About Us
Thank you for your interest in our Nature Early Learning Program. Exceptional quality child care is my goal.
I am committed in helping develop your children to the best of their abilities.
Growing Up is an autonomous home-based learning program, following all aspects of CCEYA, Child Care and Early Years Act.
We welcome your little ones and your family to a memorable childhood experience, in the comfort of our loving home, a reliable, well organized envinroment, where children feel safe, nurtured and loved. The little ones have the opportunity to grow up in a small group (a maximum of six children), where they'll benefit from a novel program, individualized attention and customized learning.
My uniquely designed Montessori and Waldorf Inspired Hybrid offers the children endless opportunities to daily enchanting play, story seedlings literacy and an open door to a world of wonder and discovery, all while enriching their language, a genuine love for learning,
and a great respect for nature.
The kids are so happy and my passion shines through all my little friends!
Our play time and magical childhood memories are enhanced daily, keeping it so pleasing, interesting and fun for the little ones!
We love nature walks, jumping in puddles, chasing butterflies, playing with leaves, rolling down the hills, saving snails and bugs, feeding the ducks, counting rocks and making mud soup during the wonderful warm seasons, and take joy in closely studying the frozen trees, making snow angels, sliding down the white fluffy hills and catching playful magical snowflakes in the winter. All our wonder is daily enhanced with beautiful Waldorf-Inspired celebrations of the seasons, and rich in vocabulary, songs, poetry and verses!
We simply embrace life through outdoor experiences inspired from the simplicity and - paradoxically -complexity of childhood.
I've Got 5 Minutes. Explain Montessori to Me.
-Aubrey Hargis
Our underlying approach is the core of authentic Montessori education, teaching concrete to abstract and hands-on Life Practical Skills. This is our way to enhancing the children's independence, self-esteem and their natural love for learning.
Maria Montessori's beliefs were that children embrace knowledge naturally during their "sensitive periods" , when introduced through age-appropriate activities, in a prepared environment.
Children are naturally curious, positive and engaged in learning about their environment and the people around them. At Growing Up we are particular about fostering their instinctive desire to know and understand, by freely allowing them to explore our prepared environment and expand their boundaries with each developing milestone.
Education means the growth of the whole child: mind, body and soul. Academics are introduced around the age of 3, when the children transition in their second sub-plane of development (3-6 years old). While the first sub-plane of development (0-3 years) is the unconscious Absorbent Mind, the second sub-plane is known as the conscious Absorbent Mind, when children realize that they are learning and are fully aware of their thoughts and the fact that they can think for themselves and make their own choices. At this age, children can only learn through their own experiences.
The wonderful Montessori intro-lessons to language and math concepts make so much sense in acquiring early knowledge through stimulating ways. The children already strengthened their hand muscles through daily practical life skills during their first sub-plane ( transferring liquids with sponges, transferring solids with tweezers) and practiced math principles through hands-on sensorial materials (Pink Tower, Brown Stairs, Montessori Rods). They now understand "large versus small" and "long versus short".
Now the children are ready to move onto developing their understanding for abstract concepts. An example of concrete to abstract is in the process of introducing quantity, for example. We first learn quantity, then the symbol, then we're ready to introduce quantity with the symbol. It works the same way for language, we first introduce the child to letter sounds, then the sound with the letter name. The children learn to read by writing. Yes, writing comes first, before actually beginning to read, while the child writes the sounds he hears. (beginning sound, middle sound, ending sound). Understanding comes before memorization. When learning letter symbols, the children memorize. However, we understand sounds through our I Spy sounding games, so fun!!
"Teach a child one hundred words and they can read one hundred words. Teach a child the sounds and they can read a book." -Romalda Bishop Spalding
We use the same approach for our cultural studies in Geography, Anatomy, Botany, Zoology, Music and Art. They are all introduced through real experiences, beautiful age-appropriate lessons, invitations and play-based inquiries (story, sensory bins, and discovery tables), early on. We learn about our planet with its lands and water (continents, oceans and life), explore our senses and learn about our bodies, enjoy learning about animals and nature (farm animals, arctic and wild animals, birds, trees, flowers, insects), and explore with natural elements (rocks, shells, wood, leaves, pine cones).
I model a consistent passion for nature, our forest, and the outdoors to my little friends and daily expose them to the magic of childhood, through beautiful stories and creative play. While Waldorf complements Montessori so well through frequent exposure to literacy (storytelling, story baskets, poems and verses, meditation and seasonal celebration), and truly beautifies a child's imagination and vocabulary, we also choose reflections of Reggio learning. We incorporate "loose parts" invitations for creative play and keep our focus on the process rather than the project! It's all a blend of principles that may be opposite but also complemental and seem to give a continuous boost to our child-led environment.
The first years are about exposure to storytelling, DISCOVERY PLAY and opportunities to connect with nature, engage in physical activity and experience the joys and wonders of the beautiful changing seasons, and our beautiful forest offers endless ways to keep active daily!
