WAASABIIK OJIBWEMOTAADIWIN IMMERSION PROGRAM
Our Philosophy and Teaching Method
Preparing children for today and their future.
Why Ojibwemowin Immersion?
The philosophy behind our curriculum is that young children learn best by doing. We take a creative, holistic, hands-on approach to planning educational and social activities that promote healthy learning habits.
Each child is encouraged to learn at his/her own pace so that he/she can develop a strong, positive sense of self. They will begin to discover "Who am I?" and "Where do I come from?" in a nurturing, family-centric environment. We guide your child through preschool and the transition into kindergarten but also give them the tools to use throughout his/her lifetime.
Our Curriculum
We adhere to the basic standards of the Early Education and School District, addressing each child's development of academic, social, emotional, and physical skills.
The method in which we will be addressing these development areas is through our own Anishinaabe teachings, what our grandmas and grandpas taught us. We center the lesson plans around the seven grandfather teachings, an integral part of our curriculum:
Wisdom, Love, Respect, Bravery, Honesty, Humility, and Truth
Our Teaching Method
Ojibwemowin Immersion is a teaching method in which the language of instruction is Ojibwe. The teachers instruct the different subjects and lessons in Ojibwe and the materials we teach with are also in Ojibwe.
The language is not the subject; it is the vehicle that we use to teach.
Lessons will be delivered in Ojibwemowin only (with some bilingual instruction as needed). This is the best way to learn the language by being immersed in it. We encourage the children to learn how to communicate and express themselves in Ojibwemowin. As teachers and administrators, we do our best to adhere to this policy as much as possible, speaking English ONLY when safety or other concerns arise. In later years we will introduce English as a subject. But for these early years of education, we will use only Ojibwemowin.
We use cultural, seasonal, and traditional teachings such as wild rice harvesting, sugar bush activities, fishing, and doodemag ("clans").