My E-portfolio showcases my, teaching philosophy, and classroom practices. I would like to start by introducing myself.
About me
My name is Fathimunisa Farook [Fathima]. I am originally from India and migrated to Canada 20 years ago. I have a family in Canada, Regina with my children born in Canada. I have a Bachelor of Arts degree (B.A) from back home in India. I was a teacher back home and teaching kindergarten for 5 years. I am working as an Educational Assistant at Regina Huda School for kindergarten. After coming to Canada I completed my Social work degree from the University of Regina. I am taking the BEAD program K-5, and it is nice to meet all of you in this class.
After coming to Canada I perceived my ECE level 111 diploma with this Early childhood education diploma (ECE) I worked at multiple day cares in Regina for more than 5 years. Then I worked as a casual educational assistant at Regina Public Schools for 2 years. Now I am at Regina Huda School on a yearly contract.
Teaching philosophy:
Being in a kindergarten classroom my focus is on kindergarten teaching philosophies.
- Child-centered Learning:
I believe that every child is unique and has their interest, and strengths and each student’s learning style is different from the other students. As a teacher, my teaching will be centered on all children’s needs and encourage them to explore and learn at their own pace by creating a safe, nurturing, inclusive environment with all children.
- Play-Based Learning:
Play is very important for child- development so I will incorporate play-learning strategies into my curriculum. This will allow children to engage in hands-on activities that will promote exploration and creativity. Play-based learning will develop social skills, and problem-solving abilities and children will learn critical thinking and all this will help the overall growth of children’s development.
- Holistic Development:
My teaching philosophy emphasizes the holistic development of children socially, emotionally, physically, and cognitively. I will work hard and plan activities that create a balanced learning environment and support the holistic development of the children. The activities are designed to promote fine and gross motor skills, emotional skills, and social skills, including academic learning.
- Building Relationship:
I will maintain a strong relationship with my students like teaching effectively. I will get to know each child personally in my class, understand their interests, and be responsible for their emotional and academic needs. I strongly believe in fostering partnerships with families to support children’s learning and development at home and school.
- Encouraging Independence and Resilience:
I aim to cultivate independence in my students by providing opportunities for them to make choices and take ownership of their learning. Encouraging resilience is also vital. I also like to teach children that failure is a part of the learning process and that persistence is key to overcoming challenges.
- Inclusive Practice:
I will create an inclusive classroom setting so that it honors diversity and respects all students’ backgrounds, cultures, and abilities. By integrating diverse perspectives and resources I aim to create an environment where every child feels valued and has the opportunity to succeed.
- Continuous Reflection and Growth:
As an educator, I believe in the importance of continuous professional growth. I regularly reflect on my teaching practices, seek feedback from colleagues, and engage in professional development opportunities. This commitment to growth enables me to provide my students with the best possible learning experiences.
In summary, my kindergarten teaching philosophy is rooted in child-centered learning, play-based learning that promotes holistic development. I build relationships with students and encourage independence and resilience. Inclusive practice, continuous growth monitoring, and reflection prepare children for future academic and social success.
My lesson plans and Curriculum Development for kindergarten:
As I worked at daycares as an early childhood educator and now working as a kindergarten educational assistant I like to incorporate the Saskatchewan Curriculum and one of the University professor’s teaching, ‘Learn with play’ impressed me so I will also take information from her blog Learn with Linda to incorporate in my education plans and curriculum.
Foundation of play and exploration. I like to apply emergent curriculum which is based on children’s interests and learning.
Learning Areas and Play-based Activities:
Language and literacy:
- a) Dramatic play: Building a kitchen area, dress-up area, hospital, and school area to create a role-play and encourage language use.
- b) Storytelling stations: Include puppets, story dice, and picture books to inspire creative storytelling
- c) Writing centers: Provide materials like markers, pencils, crayons, and stencils to support early writing skills.
Numeracy:
- Building blocks and loose parts: Encourage counting, sorting, and spatial awareness with materials like buttons, rocks, and wooden blocks.
- Math games: use board games, card games, or scavenger hunts to introduce concepts like patterns, shapes, and numbers.
- Sensory Bins: Explore measurement and volume with materials such as rice, sand, or water.
Science and Nature:
Children can have outdoor exploration by having them walk to close parks or walk around the school to collect leaves or insects to explore natural environments. Inquiry centers such as providing children with magnifying glasses, seeds or simple tools for hands-on experiments. Gardening activities is another kind of exploration where children can learn about plant growth by planting seeds and taking care of them by watering the plants and looking at the growth every day.
Arts and creativity:
I like to implement open-ended Art projects for children like using paints, collage materials, and clay to let children express their creativity. Teachers can teach children about music and movements by introducing songs, instruments, and dance to foster rhythm and coordination. Imaginative play is another type of creative activity to encourage children in storytelling and performance in a creative drama corner.
Physical activity
Gross motor play and fine motor activities are very important for children so I will include activities like obstacle course, parachute games or hopscotch, playing tag for gross motor and beading, cloring, puzzle play practice cutting paper and glueing for fine motor activities.
Foster social and emotional Development;
I will encourage children to make crafts and small projects that will make them think problem solve problems and make them happy when they accomplish for example a snowman craft. Counting buttons crafts, and card games will help them with social and emotional development.
Observation and assessment;
Observation and assessing children are very crucial. I would document children’s play, take photos and videos, and post or make a creative bulletin board and talk to parents about each child’s progress at the parent’s meeting times.
I have signed up for two kinds of resources for this class the Magic School and Canva. I would print out papers for classroom purposes. This app will help to create friendly templates and posters for printing. This will help me to plan activities for children and for their appropriate development. This is my short e-portfolio that I will practice in my future classrooms