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Philosophy
© 2022
Content and photographs are the copyright of
Jude Keith Rose.
All Rights Reserved.
Philosophy of Care
The philosophical approach at West Hill Educare is based on the Educaring® Approach developed by Magda Gerber under the name Resources for Infant Educarers, or RIE™.
RIE is a relationship-based approach rooted in a foundation of respect for children. Knowing that children learn best through exploration, we encourage them to be independent learners. We invite each child to be an active participant in her own care and offer her choices for activity. Parallel to supporting the development of individual skills, we recognize the equally important human inclination towards interdependence and foster a sense of belonging among all members of our community.
Our day is grounded by a structure of consistent routines and expectations which serve to facilitate the child’s basic sense of trust in the world. Within this context, each child gains a sense of himself as an individual while learning to negotiate socially. As he listens to and “reads” other people, he learns to express his own ideas and solve problems in a kind and sensitive manner.
During the second and third years of life, young children experience incredible growth. Around the time of their first birthday, children enjoy increased mobility and are striving to master their new-found ability to walk. As the second year progresses they gain increased coordination and refinement of both large and fine motor movements. Children start to show an interest in doing things for themselves and are eager to get their hands on things and smell, taste, touch, look and listen as they manipulate items to explore their properties.
At WHE we support these great steps in development with daily observation to assure that our environment and routine works for the members of our community. Similarly, the interested child watches. She gains understanding and integrates information when she observes and interacts with the people and environment around her. Through activity and her own observation, her mind is engaged. At this time it is critical that she has loving, kind models to emulate.
As a social person, the one and two year-old child is eager to gain language and communicative competence. He attempts to model the language and behaviors of the adults and children he spends time with. Accordingly the educarer’s role is that of a model and facilitator. At WHE we model the behavior we want children to acquire and our language with children is positive and encouraging.
We choose materials that help young children gain real information. Items are presented on low, open shelves in an uncluttered manner that enables children to see clearly what is available and invites them to independently choose their activity. We encourage active children to play with passive, non-mechanical toys.
In harmony with the toddler’s passion for real work, children at West Hill Educare gain life skills and a positive sense of themselves as members of a community through participation: learning to care for themselves, each other, the classroom materials and the world around them.