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Country Kids Learning Center has been operating in the NW Portland/Bethany area since 1996. What started as a small registered family childcare with only six children (including two of my own) and five families has grown in to an astounding 33 students and 29 families (as of 2007).
Staying home with my own children has always been a priority of mine, so having an in-home family childcare business appeared to satisfy my desire to be with my own three children, while at the same time, allowing me to fulfill my career goals of teaching and caring for others’ children.
Although our program has expanded over the past twelve years, we have still managed to maintain that small group setting with a high teacher-student ratio (1:5/1:6). Our program has the structure and features of a private school, while still maintaining that warm and welcoming feeling that can only be obtained from one’s own home.
In April of 2007, I reached my goal of becoming a certified early childhood and elementary school teacher in the state of Oregon when I graduated with a master of teaching (MAT) degree from George Fox University. It was a wonderful experience to have had the opportunity to teach in a local elementary school kindergarten and fifth grade classroom during the past year. This afforded me with the opportunity to experience the pros and cons of both the public and private school systems. Many of my friends and colleagues were certain that I would make the ‘switch’ to the public school system once I completed my degree, but to their surprise, I had become even more convinced of the importance of offering a quality early childhood education that truly took into account what best practice was and what type of teaching and learning environment was best for a young child’s cognitive, social, emotional and physical development.
Since graduating, I have been fortunate enough to tour other private schools in the area and have continued researching numerous teaching theories and practices. One that I have become particularly influenced by is that of Reggio Emilia. This approach to early childhood education takes into account the child as an inquirer, a collaborator and a communicator. The environment acts as a third teacher and promotes the natural environment, orderliness and aesthetic beauty. The teacher is considered a partner, nurturer and guide and is continuously researching along-side with the children in the classroom through documentation, reflection and analysis. The parent also plays a major component to the success of the program, as their contribution of time and reflection is also essential to the success and wellbeing of their children’s experiences.
Having received my diploma is not the end-all of my educational journey. I am continuously sharing with my students that learning is a life-long process. It doesn’t end just because you graduate or receive a diploma. Instead, the joy of learning continues to arouse your curiosity and keeps you informed of new and exciting discoveries about yourself and the world around you. It is with this lesson in mind that I strive to offer a program for children that is meaningful, playful, thought-provoking, stimulating and engaging. A child who feels safe, loved and offered opportunities to make choices, is a child who is motivated to learn, explore, inquire, and discover new and exciting things about the ever-changing world around them.
It is with this experience and philosophy in mind that I strive to provide a welcoming environment where children are free to, “Learn, Laugh, Love and Grow”.
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