My name is Alina!
As an active mom and educator, I have researched the children's "sensitive periods" (early childhood developmental stages) and created age-appropriate activities to support their positive growth.
Through my Montessori-Inspired approach, the children are encouraged to learn at their own pace, choose from a diverse range of activities and enjoy personalized lessons and learning time. The daily opportunities to learn from older children or teach younger friends in our mixed-age group and the peacefulness of learning with the same educator for a number of years, are inspired from the structure of a conventional Montessori classroom and greatly contribute to fostering your little one's self-esteem.
Visit our public FB page:
Growing Up Montessori & Waldorf Inspired Hybrid
My philosophy is "Teach by Teaching, not by Correcting". Inspired by Maria Montessori's beliefs and results, I encourage kind effective guidance, based on structure and instruction, love, learning and consistency, grace, courtesy and manners.
I strive to provide the best in a gentle, caring, positive, and safe environment.
Our Child Care setting offers the warm and loving atmosphere of home. We are pet friendly, and I maintain an exceptionally clean environment. Our cat Mika is affectionate and playful.
Our beautiful classroom is sunny, spacious, cozy, and well organized. On the same level, there is a child friendly washroom and our video-monitored napping area. Our property is large, secure and private, opens to beautiful forest trails and flowy brook, and offers plenty of shade.
Our location is in the heart of the forest, near White Hills, Hammonds Plains, minutes away from Halifax, Bedford, Sackville, Stillwater Lake, Tantallon NS.
I have a passion for teaching children, I teach in a patient way, focusing on the emotional and magical aspects of their childhood.
My continuous interest is to further strengthen the confidence the little ones need, as they build their personalities through the early stages of life.
QUALIFICATIONS
-Police Security Clearance and Vulnerable Sector, 2021
-General Commercial Liability Insurance, 2012-present
-Registred with the Registry of Joint Stock Companies
-Certified, Emergency First Aid with CPR C-Adult, Child, and Infant and AED, 2021
Anaphylaxis In Young Children Training, Food Allergy Canada, 2016
-Pre-Primary Montessori Teacher Training Certificate (ages 2.5-6), 2015
-Reggio Inspired Academy -The Art of Loose Parts, Provocations and Documentation in the the Early Years, 2017
-Experienced Licensed Home Child Care, superiorly following the Child Care and Early Years Act (former DNA), registred with Little Leaders Burlington, Ontario, 2017-2020
-Member of the Halton Child Care Providers Association (HCCPA), 2012-2020
-HCCPA Executive Team Member, 2016 & 2017
-Certificate (all levels) under the Halton Child Care Provider Association and the Canadian Child Care Federation, in conjunction with the Family Daycare Training Project, 2012
I am regularly taking Early Childhood continuing education courses and workshops. I enjoy reading literature on childhood development, Montessori, Waldorf and Reggio teaching resources.
Recent Continuing Education
-Life is the Curriculum, Lifeways North America, 2022
-Creating a Home Away from Home, Lifeways North America, 2020
-The Art, Delight and Meaning of the Finger Puppet Theatre, Juniper Tree School of Story and Puppetry Arts with Suzanne Down, 2019
-Create and Learn, Right Brained with Brandon Jarvis, 2019 -designing and creating wooden toy kits for play & story baskets
-Children Yoga Teacher Training, Yoga Rocks Kids & Teens Certificate, 2018
-Play Ambassador Training Certificate, B. ED. Pierre Harrison -Canadian Educator, Communicator & Play Expert, 2018
-RIA Reggio Emillia Training - The Art of Loose Parts, Provocations and Documentation in the Early Years, 2017
-Anaphylaxis In Young Children Training Certificate, Food Allergy Canada, 2016
-Montessori and Neuroscience: The Importance of the First 3 Years of Life, Dr. Sylvia C. Dobovoy, 2015
-Helping Children Manage Stress and Anxiety, Dr. Katie Hyldiard & Dr. Carly Shecter, 2014
-Home Child Care Safety, Region of Halton, Children's Services, 2014
-Discipline Using Time In, Reach Out Centre for Kids, 2013
-Temperament and Behaviour, Ontario Early Years Centre, 2012
-Positive Discipline Strategies for Children 1-3 years old, Reach Out Centre for Kids, 2012
I believe all children absorb their INDEPENDENCE, CONFIDENCE, GRACE, COURTESY and RESPECT at very early ages, and when continuously well-modeled and encouraged, our children become wonderful reflections of these beliefs.
I am a qualified educator, creative and kind, and in opening my home to your family, I constantly make every effort to sustain the warmth and reliance that your child needs, when not in your familiar presence.
I am looking forward to welcoming your little one to our safe, clean, comfortable and happy environment, where they can grow, learn and play with confidence and love.
Sincerely,
Alina Dutka
Pre-Primary Montessori Educator
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