to the Summer 2010 edition of the Early Childhood

Transcription

The Early
Childhood Educator
Conference 2010
The Journal of Early Childhood Educators of British Columbia
Summer 2010
Vol. 25, No. 2
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This electronic reproduction is for use by ECED students of Northern Lights College.
Board of Directors
President
Denise Marshall
[email protected]
Past President
Vi-Anne Zirnhelt
[email protected]
Secretary-Treasurer
Brenda Tilk
[email protected]
Director of Communications
Contents
ECEBC’s Conference 2010
8 Collaboration at Conference
by Vi-Anne Zirnhelt
9 Storybooks and Fairy Tales: Friday Night’s Gala
10 The Images of Learning Project: Finding Our Voice Through Leadership
by Kim Atkinson
12 Patricia McLelland, Recipient of the 2010 Gayle Davies Award
by Vi-Anne Zirnhelt
Bev Superle
[email protected]
14 Jacquie Ennik-Laquerre, Recipient of the 2010 Kay Britton Mentor Award
by Sydney Rustemeyer
Director of Professionalism
15Learning to Love the Questions: Emergent Curriculum and the Human
Body Project
Barb Duffy
[email protected]
Director of Personnel
by Rachel Rosen
18 Early Childhood Education is Leadership
Lynne Brown
[email protected]
by Marc Tatanasci Lalonde
Director of Conference
by Carolyn Hart
Lynn McBride
[email protected]
Member at Large
Charlene Gray
[email protected]
Member at Large
20 Celebrating Diversity with Picture Books
22 Conference 2010 in Photos
24 Move Over Praise! Using Encouragement to Support Children
by Julia Black
27 The Period of PURPLE Crying: A New Initiative about Infant Crying
by Claire Yambao
Taya Whitehead
[email protected]
ECEBC ANNUAL REPORT 2009
ECIN-Articulation
31 President’s Report
33 Financial Statements
Roni Cahen
[email protected]
35 ECEBC Branch Reports
ECEBC Staff
Executive Director
Departments
Emily Mlieczko
Tel: 604-709-6063, ext. 2
E-mail: [email protected]
4 Editorial — Reflecting on Conference 2010
by Bev Superle
Office Manager and
Leadership Administrator
Maria Mejia
Tel: 604-709-6063, ext. 3
Membership and Bursary
Administrator
Yasmin Irani
Tel: 604-709-6063, ext. 1
5 President’s Report — A Pathway of Learning, Growing, and Sharing
by Denise Marshall
6 Executive Director’s Report — The Possibilities the Future Holds
by Emily Mlieczko
28 Leadership Initiative — Leadership Institute April 2010
by Emily Mlieczko and Rita Chudnovsky
39 ECEBC Bursary Program
40 Membership Application Form
41 Professional Development
The Early Childhood Educator Summer 2010 3
Editorial
Reflecting on Conference 2010
I find that summer is a time for me to reflect on the past year as I gear up for the new year. Yes, I know it isn’t
January 1st, but September has always been the beginning of the new year for me. As we put together this issue, I
have been reflecting on Conference 2010. My impression is that conference was for so many a time to reconnect
with others. I saw people greet each other warmly. I saw people enthusiastically chatting about the workshops they
had attended. I heard the Leadership Initiative groups share with great emotion the learning experiences that had
placed them in a new place professionally. In this large province of British Columbia, conference is a time when
early childhood educators can come together and share the peaks and valleys of their professional experiences. For
this reason, we have dedicated this edition of the Journal to revisiting the conference with photos and synopsies
of workshops. If you attended, you might find yourself in a photo or remember the inspiration of a workshop. If
you were unable to attend, we hope you will plan to attend next year. It is a revitalizing experience.
This is my first year as Director of Communications, ECEBC. I enjoyed my experience on the Editorial Committee of the Journal last year as we designed Journal issues around the theme of professional development and
new ways to envision it. I’m excited to work on it again and thrilled to have committee members who represent
all parts of British Columbia. I thank Michelle Gilmour for her inspirational guidance of the Journal during the
past two years and her patience as she helped me pick up the reins.
As always, we welcome your comments, ideas, and suggestions. You can contact me at [email protected].
This is your journal and we’d like your input.
Bev Superle,
The Early Childhood Educator
Early Childhood Educators of BC
2774 East Broadway
Vancouver, BC V5M 1Y8
Tel: 604-709-6063 or 1-800-797-5602
Fax: 604-709-6077
Web site: www.ecebc.ca
Bev Superle
Editorial Committee for Summer 2010 Issue
Peter Ashmore, Angie Calleberg, Jacquie EnnikLaquerre, Michelle Gilmour, Laura Guldemond,
Barbara Johnston, Alison Morgan
Editor
Barbara Johnston
Publications mail agreement no.: 40024602
Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to:
ECEBC
2774 East Broadway
The Early Childhood Educator is a publication of ECEBC and is
distributed to members four times a year. Opinions expressed are
those of the contributors and do not necessarily reflect the views of
ECEBC. Institutions wanting a subscription can call ECEBC.
For permission to reprint material from The Early Childhood Educator, contact ECEBC in writing at [email protected].
Advertisement rates are available upon request. All advertising is
subject to editorial approval. ECEBC does not assume endorsement
of commercial or non-commercial advertisers in this publication.
Design and Layout
Barbara Johnston and Avi Goldberg
Cover photos Shawn Nygren
4 The Early Childhood Educator Summer 2010
The Early Childhood Educator is printed on 100% recycled paper.
President’s Report
A Pathway of Learning,
Growing, and Sharing
As I sit looking out my window on a
sunny day in Prince George, I pause
to reflect on my ECE career path
thus far. I think about some important people I have met at checkpoints along the way. These people
have given me the encouragement
and direction to keep going on the
path set before me, the path that
has lead me to this moment, the
moment of writing my first report
as President. This is an honour.
As I settle into this role, I am
encouraged and directed by Past
President Vi-Anne Zirnhelt. Her
mentorship and shared learning
is an important and vital stepping
stone. I hope to find support and
learning from members and fellow
ECEs in communities and rural
areas across the province. My new
journey is not one to be taken alone,
or directed by one, the pathway is
one of learning, growing, and sharing. It needs guidance to go in the
right direction.
I’d like to share with you some of
ECEBC’s upcoming work. Last year
at the AGM, members voted to pass
ECEBC’s new bylaws and constitution and requested ECEBC have a
new vision and mission statement.
At this year’s AGM, we shared the
new vision and mission statements.
We are proud of the work done by
the committee to make these clear
statements about ECEBC’s work.
Part of the reasoning for updating
the bylaws and constitution was to
enable ECEBC to apply for a charitable status. While this process has
been long, we are making progress.
Our application has been successfully received and we have been
issued a file number. These are both
positive achievements, and we hope
to hear more about our charitable
status in the next few months.
The next steps for ECEBC are to
create a new strategic plan, as the
current five-year plan completes
this year. The Board, in consultation with members, will formulate
new policy and procedures in
keeping with the new language of
our bylaws. These new policy and
procedures will help to successfully
guide the organization.
These changes make this an exciting time for ECEs and for ECEBC.
If you have questions or would like
to share comments or suggestions,
please contact us at membership@
ecebc.ca or call the office at 604709-6063 or 1-800-797-5602.
Without you, our valued members,
our association would not be where
we are today—standing strong and
moving forward, building on our
foundation, and expanding our possibilities. We invite you to journey
with us; we cannot walk alone.
Denise Marshall, President
ECEBC’s New Vision and Mission Statements
Vision Statement
The Early Childhood Educators of BC enhances early childhood educators’ ability to be a strong voice for
the profession. It influences society to value children and childhood and to respect the professionals who
care for and educate children.
Mission Statement
The Early Childhood Educators of BC advances early childhood education and educators in the province of
British Columbia. We provide professional development opportunities, training, and resources for early childhood educators across the province. We support early childhood educators to inform the broader community
about their work. We are dedicated to building respect for early childhood education and educators.
Executive Director’s Report
The Possibilities the Future Holds
As I write this column in late June,
I realize it has been officially one
month since I started this new position. Sometimes I actually close my
eyes and think I will open them and
find myself back in Prince Rupert.
