggio Emilia imagine potential paths for the emerging curriculum. Inspired by the Reggio … Read More
Frog Hollow to Participate in Universal Childcare Initiative
November 10, 2018A very exciting announcement was made at our Satellite Daycare today by Premier Horgan and provincial and federal ministers: the province-wide Universal Childcare Prototype Initiative – a trial run … Read More
Environment as the Third Teacher
November 9, 2018One of the most common questions that I receive at our workshops is, “how do you manage to spend time with small groups of children when you have so many … Read More
New Glossary of Terms
November 2, 2018Every program has terms and phrases they use that are specific to their approach. Recognizing that some of the language we use at Frog Hollow may be unfamiliar to new … Read More
Second Annual Conference! February 21st to 23rd, 2019
October 19, 2018We are excited to host our second annual conference this year from February 21st to February 23rd, 2019. Workshop: Engaging Families in Emergent Curriculum – Stories from Hilltop Educator Institute … Read More
Frog Hollow Children’s Centres Recognized With Award
October 5, 2018We are honored and humbled to receive the Community Partner award by Centre for Ability. The award was presented to us on September 25, 2019 by Linda Thoreson, a Supported … Read More