Welcome! My name is Anastasia Kokinis, and I am extremely grateful to live, work, and study in beautiful Vancouver, British Columbia, with my fiancé and our miniature dachshund, Penelope. I completed my Bachelor's degree in Psychology at the University of British Columbia before moving onto my Master of Education in Early Childhood Education from the University of British Columbia. My philosophy for early childhood education and learning involves a strong emphasis on holistic education and development, where I believe a child's education involves the interconnection of each part of a child's life, including their mental health, physical health, spiritual health, emotional health, and intellectual health. ​In my spare time, I enjoy spending time in nature, walking, reading, baking and cooking, meditating, learning about health and wellness, drinking exorbitant amounts of tea, and enjoying a home-cooked meal with loved ones.

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Throughout my Master of Education journey I have have the privilege to learn about myself, about what specific interests I have, and about what drew me into my passion for early childhood education. I have a greater sense of knowledge of my understanding that with my psychology background, I am naturally drawn to the role of relationships and the significance that positive relationships and well-being strategies can have on a child’s cognitive, emotional, physical, mental, and spiritual well-being, specifically in education. With this, I have a very holistic approach to education, and to life - that a child’s educational well-being cannot be fully 'whole' if a certain aspect is missing. That is, each individual aspect of a child’s learning and education, from relationships to the role of play to getting high quality sleep, are intertwined with all other aspects of a child’s development, and that all of these aspects work together to create a holistic approach to education. The BC Early Learning Framework touches on aspects of a holistic approach to learning as well. The BC Early Learning Framework defines holistic as being “an approach to early learning that encompasses the physical, social, emotional, intellectual, and creative nature of a child. A holistic approach focuses on the whole child, rather than concentrating only on individual components” (Government of British Columbia, 2019, p. 102). We cannot simply focus on only one aspect of learning, or only one aspect of development, without looking at the ‘whole picture’. To me, a complete learning experience covers all aspects of learning and development, and is always open-ended; there is always more to learn, more to see, more to explore, and more to connect. This is what truly motivates me within the field of early childhood education - the notion that learning is never finished and that learning is a lifelong journey. Simply put, there is no such thing as having learned it all. 

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List of Master's Degree Completed Courses

Below is a list of completed courses undertaken at the University of British Columbia as part of my 

Master of Education in Early Childhood Education degree: 

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• EDUC 500: Research Methodology in Education with Dr. Mari Pighini (read Artifact HERE)

• ECED 508B: Review of Research in Early Childhood Education with Dr. Marlene Asselin (read Artifact HERE)

• ECED 400: Introduction to Early Childhood Education and Care with Jane White (read Artifact HERE)

• ECED 585E: Advanced Seminar on Research in Early Childhood Education - Sociocultural Perspectives on Early Childhood Education with Dr. Iris Berger

• LLED 556: Theory and Research in Early Literacy with Dr. Guofang Li (read Artifact HERE)

• ECED 401: Supporting Young Children's Health and Well-Being in Early Childhood Settings with Dr. Koichi Haseyama (read Artifacts HERE and HERE)

• ECED 530B: Early Childhood Development, Intervention, and Inclusion in Early Childhood Programs with Dr. Lara El-Khatib

• ECED 531B: Supporting Young Children's Social Emotional Development in Early Childhood Education with Dr. Molly Lawlor (read Artifact HERE)

• ECED 585F: Advanced Seminar on Research in Early Childhood Education - Leadership and Policy in Early Childhood Education with Dr. Iris Berger (read Artifact HERE)

• ECED 590: Graduating E-Portfolio Project with Dr. Mari Pighini and Dr. Iris Berger 

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References

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Government of British Columbia. (2019). British Columbia Early Learning Framework. Victoria, BC: Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health, Ministry of      

           Children and Family Development, & Early Advisory Group. Available at:

           https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/education-training/early-learning/teach/early-learning-framework