Many things have happened in
such a short time. Conference is
one of them. I was nervous before
conference, wondering what members would think of me. However,
after the first 10 minutes at our
conference, I realized that I had
nothing to fear; being at ECEBC’s
conference was like coming home.
It really has been a positive experience since starting with ECEBC;
everyone involved is a friend—we
struggle with common issues, and
together we feel stronger and more
determined to get our message out
to the community as we celebrate
the work we do. We know what we
do is important.
An important collaborative project that ECEBC is working on in
partnership with the Coalition of
Child Care Advocates of BC is
Moving to a System of Integrated
Early Care and Learning in BC. We
are so fortunate to have such strong
advocates among us who are willing
to volunteer their time and energy
to support our profession.
As the 2009/2010 Leadership Initiative group officially winds down,
the 2010/2011 Leadership Initiative
group just met for their first Leadership Institute in April. Again, the
Leadership Institute has brought
together communities from all over
the province. I have been fortunate
to connect with most of the participants and they have amazing
projects on the go. I look forward to
being able to meet everyone face to
face and hear of their growing capacity to engage the outside community
about the importance of our work.
As I am new to the majority of
members, I wanted to share a little
bit about myself. My ECE journey
began over 18 years ago. I received
my ECE certificate in Kamloops.
Immediately, I returned home to
work in 100 Mile House. Although
small in numbers, 100 Mile House
taught me some very important
lessons. I learned the important
role parents have in advocating for
their children and the importance
of giving children opportunities to
explore their environment and to
be connected to the community. I
had numerous mentors to guide me,
support me, and teach me.
In 2000 I relocated my family to
Prince Rupert. This community,
rich in history and culture, is nestled
in the mountains alongside the Pacific Ocean, and it turned out to be
an ideal place to watch my two sons
grow. It was here that I was able to
complete my special needs certificate and start studies in First Nation
environments in early childhood
settings. Here I found a voice and
started advocating for children who
required extra supports so that they
could receive services in the centre
their families chose. My experience
taught me how important it was to
engage people from many different
networks and communities.
It has been very important to me to
work on the floor and work directly
with children and their families.
That’s why accepting this position
was difficult. Until two days before
moving to the Lower Mainland, I
was still in the centre that I was leaving. It was the children who truly
kept me grounded and spurred my
desire to stay connected to current
practices.
In addition to the benefits I have
gained from my involvement with
ECEBC, the Leadership Initia-
ECEBC’s Bursary Program
Earlier this summer, ECEBC regrettably had to suspend the ECEBC
Student Bursary Program due to an exponential increase in ECEBC
student bursary awards and the subsequent exhaustion of bursary
funds. Since that time, ECEBC has had meetings with relevant stakeholders to discuss the merits of ECEBC’s Student Bursary program
and the possibility of a renewed funding agreement. All parties agreed
that the Student Bursary Program has been successful and agreed to
continue dialogue about the future of continuing the program.
After a further review of the ECEBC Student Bursary budget, we are
pleased to announce that the Student Bursary Program will be extended for the Summer 2010 semester. For more information, please
see page 39 of this Journal.
ECEBC Updates
tive, the Investing Quality Project,
Northern Savings Credit Union,
North West Community College,
many colleagues and other individuals have helped me along in
this life-long journey of learning
and exploring.
I have felt incredibly welcomed
since moving to Vancouver to
work for ECEBC. The staff, Maria,
Yasmin, and Jay, have been a tremendous support. Their friendship
has meant a lot to me. The Board of
Directors has also been overwhelmingly supportive as I transition to
this new role. They are dedicated
women who ensure our field and
members are well represented.
As I take on the position of Executive Director, I want to add that
Sheila Davidson, our past Executive
Director, is one of the most amazing people I have ever met. She is
gracious and has made many, many
contributions to our field. As she
enters this new chapter of her life
she continues to support me and
guide me as I gain insight into the
legacy she has left. In her last official
week of work she said to me, “You
know, Emily, you just can’t retire
from this field. It always stays with
you.” True to form she put her name
forward to sit on the Board of the
BC Child Care Advocacy Association. Many words come to mind
when describing Sheila Davidson:
compassionate, fair, sensible, feisty,
funny, collaborative, and engaging.
Sheila deserves all the good that the
world has to offer.
I am excited about the possibilities
that the future holds for our profession and look forward to meeting
and getting to know ECEBC’s members personally.
Emily Mlieczko, Executive Director
ECEBC Has a New President But Who is She?
My name is Denise Marshall and I
am an ECE. I am a mother of two
children ages 10 and 7, and a wife
to a logger/bareback rider. I am
a program supervisor (assistant
manager for a term), and I work
on the floor for the University of
Northern British Columbia Childcare Society’s 3 to 5 Program. Super
woman? No. Cape wearer? Yes!
I have been on the Board of
ECEBC since 2007, and I love
it. The amount of stimulation,
passion, and positive energy I get
from being involved with ECEBC
inspires me to go further, do
better, and learn more.
My position on the Board became
a reality when I was the chair of
the Caledonia Branch and attending a Board/Branch Retreat
in 2007. Lynne Reside, a Board
member at the time, took a moment to sit and talk with me. Her
interest in me was the cornerstone
in my work with the board. She
explained to me the time commitments, the expectations, and
the work that the Board does. This
talk was very important to me. It
made me see that although there is
a “Board,” an entity that is maybe
intimidating and mysterious, it
really is composed of fellow ECEs
working toward a better vision
of the ECE field and the work we
collectively do as ECEs.
Ethics. In this environment, and
in my home, I have a family that
supports my passion and can see
the growth and change in me.
They have helped me to find a
balance between work, family, and
my Board position.
I believe in the work of ECEBC.
I see the importance of having
a passion to keep the fire within
you burning, to give you a light
when sometimes things can seem
so dark. What I enjoy the most
about being on the Board and my
place of work is working with a
team and sharing a common vision. I value being part of a team
in which thoughts, opinions, and
even disagreements are shared.
Team members, akin to a group
of children, have to learn to work
together, support each other, and
find a place to include others. Also
like a group of children, a team
needs to be able to laugh together
and cry together, and most importantly, take time to sit with one
another and talk.
I look forward to the many conversations we will have. Let’s take
time to sit, talk, and take an interest. Perhaps one day you too will
be on the Board.
The Board positions are volunteer
positions, and as someone who
works full-time on the floor, I
know how hard it is to balance.
I am fortunate that I work in an
environment that supports the
volunteer work and is closely
guided by the ECEBC Code of
Conference 2010
Collaboration at Conference 2010
By Vi-Anne Zirnhelt
Our ECEBC conferences always
come together through collaboration and teamwork. This year, we
found ourselves sharing and working even more closely during the
lead up to the conference as we
scheduled meetings, honoured outgoing Board members, welcomed
returning and in-coming Board
members, and ensured a smooth
transition as we said good bye to our
Executive Director, Sheila Davidson, and welcomed our new Executive Director, Emily Mlieczko.
In keeping with the conference
theme of “Building on Our Roots,”
Denise Marshall, our new President,
opened the conference by introducing the “Faces of the Board of
Directors” as an example of early
childhood educators encompassing
the “we” as your representatives.
Denise shared a wonderful example
of pedagogical social democracy as
she held up a large piece of cardboard, opened it to show drawings
of the each of the Board members
and spoke about the collaboration
of the group. And while Denise
was opening the conference, I
represented ECEBC at the Annual
General Meeting of the Canadian
Child Care Federation.
“Building on Our Roots” was evident during Friday’s lunchtime discussion, “You Are Worth It!” when
we held our open mike conversation
to discuss ECEBC’s $20/Hour Strategy and all-day kindergarten, which
will begin this fall in many schools
across the province. Delegates who
represent “the roots” or core of the
early childhood educator culture
shared stories of concern and success about the changes coming to
our field. Delegates also celebrated
who we are and the importance of
our contribution to expansion and
further inclusion of kindergartenage children into a full-day pro-
gram. There was a calm, empowered
sharing and embracing of change.
