My first week at Cariboo was spent mostly observing the children, and how the educators and children interact. It was interesting to experience a new style of space. The Marigold’s room at Caribou is a “yes space,” where children get to explore the materials freely. They have boundaries, but the children have learnt to respect them, and explore accordingly.

I overheard a conversation between educators regarding one of the children I’ve chosen to focus on. We’ll call her SA. She is very smart, but doesn’t speak many words.

The educators chose to bring out an alphabet puzzle to place on the shelf. They intend for SA to use this activity, but it is out for all the children to engage with.

SA sings the alphabet song, while exploring the letters.

Background: SA currently has an ASQ completed, showing concerns about her language development. She often communicated with sounds or facial expressions. SA plays alone, or alongside, but not often interacting with other children. SA has a twin brother(BA) who has a lot of words for a 2 year old. What I find the most interesting about this pair is that they don’t spend much time together while at Caribou. Typically twins spend a lot of time together, and these two don’t. BA gravitates toward other children who have a lot of words, like he does.