As writers and co-creators of Play, Participation, and Possibilities, we hope that early childhood communities will engage with these ideas in ways that are meaningful and authentically representative of their own hopes and dreams for children, families, and communities. We know that our own journey will take new directions as local and diverse early learning and child care communities in Alberta take up and continue curriculum meaning making. With an additional year of funding from the Government of Alberta, we will be expanding our collaborative work with early childhood educators, collecting additional samples of curriculum meaning making in action from diverse communities of practice. We hope this will help us to understand more clearly how family, social, and cultural practices and traditions in local communities contribute to a rich and deep understanding of the multiple images of the child as a learner and a citizen that inform the work of early childhood educators. We recognize that curriculum meaning making in First Nations, Métis, and Inuit communities has not been addressed. With humility and ethical responsibility, we acknowledge that we cannot speak authentically about early learning and child care in these communities nor can we take the lead on bringing these voices to the Alberta curriculum framework. This will require critical leadership from First Nations, Métis, and Inuit communities in Alberta, as well as dedicated resources. Acknowledging that young children are already co-constructing curriculum and that educators are already making curriculum decisions is at the heart of curriculum meaning making. Play, Participation, and Possibilities is a guide for reflective thinking and an interpretive tool for imagining possibilities, one that helps each of us to see and think about children as mighty learners and citizens always and already.

Electronic reproduction retrieved from www.childcareframework.com.

Section 1. Play, Participation, and Possibilities: An Introduction -- 1.1. Vision -- 1.2. Purpose -- 1.3. Structure and Format -- 1.4. Values -- 1.5. Guiding Principles -- 1.6. Overview -- Section 2.. The Curriculum Framework Core Concepts -- 2.1. The Image of the Child: A Mighty Learner and Citizen -- 2.2. A Practice of Relationships: Your Role as an Early Learning and Child Care Educator -- 2.3. Mighty Learners: Nurturing Children’s Dispositions to Learn -- 2.4. Responsive Environments: Time, Space, Materials, and Participation -- 2.5. Transitions and Continuities: Supporting Children and Families Through Change -- Section 3. Curriculum Meaning Making: Goals and Dispositions -- 3.1. Holistic Play-Based Goals for Children’s Responsive Care, Play, Learning, and Development -- 3.1.1. Well-Being -- 3.1.2. Play and Playfulness -- 3.1.3. Communication and Literacies -- 3.1.4. Diversity and Social Responsibility -- 3.2. Children’s Dispositions to Learn -- 3.2.1. Playing and Playful 3.2.2. Seeking -- 3.2.3. Participating 3.2.4. -- Persisting -- 3.2.5. Caring -- Section 4. Reflection and Planning Guide -- Section 5. Curriculum Sample Learning Stories -- 5.1. A Tactile Inquiry -- 5.2. Zoe Exercises -- 5.3. What’s for Snack? -- 5.4. Balancing is Gymnastics -- 5.5. Parachute Play -- 5.6.The Show -- 5.7.The Joy of Dizzy Play -- 5.8. Stack and Crash -- 5.9. Group Time with Toddlers -- 5.10. Making Toast with Toddlers -- 5.11. Music Play -- 5.12. Our Snowman -- Endnotes -- Glossary.