We hear your voices. We understand there are many differences
within our centres, services, and
school districts all across British
Columbia. The information shared
at conference reminds ECEBC of
the importance of the grassroots
movement across the province, and
the importance of early childhood
educators connecting with elementary teachers, principals, and school
boards within their communities.
Conference 2010 brought together
the focus for the continued work
of the Board of Directors for the
coming year. We would invite you
to continue sharing your thoughts
throughout the year through involvement with your branch or by
contacting the ECEBC office.
Vi-Anne Zirnhelt is ECEBC’s Past
President.
Photo by Shawn Nygren
This year our Conference Planning
Committee decided on the theme
of “Building on Our Roots” to celebrate our success and expand our
possibilities. They were definitely
successful in their vision for the
2010 conference. The women who
volunteer on the Board of ECEBC,
the staff running our office, and the
volunteers from around the province all ensured the 2010 conference
was a success. I believe they define
leadership in our field, and in this
Journal we celebrate the success of
our 2010 conference.
l to r: Emily Mlieczko, Executive Director; Lynn McBride, Director of Conference;
Sheila Davidson, outgoing Executive Director; Vi-Anne Zirnhelt, Past President;
Denise Marshall, President
Conference 2010
Storybooks and
Fairy Tales:
Friday Night’s Gala
At this year’s gala, delegates were invited
to dress as their favourite storybook or
fairy tale character. It was the perfect
theme for ECEs and, as the photos show,
it was a colourful evening!
Photos by Shawn Nygren
Conference 2010
The Images of Learning Project:
Finding Our Voice Through Leadership
By Kim Atkinson
ECEs from each of the communities involved in ECEBC’s
2009/2010 Leadership Initiative presented at this year’s
conference. They shared how
the Leadership Initative had
inspired them to raise the profile of the work of ECEs in their
communities. In this article, Kim
Atkinson, one of the Leadership Initiative participants from
Victoria, shares her experience
of developing the Images of
Learning Project.
an insightful colleague: Use pedagogical narrative as a tool for political activism. Well that sure sounded
good, but what did it look like? We
threw around more vague ideas. And
then there it was—the perfect idea
crystallized: A travelling exhibit that
would make visible the competencies of children and the specialized
knowledge of ECEs. The Images of
Learning Project was conceived.
Second, we learned to trust ourselves. With that overwhelming
support came ideas, input, suggestions, and recommendations. All
were heartfelt and generously given
and some we incorporated into the
project. But we also heeded the
advice of one supporter to “keep
coming back to the promise of the
title” and to trust that our vision and
our instincts were strong.
Fast forward a few months, months
that were filled with hundreds of
e-mails, notebooks full of scribbled
ideas, dozens of meetings, and
many late nights conceptualizing,
composing, and editing.
Danielle and I couldn’t stop reading
it. The words themselves fascinated
us: Communities of Innovation,
Constructing a Culture of ECE
Leadership, Building Capacity.
Words like this didn’t pop up much
in our ECE world, and we were
hooked.
Here are some of the things we
learned during those months:
Fast forward again to the ECEBC
conference. Our exhibit is complete,
but we haven’t seen it yet. It is to be
delivered to the conference venue at
3 pm. We sleep fitfully the night before, and on delivery day we attend
our last Leadership Institute, but
we are only half there. By noon we
are fidgety, by 2:30 we are sweating.
Will the exhibit actually show up as
promised? Will it look anything like
what we have been visualizing? We
feel like we are delivering an enormous baby that has been gestating
for 22 months.
When the ECEBC Leadership Initiative call for proposals landed on
our virtual desks, Danielle Davis
and I read it over and over: ECEs
were to develop and implement local leadership projects to strengthen
professional identity and build
leadership culture. It was big, it
was bold, and we knew we needed
to be involved.
But what project to propose? We
threw around vague ideas, settling
on nothing. Then these words from
Danielle and I work best with very
good coffee, and even better with
very good wine. Cheese is also
important. We learned that sending two dozen e-mails a day works
for us. We learned that we worked
together well because we are both
ECE nerds who think that spending
14 hours writing two pages of text
is a good time.
And we learned three really big
things. First, that the ECE community understood our vision and wanted
to do whatever it took to help us out.
ECEs, administrators, academics,
business people, and design and media folks from around the province
encouraged us. We applied for more
funding and received it because of
this overwhelming support.
The exhibit delivery guy arrives.
He begins pulling the panels out of
their cases. By now we are literally
jumping up and down (Danielle is
seven months pregnant and jumping!). The exhibit is exactly as we
envisioned, only better. We laugh,
we cry, we hug. We have done it.
Now people begin to wander into
the room. What will they think? Will
they get it? We know the message we
are trying to convey, but will anyone
else see it? We nervously watch.
Conference 2010
We in the ECE community are
ready to tell the world about the
specialized knowledge we have,
and the vital importance of our
work. We, as an ECE community,
are looking for those who will
give us voice. And when a voice
comes along, we are ready to
embrace it.
We pack up the exhibit and manage
to stuff it into our vehicle. As we
drive to the ferry to get home we
cannot stop talking about the offers,
the enthusiastic response. We are
overwhelmed.
As for the third thing we learned:
The response shouldn’t have come
as a surprise. We in the ECE community are ready to tell the world
about the specialized knowledge
we have, and the vital importance
of our work. We, as an ECE community, are looking for those who
will give us voice. And when a
voice comes along, we are ready to
embrace it.
The Images of Learning Project is
one new voice. But we are not the
only one. The ECEBC Leadership
Initiative is on to something. Constructing a culture of leadership,
developing capacity and innovation is big and bold; we can start
expecting those words to pop up
in our ECE world. We are ready to
embrace them.
Kim Atkinson is an early childhood
educator in Victoria.
Pretty soon two ECEs are crying
as they look. Others wander with
thoughtful expressions, reading
every word. They congratulate us.
Best of all, they tell us what it means
to them. Amazingly, astonishingly,
what they tell us is exactly the message we hoped to convey.
By the end of the conference, Danielle and I have been approached
by communities, by conference organizers, by colleges and institutes,
and public spaces that would like
to host our display. We are asked to
write about it and to get professional
photos of it. We are asked about
the cost of shipping it, of what the
contract would look like, and of
insurance possibilities. Will it be
available in July to go to Edmonton?
How about early October and midNovember? We are told the exhibit
has generated a buzz.
Kim Atkinson (l) and Danielle Davis in front of their Images of Learning exhibit.
Conference 2010
Patricia McLelland, Recipient of the
2010 Gayle Davies Award
Congratulations to Patricia McLelland, the 2010 recipient of the Gayle Davies Award.
Below is an excerpt from Vi-Anne Zirnhelt’s presentation speech.
By Vi-Anne Zirnhelt
The Gayle Davies award for Excellence in Early Childhood Care and
Education is presented every year
at the conference to one individual
who represents the values of this
award: peace, power, friendship,
and vision—qualities of excellence
in caring.
Every year we keep this award a
secret. We will not be naming the
individual until the end. There are
clues so some of you will guess her
name before it is actually stated—it
is all part of the excitement of celebrating one of the star early childhood educators in our province.
A colleague from Kelowna said
about this individual:
“She has been instrumental in
maintaining the ECE transfer matrix for BC’s public ECE programs
for the past several years. This is
meticulous work, requiring an eye
for detail and technological skill!
I appreciate her sense of humour,
honesty, and desire to do the right
thing by students—aiming for their
ultimate success and yet maintaining the integrity of the field by
carefully ensuring the goal of the
well-being of children.”
Another colleague commented on
her role with the Investigating Quality/Early Learning Work:
“She has an amazing way with
technology and engaging with stu-
dents. She is aware of their needs
and works with them to make their
experience as relevant as possible.
She goes above and beyond—always—and because it was not part
of her actual college duties, took
vacation time to be engaged in this
project. An amazing woman—I feel
so very fortunate to have worked
with her.”
A former student said:
“She has a gentle way of advising
and offering information. I always
felt like she listened to me and had
the time and energy to help me and
guide me in a direction if need be.
She is passionate about her work and
the education of ECEs, yet understanding to the diverse needs of the
students and their region. She has a
“real” way of looking at a problem
and making a solution achievable.”
