Trees in the Meta-forest

Supporting Children’s Growth through Play

Welcome! My name is Carla Montie. I am a Kindergarten Teacher and University of British Columbia, Master of Education student.

I would like to acknowledge the extraordinary place that I live, work, and play; Pemberton, British Columbia, in the Sea to Sky School District, Lil’wat First Nation; located on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the St’at’imc people.

In my Kindergarten class community, the overall objective is to support the diverse needs of all my students by providing rich and inclusive opportunities for learning, development, and growth through play-based experiences. As a teacher, I am inspired to improve and enhance pedagogies within my classroom. The process of this Master of Education Program has motivated me to review the purposes and practices of a balanced Kindergarten program. Furthermore, this journey has inspired me to reflect on my own roles and responsibilities in the ongoing process of becoming a teacher, a learner, and a leader. Engaging in this capstone project has allowed me to delve deeper into a range of topics related to play-based learning and share my learning with others.

“Learning planted in play helps grow strong roots” (Montie, 2021)

Throughout this e-portfolio, I will be using the metaphor of trees in the forest, which I call a “meta-forest,” to represent the potential for learning, development, and growth we have in our lives. Firstly, the portrayal of this meta-forest will represent children, as trees in the forest, to showcase how play can support, honour, and empower students in their growth. Secondly, the expression of a meta-forest will symbolize my own personal and professional growth over the past 2.5 years. Like a tree in the forest, I have been provided with rich conditions of space, water, soil, light, wind (education, experience, opportunity, support, challenge), needed to flourish and grow. This digital portfolio will act as a way for me to reflect on, solidify, extend, record, and share my learning. Thirdly, the representation of a meta-forest will signify other members of the educational community and greater society, as trees in the forest, to show how we are all connected; how we can support each other; and how we can use the power of collaboration to work towards shared goals.

During my journeys of learning and growth, some questions sprouted along the way, including: How can I strive for a rich and balanced Kindergarten curriculum, by including elements of academic, developmental, and play-based learning? What are some benefits to incorporating play into learning and into life? What are some types of play that I can explore with students, families, colleagues, and other community members? What kinds of roles can I take when engaging through play in my classroom, school, and greater community? What are some ways I can connect and collaborate with children, families, colleagues, and others through play? What are some challenges to integrating play pedagogies? What are some ways to overcome these obstacles to make play opportunities inclusive, accessible, and empowering to everyone?

These questions will be explored throughout the web pages of this online portfolio. However, it is important to consider that these queries have living answers and understandings and will continue to develop and grow in an ongoing journey of life-long learning.

Please Note: All of the images used in this project are my personal photographs (Montie, 2020 – 2021).

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Tips to navigating my e-portfolio:

The main menu bar at the top of each web page allows you to explore freely as you wish.

Clickable tree buttons allow you to journey to suggested pages.

Underlined words are also clickable links.

Images and titles are both clickable links to artifacts.

The About Me page includes a list of courses completed, a portfolio of my work, and my CV.

Acknowledgements and References are found at the bottom menu bar.

I hope you enjoy exploring the pages of my e-portfolio, as I document chronicles of growth through play, using the meta-forest to root, extend, and share my experiences and understandings.

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