Vocational Standards

I feel that my education at Sir Sandford Fleming College has been an

invaluable experience for my personal and professional growth, and has well
prepared me for a successful career as an Early Childhood Educator. During
my time at Fleming, I have had extensive opportunities to design and
implement play-based curriculum. The format of our experience planning
sheets stressed the importance of creating experiences based on the
childrens individual needs and interests. Our Building Inclusive
Environments course, taken in 3rd semester, taught me a lot about different
exceptionalities and how to support children who may be dealing with any
one of them. We had consultants come in to talk to us about our role as
ECEs, in supporting these children with varying abilities. Observation and
documentation were both very important during our courses and our field
placements. I feel that through practice, I have become more aware of the
small, yet significant moments that occur in childrens play and learning. I
am therefore much more effective at observing and documenting than I once
was. My relationships with children and families have come to mean a lot to
me. I feel that through my three field placements and the toddler program, I
have been able to connect with many families on a personal, yet professional
level. The children and families who have helped me grow into the ECE that I
am today will always remain special to me. We have also been required to
become very familiar with legislating documents, such as the Child Care and
Early Years Act, which outlines health and safety standards expected of an
ECE and Child Care facility. In addition, we have become extremely familiar
with other documents, such as the Standards of Practice, Code of Ethics,
Kindergarten Document, Excerpts from the ELECT, etc. Through my most
recent placement, I have had a lot of opportunity to prepare professional
communication with families, through the use of the students agendas and a
documentation app they use to communicate with parents, called seesaw.
My communications courses have really prepared me for professional
communication, which is so important when conversing in any way with
families, children, and colleagues. The personal philosophy I have created
and developed over the last 2 years is a set of values that I strongly believe
in and instill in my practice. This is posted on my e-portfolio and will be
changed and amended throughout my career. It will grow and develop as I
do. The Fleming ECE program has taught me how to recognize, create, and
maintain a quality early learning environment. Many of our courses have
discussed how this type of environment must be created, to reflect the
needs, interests, and abilities of the children in the environment.