Another former student said:
“She offered me guidance
and support when I decided to advocate to the
government to rescind
their decision to cut funding to child programs and
grants. I remember my
first CBC radio interview;
she called me later to let
me know she had listened
to the broadcast. I always
felt I had someone in my
corner as a cheerleader.”
She continually keeps abreast of
current early childhood care and
learning practises and challenges
her students to as well. She has offered a way for people in rural areas
to have the opportunity to continue
their post secondary education in
the ECE field.
A former student who went on to
further training said:
“She has been instrumental in
teaching, mentoring, helping, listening and supporting emerging
and established early childhood
educators. She is articulate, knowledgeable, and has a fabulous sense
of humour and kind smile.
Recently she helped me with a proposal for continuing my education
and she did so without hesitation.
With her support and time I was
able to successfully move on to future studies. She sees a light in her
Conference 2010
students through their course work,
telephone conferences and personal
connection. She makes learning fun
and challenges us to be our best. Patricia is a mentor, support system to
many, and leader in our field.”
Congratulations to Patricia McClelland of Northern Lights College!
I am humbled and honoured to be
the recipient of the ECEBC 2010
Gayle Davies Award. It is hard to
believe it is over 30 years since I was
in the first graduating class of the
Seneca York ECE/BA program that
extended into gaining my Montessori and High Scope training. Since
then I have had the privilege of connecting with an incredible number
of mentors and learning partners as
I continued to work and study in the
fields of early learning and education. I would like to acknowledge
some of the people and programs
I spent time with along the way:
York University Daycare, Seneca
and George Brown College, all in
Toronto; CDC-Quesnel, College of
New Caledonia in Quesnel and Fort
St. James; University of Victoria
(CACE); Simon Fraser University
(PDP); The Quesnel School District
(Quesnel and Corrieleu Secondary/
Nazko/Bouchie Lake /Lakeview and
Elementary); University College of
the Cariboo (TRU Williams Lake);
UNBC M.Ed (Quesnel Cohort);
University of Calgary (CEL); University of Saskatchewan (TESL);
and, finally, Northern Lights College. Each of these experiences have
reaffirmed for me that all I really
ever needed to know I learned in
early childhood education and
care. Thank you all for continuing
to inspire me.
From Patricia McLelland
2009 Leadership Initiative Participants
From top: Kim Atkinson and Angela Roy; Jamie Anderson; Elizabeth Kool.
Conference 2010
Jacquie Ennik-Laquerre, Recipient of the
2010 Kay Britton Mentor Award
Congratulations to Jacquie Ennik-Laquerre, the 2010 recipient of the Kay Britton Mentor Award.
Her friend and colleague, Sydney Rustemeyer, presented the award at the conference.
By Sydney Rustemeyer
Jacquie’s interest in working with
children began when she was involved with Judy Russell’s Dance
Centre in Prince George and she
decided to study early childhood
education.
She began working at UNBC Childcare Society in August 1996 and was
instrumental in the development of
the Cubs Caner Toddler Program,
which opened in September 1996.
Jacquie cared for children aged 18
months to 3 years using the RIE
(Resources for Infant Educarers)
philosophy. Jacquie has completed
the level I RIE training and her diploma in ECE. Jacquie continued to
work at UNBC until this past spring
when she became the coordinator
for the Prince George and Region
Child Care Resource and Referral
office. Jacquie has a soft, gentle approach with all families, co-workers, children, and students. Jacquie’s
colleagues say she is an inspiration,
a great model, and a mentor. She’s
always there to listen, offer advice,
and to give notes of appreciation
and helpful quotes. Whenever help
was needed, she’d always be there to
support or encourage you to work
things out, to help you learn, and
to encourage you to be a “hands on
learner.”
Over the years Jacquie has made
professional development and
keeping abreast of changes in the
field one of her first priorities. She
inspires others with her leadership
and promotes professional practises
every day.
Jacquie has been on the ECEBC
Board of Directors, was involved in
developing the Early Leaning Frame-
work, and has been on the Caledonia
Branch board several times, helping
it to be what it is today.
Jacquie is respectful, approachable,
confident, and wise. American
civil rights activist Jesse Jackson,
famously said: “Leaders must be
tough enough to fight, tender
enough to cry, human enough to
make mistakes, humble enough to
admit them, strong enough to absorb the pain, and resilient enough
to bounce back and keep on moving.” Jacquie is all these things. In
all, she is a true leader.
I first met Jacquie three-and-a-half
years ago when I began work at
University of Nothern BC (UNBC)
Childcare Society. Over those years
Jacquie has been a tremendous inspiration, mentor, friend, and leader
to many.
Jacquie Ennik-Laquerre (l) and Sydney Rustemeyer
Conference 2010
Learning to Love the Questions:
Emergent Curriculum and the Human Body Project
By Rachel Rosen
What does it mean to listen to
children’s questions and to respond with curriculum? Rachel
Rosen and her colleagues from
Brentwood Preschool explored
this topic in their workshop
entitled “Learning to Love the
Questions“ at this year’s conference.
The workshop title “Learning to
Love the Questions” was inspired by
the words of Martusewicz (1997):
“To teach is to bring our questions
to others, to share as teacher and
students in this process of thinking
about who we are on this earth…
to face the constant and beautiful return of the question and our
imperfection in answering. This
means that teachers must learn to
listen to and engage the questions
posed by their students…teachers
with their students must learn to
love the questions.”
From this perspective, curriculum
is a living process rather than a preset series of subjects to be taught or
domains to be developed. Through
a cycle of inquiry, children explore
materials and ideas, represent their
thinking using words and other mediums, and make meaning (search
for explanations of why things are
the way they are). However, children
do not do this alone. As a fundamental part of teaching, educators
also learn on this journey, leading
to a co-construction of meanings
within the community.
During the workshop, I, along with
four educators from Brentwood
Preschool in Burnaby, presented a
project about the human body that
we had undertaken with children
at our preschool. We discussed this
project with workshop participants
in order to think with them about
the process of inquiry. The origins of
the human body project lie, in part,
with H1N1. Few people around
the world, including our preschool
community, avoided fallout from
announcements of the Swine Flu
outbreak. One child stated, “I run
if other children are sick.” Others
asked: “How big are germs and why
can’t I see them?” and “Do germs
have spikes on them to hurt you?”
We were not surprised to hear that
these questions were also being
explored at home, as well as questions about blood, bones, and how
parts of the body work together. So,
we embarked together on a journey
through the human body.
We began the workshop by sharing
some of the children’s comments
about bones, drawing on a pedagogy of listening. In this approach,
proposed by educators in Reggio
Emilia (Rinaldi, 2006), listening is
considered an active process which
involves observing with all of our
senses; reflecting upon children’s
questions, theories, and ideas as well
as our own; and provoking children
to think with us more deeply about
our understandings of the world
we live in. The preschool children
commented:
“Bones help you carry a house.”
“If you don’t have bones you can’t
move. Your skin would get smaller
and sticky on your body. Bones hold
you up.”
“The calcium makes bones grow up.
Like buildings. Higher.”
“If you fall, you can break your bone.
The skin will break off and blood
everywhere. And then bacteria will
come!”
Forman (1989) suggests that it is not
important whether children’s theories are logical or whether children
believe the theories they propose; he
suggests, instead, that these theories
reveal the questions children have
about how things work and the understandings they are constructing
about larger ideas and concepts in
their world. We asked the workshop
participants to reflect on the children’s statements about bones, considering the children’s theories and
questions, and the connections the
children and they themselves made
to other experiences and ideas, and,
their own curiosities. We also asked
workshop participants how they
would respond with curriculum,
based on these interpretations from
children. These are questions that
we reflect on when we plan as a
teaching team.
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Emergent curriculum is not just
about following children’s interests from one day to the next. It
is about working with them to
determine directions for exploration and offering up questions
and contradictory understandings as a way to think together
more deeply.
Participants made connections
between the skeleton of a house
(wood frame) and that in the body.
They remarked on the way that
children connect the bones to part
of a complex system that helps our
body move. They noted the idea
of strength embedded in the children’s conceptualization of bones.
Discussing participants’ reflections
and ideas was a learning process
for us, and we hope for the participants themselves. Seeking multiple
perspectives can provide different
ways to interpret, analyze, and relate to an experience or idea. This
prioritizes diversity and complexity
rather than uniformity.
