CHILDREN'S PLAYGARDEN

Find out more about programs for children and youth - summer day camp, March Break camp, emergency childcare, daytrips and much more.

Who We Are

The Children’s Playgarden child care centre opened in February 1999 and is a much needed service for military and civilian families within the community. Located in the Toronto Military Family Resource Centre, the Children’s Playgarden offers full and part-time daycare services to children from birth to five years of age. The child care centre employs 12 full-time staff who are committed to high standards of child care and quality programming through the continued understanding and integration of Reggio Emilia principles.

The Board of Directors and staff of the Toronto Military Family Resource Centre and Children’s Playgarden have been inspired by the Reggio Emilia approach to child care. We continue to explore and understand the key principles of this approach in relation to: our values and beliefs about working with children, parents and each other; our experiences in the field; our environment; and our community.

TMFRC believes that:

  • Children are capable of directing and navigating their own learning with support and guidance from teachers and parents.
  • Children’s curiosity must be nurtured in a supportive environment.
  • Group work is a valuable experience.
  • Children have many ways of expressing their thoughts, questions, knowledge and understanding of the world and their surroundings.
  • The teacher facilitates children’s exploration of projects and experiences.
  • The documentation of children’s work is an important part of the exploration of project areas.
  • Parents are active in the care of children and the development of programs.
  • The environment is an important component in supporting children’s explorations of topic areas.

 

  

The Reggio Emilia Approach to
Early Childhood Education

Hailed as the best pre-schools in the world by Newsweek magazine in 1991, the Reggio Emilia approach to early childhood education has attracted the worldwide attention of educators, researchers and just about anyone interested in early childhood education best practices. Today, Reggio approach has been adopted in USA, UK, New Zealand, Australia and many other countries.

Loris Malaguzzi (1920-1994) founded the Reggio Emilia approach at a city in northern Italy called Reggio Emilia. The Reggio approach was developed for municipal child-care and education programs serving children below six. The approach requires children to be seen as competent, resourceful, curious, imaginative, inventive and possess a desire to interact and communicate with others.

The 'Reggio' vision of the child as a competent learner has produced a strong child-directed curriculum model. The curriculum has purposive progression but not scope and sequence. Teachers follow the children's interests and do not provide focused instruction in reading and writing. Reggio approach has a strong belief that children learn through interaction with others, including parents, staff and peers in a friendly learning environment.