2024

La Boîte à soleil is consistent with the Minister of Education’s principles of “How We Learn” as the document to be used to guide child care programming and pedagogy.
The term “Educator” refers to all staff, students and volunteers (female and male) who work at La Boîte à soleil and interact with children and families.
All La Boîte à soleil employees, students and volunteers are required to read, understand and follow this program statement prior to starting work and to review it annually afterwards and when changes are made. This statement is also reviewed annually by La Boîte à soleil’s Board of Directors.
We expect educators to set goals for children that are consistent with those of the Ministry of Education’s pedagogy that describe children as competent, capable, curious and full of possibilities.

  • Children have a sense of belonging when they are associated with others and contribute to the world around them.
  • Children develop a sense of identity, health and well-being.
  • Children are active learners whose engagement allows them to explore the world with their bodies, minds and senses.
  • Children are capable communicators who express themselves in many ways

OUR PROGRAM AIMS TO:

THE APPROACHES YOU CAN SEE IN OUR PROGRAMS:

Supporting the health, safety, nutrition and wellbeing of the children (a)

  • We offer healthy and safe environments.
  • We plan pleasant and stimulating physical activities every day.
  • We personalise the room for each child and they have personal items in the room as well as photos of their family.
  • Children are respected as individuals and small human beings. The patience and love of the educators is evident on a daily basis.
  • Children enjoy a positive, social and safe environment when they eat.
  • Children have the chance to explore food with all five senses and are encouraged to taste any new food.
  • We offer and promote healthy menus and healthy eating is also taught through good nutrition. This ishighlighted in the routines and programming. Healthy eating is integrated into the various activities, whether spontaneous or planned.

Support positive and responsive interactions among the children, parents, and staff and to support their ability to selfregulate (b and c)

  • We believe that each child is unique and brings his or her own qualities, abilities and interests to the programme.
  • We provide an environment and interactions that challenge and provide spaces that invite children to explore, imagine, reflect, create and solve problems.
  • Educators discuss with the children the process of emotions and behaviour. The quality of their relationship leads them to be attentive to each child’s needs.
  • Children are redirected in a positive way.
  • Educators support children’s self-regulation in an environment where everyone has the opportunity to learn to manage themselves physically, mentally and emotionally.
  • If necessary and/or requested, educators offer positive support to parents.

Foster the children’s exploration, play and inquiry that are initiated by the children and supported by the educators both indoors and outdoors (d, e and g)

  • Children learn through play which is enjoyable, spontaneous, active and natural.
  • Educators are co-learners and part of the learning. They are engaged and ask open and authentic questions and then theorize about children’s learning.
  • We offer provocations and learning invitations to allow exploration and to stimulate play with multi-purpose materials that offer a variety of possibilities.
  • We encourage reasonable risk and problem solving.
  • The educators speak at the level of the children and are consulted in group decisions.
  • Educators are flexible and incorporate quiet times when they notice a drop in energy in the children.
  • The program includes pleasant and stimulating physical activities every day. These physical activities require planning, observation and reflection on the developmental needs of the children in order to challenge them.

Plan for positive learning environments and experiences for each child’s learning and development (f)

  • Communication with children is done in an encouraging way.
  • We offer activities that take into account individual needs.
  • Educators take into consideration different learning styles and modify their approach according to the different needs of children, including children with special needs.
  • The level of development is individual and unique to each child. We take into consideration developmental factors and family/environmental exposure.
  • The schedule must consider health and well-being, as well as the time and level of development of the children.
  • Staff use QCCN (Quality Child Care Niagara) tools and practices.

Promote participation and ongoing dialogue with parents and the community (h and i)

  • Parents are seen as co-learners and are invited to participate in our programs.
  • Educators communicate with parents on a daily basis and take the time to welcome them and ask them
    questions about their children’s habits and preferences.
  • The educators are empathetic to all parents.
  • We offer monthly family activities for parents and their children. This allows them to discover the environment in which their child lives each day.
  • We create a link between children and their daycare, school, neighbourhood and community by participating
    in field trips.
  • We collaborate with community visitors invited into the programmes to enrich the children’s learning.

Support staff in their continuous professional learning (j) 

  • Educators are constantly reflecting and reviewing their practice to modify or change it as needed.
  • We encourage reading, research, on-the-job training, and participation in meetings or workshops.
  • We have a learning culture and we offer workshops in person and via webinars.
  • We support RECE’s with their Continuous Professional Learning portfolio by offering information sessions

Review the impact of the
strategies on the children
and their families (a-k) (k)

  • We are always reflecting on how to improve our service to children, parents and the community and we
    modify our policies and procedures as needed.
  • We offer surveys to our employees and families to determine the quality of our program and practices.

* Les lettres en italiques sont référencées dans la loi sur les garderies