Following the discussion, we presented the way that our teaching
team interpreted and responded to
the children’s questions. This was
not meant as a way of presenting
a “correct” approach but to show
one possible pathway through this
inquiry. In the project, we suspected
that the children were intrigued by
broken bones because they contain
a contradiction: something hard
and strong can also be fragile.
German philosopher and author
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe has
a well-known quote: “What we
agree with leaves us inactive, but
contradiction makes us productive.”
Contradictions, such as bones being
both strong and fragile, can inspire
an exploration of the complexities
of an idea (things are never black
and white) and provoke us into
action as we seek to reconcile conflicting ideas.
In the project, we explored bones
from a literal perspective. For example, we offered the children an
opportunity to explore a cow’s femur and X-rays of human bodies.
We also explored philosophical
understandings and meanings of
strength with the children. We
asked ourselves and the children:
What is strength? How can something or someone become strong?
Can something be strong and not
strong at the same time? How do
you know something is strong if you
can’t see strength?
We explored these questions verbally but also with other mediums or
languages. For example, one of our
practicum students was inspired
by the way thin blades of grass can
poke their way through concrete
and she took the children for walks
outside to look for “strength.” The
children photographed strength
in their environment and brought
their observations back to the preschool for discussion, raising many
more questions. Is something still
strong after it dies? Is a tree still
strong when it isn’t whole? Do you
have to be strong to keep something
safe? Other children used paint
and palettes to mix the “colour of
strength.” Some mixed “rock grey”
because of the hardness of rocks.
Others mixed “sunshine yellow”
because the sun is strong enough to
burn the clouds away. Another child
mixed purple because, “strength is
beautiful like purple.”
We also thought that it would be
interesting to represent strength
three dimensionally, and we proposed to the children that we
create a sculpture called “Strong.”
Public art in general and particularly in three-dimensional form is
intended not just to be viewed but
also to be experienced in order to
provoke new perspectives, literally
and metaphorically. We invited the
children to bring “strong” items
from home for the sculpture. The
children worked with these items
building mini-sculptures and, in
the process, they made friends with
the materials and got to know each
other’s perspectives on strength.
One child created a sculpture called
“Galloping Horse.” We wondered
if she sees strength in the sound of
the horse’s hooves pounding on the
hard ground, the sight of a horse’s
massive legs, or the speed of a galloping horse.
We suspected that the children
were intrigued by broken bones
because they contain a contradiction: something hard and
strong can also be fragile.
After some time, the children
drew a plan for a group sculpture
called “Strong.” Each class added
to the plan, connecting their ideas
to the previous classes’. The plan
included a bridge, a mountain,
two tall ladders that reach to the
sky, and a mouth to eat food to
help the sculpture get stronger. We
were curious about the children’s
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ideas: Do they see strength in the
physicality of a bridge that is able
to hold many people at the same
time? Do they see strength as an
act of bravery, for example, crossing a bridge over a raging river or a
mean troll? Is strength having the
courage to climb to overwhelming
heights? Is there strength in being so
high that you can look down upon
everything? How can things that are
little also be strong?
Once the plans were complete,
the children began to create their
sculpture using the materials that
they brought from home as well as
other materials from the classroom.
They sawed, hammered, and paper
mached the sculpture. As they built,
the children also began to interact
with the sculpture. They climbed up
the ladder, higher and higher each
day until most children managed
to climb to the very top. Others
began to incorporate the sculpture
into their play and storytelling. One
group acted out their own script
entitled, “The Crocodile and the
Soup”:
“Once upon a time there was a Super
Lamb. And someone was in trouble.
The crocodile fell in the soup! There
were carrots and salt and pepper and
a crocodile, too. So the troll almost ate
it and then she noticed the crocodile
and screamed and ran to her house.
The Super Lamb noticed the cow was
in trouble because the witch got some
really sticky Ticky Tac on the cow and
the cow got stuck. Then the Super
Lamb came to the rescue. And she
gave the Ticky Tac to the witch and
then Super Lamb came to rescue the
crocodile with her strong muscles.”
We were intrigued by the complex
views of strength in this story. A
This project at our preschool
highlighted for us that curriculum is not a race; when we take
time to dwell with ideas, we can
build relationships with each
other, materials, and concepts.
scary crocodile is the one who needs
help in this story. A grumpy old
troll is scared of others. A soft lamb
is the strong hero. It is the emotional manifestations of strength—
friendship and sharing—that save
the day.
During the conference workshop,
we also discussed with participants
the children’s theories of blood
and the heart and our explorations
of these ideas with the preschool
children.
We concluded the workshop by reflecting on our own learning about
education itself. This project at our
preschool highlighted for us that
curriculum is not a race; when we
take time to dwell with ideas, we
can build relationships with each
other, materials, and concepts. We
reflected a great deal on the importance of acting with intention.
Emergent curriculum is not just
about following children’s interests
from one day to the next. It is about
working with them to determine
directions for exploration and offering up questions and contradictory
understandings as a way to think
together more deeply. Finally, we
reflected on the meaning of education—not just as the acquisition of
skills and facts—but also as a process
of participating with others to keep
wondering and desire to learn. In the
words of Anna Sfard (1998, p. 11) “If
one is concerned with educational
issues—such as the mechanisms
that enable successful learning or
make its failure persistent, then
the participatory approach may
be more helpful as one that denies
the traditional distinction between
cognition and affect, brings social
factors to the fore, and thus deals
with an incomparably wider range
of relevant aspects.”
We ended the workshop by asking
the participants to think about how
the ideas of the workshop inspired
or challenged their thinking. We
invite you to do same!
References
Forman, G. (1989). “Helping Children
Ask Good Questions.” In Neugebauer,
B. (Ed). The wonder of it: Exploring
how the world works. Redmond, WA:
Exchange Press, pp. 21–24.
Martusewicz, R.A. (1997). “Say me to
me: Desire and education.” In Todd, S.
(Ed.). Learning desire: Perspectives on
pedagogy, culture, and the unsaid. New
York & London: Routledge, pp. 97–116.
Rinaldi, C. (2006). In Dialogue with
Reggio Emilia: Listening, researching and
learning. Oxon, UK: Routledge.
Sfard, A. (1998). “On Two Metaphors
for Learning and the Dangers of Choosing Just One.” Educational Researcher,
27(2), pp. 4–13.
Rachel Rosen, M.A., has been an
early childhood educator at Brentwood Preschool since 2002 and also
teaches in the ECCE programs at
Capilano University and Burnaby
School District 41. The entire teaching team at Brentwood Preschool
(Melanie Castro-Shibaoka, Marina
Giovinazzo, Cristina Primerano,
and Rachel Rosen) presented this
workshop at the ECEBC Annual
Conference.
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Early Childhood Education is Leadership
By Marc Tatanasci Lalonde
At this year’s conference, Marc
Tatanasci Lalonde gave three
inpsiring workshops on leadership. This article summarizes
some of his observations about
leadership and the fact that
early childhood educators already have the key traits that
are required in an effective
leader.
Have you ever heard of Robert
Fulghum’s phrase: “All I really need
to know I learned in kindergarten”?
Although sage advice, obviously
he didn’t have a quality child care
experience; otherwise, he would
have learned these lessons before
he entered school. This helped me
realize that most of what I know
about leadership, I learned as an
early childhood educator.
Leadership and management are
two different things. Management
requires a person to pay attention
to details and relies on control and
outputs (products). Leadership is
focused on the process of empowerment and innovation. Management
certainly has its uses, especially
when dealing with budgets, safety,
and paperwork, but it has its limitations when inspiring others to
greater heights. Leadership, however, is about creating environments
to stimulate people’s learning by
building on their strengths and
interests. Does any of this sound
familiar?
When researching leadership, one
must prowl the business section of
bookstores; some even have specific
shelves dedicated to leadership. Giants in the field like Warren Bennis,
Peter Drucker, Stephen Covey, and
John Maxwell all agree on the central tenets of effective leadership:
leaders have vision, they develop
people, and they lead by example.
Leaders focus on the vision and
mission statements of an organization. Successful visions are those
everyone buys into and believes.
