How Does Learning Happen?

“How Does Learning Happen? Ontario’s Pedagogy for the Early Years (2014)” is the foundation on which we build our practice. There are 4 core values that help us develop quality experiences for children and families: 

Families matter. Raising children to be responsible, responsive citizens is hard work. Having genuine, open conversations between families and staff makes the job just a little bit easier. 

We believe that families want to be involved in their child’s day. Work, school and life commitments often make that challenging. Communication between staff and families is vital to creating a community of mutual respect and trust. 

OCCC is a teaching facility. We support a variety of post-secondary students in achieving their goals. We also connect with community partners to link families to services. Community partners offer valuable services that complement the programs offered at OCCC. 

Quality practices in health, safety and nutrition are the foundation that well-being is built on. 

Being able to identify their individual needs and then understanding how those needs make them feel and function is an important part of growth and healthy development. Building relationships and contributing to a community is a vital part of well-being. 

Children are natural born risk takers. Risk in play is an old concept being revisited with new ideas and theories. Being able to assess situations then take risks safely is an integral part of learning by doing. Children who are comfortable with taking risks often become successful and resilient learners. 

It is through play that children discover how their world works, how materials work, what happens when the environment changes and how their own actions and involvement play an important part in the functioning of the larger community. Involved, focused learning is messy. It’s hands-on, involves choices, critical thinking and experimentation. Children need to be immersed in their discoveries. The intensity of their play will make a mess of the environment and of themselves. That’s OK. That’s expected. 

Learning to communicate, negotiate, understand, problem solve and work together is a process. Behaviour and emotions are a part of that learning and important to healthy development. Social skills are developed on an individual continuum that reflects the child’s age and stage of development. 

Early literacy, in all forms, is critical to healthy development and later school success. Positive communication skills and self-regulation provide children with strong foundation on which to build relationships, create a sense of belonging, general well-being and contribute and engage with the world around them. 

To read more about how we use "How Does Learning Happen? Ontario's Pedagogy for the Early Years (2014)" into our programming, check out our Parent Handbook.