Self- Assessment and Ongoing Professional Development

Based on my current knowledge, skills, and abilities as a future RECE, I feel that I possess several strengths regarding my knowledge of early childhood development and practices. Three specific strengths are:
•Standards of Practice I: Caring and Nurturing Relationships that Support Learning-
(A) Early Childhood Educators recognize that families are of primary importance in children’s development and that children are best understood in the context of their families. In my practices within the field, I demonstrate this by communicating to the parents that I place great value on their insight and perspectives regarding their children’s interests, strengths, and challenges and invite them
I work very hard to put safety rules in place and to ensure the children understand and practice them. I also follow the safe-risk approach, teaching children how to safely explore their environment during play. For example, rather than stopping a child from walking from one tree stump to another, I teach them how to do so safely. I feel that teaching children how to take risk safely is very important as they will use this approach in many aspects throughout their life. Moreover, with this approach, I also teach the children the difference between safe risk and unsafe risk. Again, with the children’s safety being my top priority, I will put a stop to any unsafe play and behaviour and then will explain to them why that behaviour is
To expand and enrich my knowledge base in the area of child development theories, I would find reputable resources, from both books and online sources, to read and further my understanding of the theories. Some example resources are the Child Development Theories article from Education.com (https://www.education.com/reference/article/child-development-changing-theories/) and the Theories of Child Development: Building Blocks of Developmentally Appropriate Practices article from Earlychildhood NEWS website (http://www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood/article_view.aspx?ArticleID=411). Moreover, I would speak to my supervisor to find out if there are any workshops available that would assist me in applying this knowledge in my professional practice. As a future RECE, I also understand that it is essential that I know, understand, and abide by the legislation, policies, and procedures relevant to our profession. In order to improve my knowledge and understanding of them, I would refer to the child care section of the Ministry of Education website (http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/childcare/) for current information. Additionally, I would ask my supervisor if there are any in-centre resources containing information on these areas and ask any questions I may have with regards to them. Lastly, to improve my professional