ECEs believe in providing rich,
stimulating environments that support and enhance children’s overall
development. A centre’s mission
statement will be in harmony with
the core values shared by early
childhood educators. By using the
vision as a context, leaders focus
on the process of “creating the
how” for staff to achieve personal
and organizational goals. Think
of it like emergent curriculum.
Emergent curriculum and leadership share many similar concepts.
They are both based on recognizing,
acknowledging, and building on
interests and strengths.
To recognize staff interests and
strengths, leaders need to pay attention. This means observing people
in a non-judgemental manner.
ECEs know how to do this with
children; they know how to let go
of an agenda and be open to a sense
of wonderment and curiosity. Leaders need to do this with their staff.
All too often we can be critical of
and focused on where individuals
need to improve. Leaders need to
remember that, just like children,
for every challenging behaviour an
adult will also display several positive behaviours and strengths.
Children need reassurance and
encouragement, and adults are
no different. Adrian Gostick and
Chester Elton are authors of a series
of books dedicated to The Carrot
Principle, which provides practical advice on how to recognize
and reward employees. They have
documented how this can engage
people and move them from completing ordinary duties to achieving
magnificent performance.
As an elder ECE, I remember a
time when we would plan out the
curriculum and develop activities
around the themes we decided on.
Although developmentally appropriate practices taught us to incorporate children’s interests in themes,
emergent curriculum has refocused
our efforts on building topics based
on children’s interests and inspiring
them to greater learning opportunities. The same principle applies
to adults. By supporting people in
their area of interest, leaders can
create environments where people
are motivated to achieve more
than what is required in their job
descriptions.
We know children need to experiment with materials and work
through trial-and-error experiences
to gain new knowledge. Leaders
understand how essential this is in
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In preparing children for elementary school, ECEs know emotional
and social skills have a great impact
on children’s future success. Goleman, Boyatzis, and McKee (2002)
identified emotional and social
competence for leaders in their
book Primal Leadership. ECEs
know how to support children’s selfawareness and help them manage
difficult emotions. Leaders must
practise this knowledge on a personal level. Remember, the staff are
always watching.
Actions speak louder than words
and leaders must lead by example.
ECEs are educated to provide an
example for children to follow.
It is no different for leaders; like
ECEs, they must lead by example.
If staff are expected to treat one
another in proactive ways, leaders
must make sure their behaviours
provide models to follow. No one
is perfect and leaders will stumble,
but great leaders display integrity
and humility by openly admitting
mistakes and actively working on
correcting their actions. Of course
this also means leaders need to be
emotionally self-regulating and
socially competent.
When leaders are able to manage
their own emotions effectively, they
are more likely to lead others in proactive social interactions. Through
open and honest communication
leaders can facilitate staff in moving
towards greater performance. This
requires leaders to serve the people
who choose to follow them. Leaders need to be empathetic and build
bonds with colleagues to facilitate
collaborative efforts. As ECEs, we
already know how to do this with
children; after all, everything we
need to know about leadership, we
learned as early childhood educators.
References
Bennis, W., & B. Namus. (1997). Leaders: Strategies for taking charge. New
York, NY: Harper and Row Publishers.
Bruno, H. (2009). Leading on purpose:
Emotionally intelligent early childhood administration. New York, NY:
McGraw-Hill.
Covey, S. (1992). Principle centered leadership. New York, NY: Fireside Books.
Drucker, P. (1999). Management challenges for the 21st century. New York,
NY: HarperCollins Inc.
Goleman, D., R. Boyatzis & A. McKee.
(2002). Primal leadership: Realizing the
power of emotional intelligence. Boston,
MA: Harvard Business School Press.
Gostick, A. & C. Elton. (2007). The carrot principle. New York, NY: Free Press.
Gostick, A. & C. Elton. (2006). The
invisible employee. Realizing the hidden
potential in everyone. Hoboken, NJ:
John Wiley and Sons.
Maxwell, J. (2007). The 21 irrefutable laws of leadership. Nashville, TN:
Thomas Nelson Inc.
Marc Tatanasci Lalonde has 30 years
experience in the ECE field and manages the Tsleil-Waututh Child and
Family Development Centre.
supporting adult learning as well.
When staff have the responsibility
to fulfill a task, they must also have
the rights to make decisions. When
they make errors or miscalculations, they need to be supported
through the process as a learning
opportunity. Reflective supervision,
which focuses on learning, is an
enriching opportunity to gain more
knowledge and improve practice.
This will also create a sense of trust,
and trust is an important investment when leading others.
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Celebrating Diversity with Picture Books
by Carolyn Hart
In her workshop “Celebrating
Diversity with Picture Books,”
Carolyn Hart gave advice on
how to choose engaging picture books that will help children respect differences, have
empathy, and celebrate diversity.
Some of my fondest memories as a
parent and as a teacher involve sharing wonderful picture books with
children. Whether reading to our
own children or to a group, sharing a well-written and beautifully
illustrated book can be a magical
experience. I am a firm believer that
adults have an enormous responsibility when selecting the books they
share with youngsters. In addition,
reading great books aloud represents a tremendous opportunity
for learning and growth. We know
children will have stories that they
want to hear again (and again), and
it is our duty to complement their
much-loved favourites with books
that affirm and enlighten.
Whenever we share a book with
another person, our individual
perspectives play a part in the event.
Reading Robert Munsch’s I Love You
Forever can be an emotional experience for any parent. Children will
likely watch wide-eyed as an adult
is moved to tears. Conversely, some
books that captivate youngsters can
quickly bore an adult. I recently
received an e-mail from a mom of
three who said, “My four-year-old
son really enjoys those I Spy books
so it was nice to hear that there is
some end result to those painfully
boring books!” (In my presentation,
I had explained that I Spy or Spot
Seven books help children to notice
small details and, when shared with
an adult, can build vocabulary). To
be honest, I am grateful for the fact
that I didn’t share her view of the I
Spy series. My youngest son loved
looking for hidden pictures. We
spent hours carefully examining
photographs for treasures.
It is important to pause and think
about the diversity of perspectives that can exist within even a
small group of children. We will
likely have both boys and girls in the
group. We will have children with
many siblings as well as children
with no siblings, children who are
the oldest of three and others who
are the youngest, children who wear
glasses and those who don’t. Seated
in front of us will be a dazzling array
of sizes, shapes, faiths, skin colours,
abilities, cultures, interests, hobbies,
background knowledge, and family
situations. Some children will love
sports and others will be enamoured
with dinosaurs. Some will want to
read fairy tales and others want to
hear about fire trucks. When selecting books to read aloud, let’s ensure
that we take time to acknowledge
and celebrate how and why each of
the children is special and unique.
Well-chosen picture books will
help children to see themselves
and the world around them. With
the assistance of great read-alouds,
children can develop a strong sense
of identity and self worth. They can
discover that they share common
characteristics with others while
gaining respect for and an appreciation of how others appear, behave,
and feel. Choosing books wisely and
taking time to talk about the books
we read aloud will help children
gain perspective and will encourage
youngsters to respect differences,
to have empathy, and to celebrate
diversity.
Violet
Written by Tania Duprey Stehlik, Illustrated by Vanja Vuleta Jovanovic
Published by Second Story Press
When Violet attends her first day at
a new school, she meets red, yellow,
and blue children but she doesn’t see
any purple children. Upon returning home, her mother explains, “I
am red and daddy is blue and you,
my beauty, are a bit of us both.”
Together, they play with paints
and discover that many beautiful
colours are created through mixing.
Simply told, Violet is a lovely story
that reminds us of the richness and
splendor of a diverse community.
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beast causes him to worry when he
plays basketball, when he’s at home,
and when he’s at school. His anxiety
grows and grows until he learns
specific steps to cope with his worries. In addition to providing tips
for children, the authors also have
suggestions for parents.
All Kinds of Friends,
Even Green
So Close
Written and photographed by Ellen
B. Senisi
Written and illustrated by Natalia
Colombo
Published by Woodbine House,
Inc.
Published by Tundra Books
With a message that will resonate
with adults as well as children, So
Close reminds us that the possibility
of meeting a new friend is often not
far away. Beautifully illustrated, So
Close offers a gentle message that
a smile and a friendly, “Hello” can
make a world of difference.
The Friendship Puzzle:
Helping Kids Learn About
Accepting and Including
Kids With Autism
Written by Julie L. Coe, inspired
by Jennifer Maloni, illustrated by
Sondra L. Brassel
Published by Larstan Publishing
Inc.
David and the Worry
Beast
Written by Anne Marie Guanci and
Caroline Attia
Published by Small Horizons, an
imprint of New Horizon Press
Written especially to help children
cope with anxiety, David’s worry
When Mackenzie meets a new
boy in her class, she tries to be his
friend but he seems a little different. She subsequently decides to
find out how to be his friend. She
learns that Dylan “doesn’t have a
lot of words and that it is hard for
him to tell people he wants to play
or be friends.” In addition to telling
the story of Dylan and Mackenzie,
The Friendship Puzzle includes discussion questions and suggested
activities.
Here we accompany Moses on a
school day. When he is given an assignment to write about friends, he
carefully considers all of his friends
and all the fun things he does with
them. Ultimately, he decides to write
about an iguana named Zaki whose
toes were poisoned by mites. Moses
likes Zaki because “she figures out
how to get where she wants to be in
different ways.” Moses understands
that friends may be different on the
outside but may be very much alike
on the inside.
Carolyn Hart is a mother of two
and a BC certified teacher. She is
the BC regional officer for the Canadian Children’s Book Centre. She
presents workshops for parents and
professionals throughout BC. You
can contact her at [email protected]
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Move Over Praise!
Using Encouragement to Support Children
By Julia Black
In this conference workshop,
Julia Black explored the problems with using praise and why
it is more effective for adults
to use encouragement when
communicating with young
children.
Do you praise children in your
preschool or child care settings? Do
these statements sound familiar?
“I like your painting,” or the less
engaging “Good job,” or better yet,
“I like the way Jack is sitting…I can
tell he is ready for storytime.” If you
answered, “Yes,” then you join the
many others—both parents and
educators in the early childhood
field—that nurture our little “praise
junkies.” Many adults believe praise
is an effective way to help children
feel good about themselves and
their work. Praise is often thought of
as a management tool, a way to get
children ready to start an activity—
using praise to actually manipulate
behaviour. But what if what you
were doing was actually the opposite? Wouldn’t you want to rethink
the tools in your toolbox?
How do children respond to praise?
What is the difference between
praise and encouragement? How
do the two differ in their effects
on children, or do they? What are
the consequences for children and
adults when praise and rewards are
used frequently? These are some
of the questions you might ask
yourself as you evaluate your own
interaction style with children and
think about the kinds of interactions that you want to encourage
or develop.
The Problems with Praise
Despite the widespread and readily
accepted use of praise, researchers
and early childhood practitioners
have identified many drawbacks
to praising children. In the article,
“Your Praise Can Smother Learning,” D.L. Martin (1977) writes,
“Praise can actually lessen selfmotivation and cause children to
become dependent on rewards.
Praise may be useful in motivating students to learn by rote, but it
may actually discourage problemsolving.”
Praise leads to dependence on
adults because it encourages children to rely on authority figures
to solve problems for them and to
evaluate what is right, wrong, good,
or bad (Kamii, 1984). Praise can
discourage children’s efforts, have
a negative effect on self-image, and
can place children on the defensive by inviting competition and
comparison. Too much praise can
make children anxious about their
abilities, reluctant to take risks, and
unsure of how to evaluate their own
efforts. For adults to judge implies
superiority and takes away the
child’s ability to judge themselves;
external judgments do not lead to
self-reliance, self-direction, or selfcontrol. Think about it: if a child
can be judged positively, then they
can also be judged negatively. As an
adult says, “I like your dress” to one
child, another child within ear-shot
is thinking, “hmmm, what about my
dress…I guess it’s not pretty enough
to be noticed.”
When we consider what we know
about preschoolers—they need
independence and control and they
are becoming aware that they can
make their own choices and decisions—praise can actually hamper
their struggle for independence as
they develop the need to try to pull
praise from teachers. The child who
checks the teacher’s eye for approval
as he sits up straight in circle time
is the child whose confidence is
being eroded through praise statements. Praise can cause children to
take fewer chances; after all, they
can’t be good all of the time so they
don’t try.
Conference 2010
Alternatives to Praise
With all of the negative implications of praise, adults working
with young children need to begin
thinking about alternatives. When
your mouth opens to say, ”Good
job,” but you stop yourself in the
moment, what next? What will fill
the void? Consider for a moment
how you might provide encouragement instead of praise to support
children in their work and development. Rather than, “Good job, Jack,
you’re working hard.” We might say,
“Jack, you have been working with
that drill for a long time. What are
you building?” By changing the
language in our statements and
comments, we create greater opportunity for dialogue, for scaffolding
children’s learning, and for allowing
them to evaluate their own work,
rather than developing the need to
seek external acknowledgement for
their work. “Encouragement…fosters autonomy, positive self-esteem,
a willingness to explore, and an acceptance of self and others. ” (Hitz
and Driscoll, 1998)
language of the child. Other strategies to support adults as partners
in play include imitating children’s
actions—try using the materials in
the same way as the children do
and assuming a role in their pretend play.
Encourage
Encourage children to describe
their efforts, ideas, and products.
The goal is to have children evaluate
their own work. We want children
to develop self-esteem and feel good
about their ideas. So rather than
responding to a child’s question,
“Do you like this?” with “Good job,
Jack,” you might say, “I can see that
you used a lot of different umbrellas and frogs. I’m interested in what
this is. Can you tell me a little bit
about it?”
Get down to the child’s level and engage in an authentic conversation by
asking open-ended questions about
the child’s work, process, or ideas.
By asking genuine questions that
relate directly to what the child is
doing and his thought processes,
you are showing that child that you
are really interested in his work
and that what he is doing must be
important enough that you want to
learn more. In this example, by simply saying, “Good job, Jack” we are
not engaging the child in conversation. How else would I have learned
that what the child had constructed
was a frog paradise with umbrellas
to provide shade for the frogs if I
hadn’t engaged the child in a conversation? What a wonderful way
to show your love and support for
a child and to validate their work!
It’s so much more meaningful than
walking by and saying, “Good job,
look at what you have done,” or,
“Good job, I love your building.”
What if you don’t love it? What are
you telling that child then?
Although well intentioned, our
messaging changes from a place of
wanting to build self-esteem and
show our appreciation of individual
children to one that says, “no matter
what you do, I will like it anyway.”
The HighScope Educational Research Foundation (2007) recommends three alternatives to praise
that have a lasting impact on child
development: participate in children’s play, encourage children to
describe their efforts, and acknowledge children’s work by making
specific comments.
Participate
As adults participate in children’s
play, adults become partners in
play by taking turns, matching
the children’s level of complexity,
and following their lead. Practise
SOUL (silence, observation, understanding, and listening) to the
When we take time to encourage children and ask questions, we might learn that a
child’s creation is a “frog paradise with umbrellas to provide shade for the frogs.”
Conference 2010
Is that a fair representation of what
happens in the real world? Is that
how we want children to evaluate
their own work and efforts? When
we give external rewards to children, they are taught to listen to
an external voice rather than an
internal one and external rewards
will actually decrease effort.
Acknowledge
Acknowledge children’s efforts
and ideas by making specific, nonjudgmental comments. Make observations about what the child is
doing and avoid unnecessary questions such as those that you already
know the answers to. Be specific in
describing what you see and focus
on the process, effort, or work and
not on the child. Young children are
at a sensitive period for learning and
they get pleasure from learning new
things. With encouragement, the
impetus to learn comes from within
the child. The child’s personal inter-
ests, questions, and intentions lead
to exploration, experimentation,
and the construction of new knowledge and understanding.
to one that supports independence,
self-control, confidence, and the
ability to be intrinsically motivated
to explore and learn.
Learning to use praise less often
with the children you work with is
easier if the alternatives to praise are
clear. Practise becoming more engaged with children, really evaluating interactions with children, and
moderating when praise is used.
Julia Black, B.A., ECE, M.B.A., lives
in Brackendale, BC, with her husband and two young boys and works
as an early childhood consultant. She
is a faculty member of the Department of Early Childhood Care and
Education at Capilano University
and works as a field consultant for
the HighScope Educational Research
Foundation.
Breaking Old Habits and
Praising Less Often
Consider if there might be alternatives to each praise situation. If
unsure if you are using praise or
encouragement, ask yourself a series of questions:
• Am I creating conditions for the
child to become more deeply
involved in what she is doing?
“Good job.”
• Am I turning the task into something the child does to win my
approval? “Beautiful picture,
Charlie.”
• Am I attempting to manipulate
or control behaviour by getting
the child to think about whether
she has met the criteria? “I like
the way Jack is sitting, he is ready
for snack.”
It is difficult to praise less often,
old habits are difficult to break.
Support yourself in this process.
If you teach in a team, use each
other for support and evaluation.
Ask each other, “What could have
been done differently?” Think of all
of the right reasons that you work
with young children and let that be
your motivation to move from a
place that creates “praise junkies”
References
HighScope Educational Research
Foundation (2007). HighScope approach
to preschool education: Adult-child interaction, participant guide. 2nd Edition.
Ypsilanti Michigan: HighScope Press,
36–39.
Hitz, R. & A. Driscoll. (July 1988).
“Praise or Encouragement? New Insights Into Praise: Implications for Early
Childhood Teachers.” Young Children,
6–11.
Kamii, C. (April 1984). “Viewpoint:
Obedience is Not Enough.” Young Children, 11–14.
Martin, D.L. (1977). “Your Praise Can
Smother Learning.” Learning, 5(6),
43–51.
Resources
The Period of PURPLE Crying:
A New Initiative about Infant Crying
By Claire Yambao
Prevent Shaken Baby Syndrome
BC is implementing the Period of
PURPLE Crying: A New Way to
Understand your Baby’s Crying.
This is a province-wide initiative
which changes the way parents and
caregivers are educated about normal infant crying and the dangers of
shaken baby syndrome (SBS).
like they are in pain, even when
they are not.
Crying is the most common stimulus to shaking; physical abuse, specifically SBS, is the leading cause of
serious head injury in children aged
two and under. The Period of PURPLE Crying provides educational
information about infant crying as
well as appropriate action steps that
caregivers need to know.
The three action steps advise caregivers how to respond to crying in
order to reduce crying as much as
possible and to prevent shaking
and abuse:
The educational component helps
caregivers understand the normality of the frustrating properties of
crying—even in infants with colic—
and that, in almost every case, the
crying will come to an end at about
five months. Each of the letters in
the word PURPLE refers to one of
these properties:
P for Peak of Crying—Crying peaks
during the second month, decreasing after that.
U for Unexpected—Crying comes
and goes unexpectedly, for no apparent reason.
R for Resists Soothing—Crying
continues despite all soothing efforts by caregivers.
P for Pain-like Face—Infants look
L for Long Lasting—Crying can
go on for 30 to 40 minutes, and
longer.
E for Evening Crying—Crying occurs more in the late afternoon and
evening.
• Caregivers should respond to
their infant with “comfort, carry,
walk, and talk” behaviours. This
encourages caregivers to increase contact with their infant
to reduce some of the fussing, to
attend to their infant’s needs, and
to not neglect them.
nese, Korean, Portuguese, Punjabi,
Spanish, Somali, and Vietnamese.
Funding has been made possible
through the BC Ministry of Children and Family Development to
ensure that all families of newborns
receive the program.
For additional information on this
prevention initiative, please visit
Prevent Shaken Baby Syndrome
BC’s web site at www.dontshake.
ca.
Claire Yambao is the provincial
coordinator of Prevent Shaken Baby
Syndrome BC. Claire is responsible
for coordinating implementation of
the PURPLE program with hospitals, health units, and community
programs province-wide.
• It is okay to walk away if and
when the crying becomes too
frustrating. If the crying becomes too frustrating, caregivers should put the infant in a
safe place and take a moment to
calm down.
• It is never okay to shake or hurt
an infant to stop the crying under any circumstances.
The Period of PURPLE Crying is
presented as a 10-minute DVD
and an 11-page booklet. The DVD
and booklet are packaged together
and are available in 10 languages—
English, Cantonese, French, JapaThe Early Childhood Educator Summer 2010 27
Leadership Initiative
Leadership Institute April 2010
By Emily Mliezko and Rita Chudnovsky
Just prior to the conclusion of the
2009/2010 Leadership Initiatiave
at the conference in May, ECEBC
launched the 2010/2011 Leadership
Initiative in April. ECEBC hosted a
five-day Leadership Institute from
April 12 to 16, 2010. This was the
first of three Institutes that will
bring together participants from the
2010 Communities of Leadership
Innovation. The second Institute
will be held in November and the
final Institute will coincide with
the ECEBC Annual Conference in
May 2011.
The group of 26 Institute participants included licensed-to-practice
ECEs who initiated each of the
community projects. They will play
an ongoing leadership role in these
projects.
Rita Chudnovsky, ECEBC’s Leadership Initiative coordinator, designed
and facilitated the Institute with
active involvement from a number
of key presenters.
The Leadership Institute integrated
three strands:
• Building an ECE Culture of
Leadership
• Building Leadership Capacity
• Community Project
Development
The agenda built on the first Leadership Institute in 2009 with the
following changes:
• The individual and group leadership activities used to build an
ECE culture of leadership were
refined to use a wider range of
reflective and sharing activities
• The Most Significant Change
Technique, introduced mid-way
through Round 1, was introduced at the beginning of the
process and used to frame the
Project Development Framework and Closing Circle.
• ECEBC’s level of confidence
and trust in the capacity of the
participants was more explicitly built into expectations that
communities will be ready to
showcase their projects at the
November Institute and offer
ECEBC’s 2010/2011 Leadership Initiative participants
workshops on leadership in May
2011.
Once again, this Leadership Institute exceeded all expectations. We
are more confident than ever that
ECEs will rise to the occasion when
given the opportunity to feel proud
of the leadership contribution they
can and do make. Participants went
away ready to begin their own leadership journey. As they said of the
experience:
“This was probably the best training
experience I have had.”
“The learning that took place in this
room for a week was amazing and
powerful.”
“I felt…completely validated, empowered, and energized.”
We are excited about the work the
2010 Leadership Institute participants are doing within their communities around the province. As
the leadership projects develop, we
will continue to provide updates.
2010/2011 Leadership Initiative Participants
Comox Valley
Charlene Gray
Laurel E Hodgins
Tracy Wharram
Southern Gulf Islands
Janet Hoag
Andrea Hollingsworth
Kathryn Akehurst
Atlin and surrounding
northern communities
Trudy Ewing
Tammy Fetterly
Coalition of Child Care
Advocates of BC
Caroline Kent
Stephanie Seaman
Crystal Janes
Sto:lo Nation
Bibiana Norris
Mary Stewart
Shuswap Children’s Association
Catherine Pengelly
Margo Van de Cappelle
Chris Marteinsson
Kaslo and surrounding rural
communities
Sarah Evans
Catherine Anne Heard
Ktunaxa Community
Danette Fritz
Charlene Mary Sperling
South Asian Community of
Surrey/Delta and White Rock
Jasbir Randhawa
Ranjit Garcha
Harpreet Sidhu
Renfrew-Collingwood
Neighbourhood of East
Vancouver
Renuka Bhardwaj
Sabrina Bantog
Osialine Marshall
Mary Stewart
Crystal Janes
Kathryn Akehurst and Janet Hoag
Sarah Evans and Danette Fritz
Bibiana Norris
Jasbir Randhawa
Stephanie Seaman
Trudy Ewing
Margo Van de Cappelle
l to r: Renuka Bhardwaj, Sabrina Bantog, and Osaline Marshall
Tammy Fetterling (l) and Catherine Anne Heard
ANNUAL REPORT 2009
President’s Report
This is my final report as your
President of ECEBC. I want to
thank all of the wonderful people I
have had the opportunity of working with over the past three years.
My time on the Board has been a
tremendous and wonderful learning experience for me. Our field is
truly unique in our ability to work
as a collaborative team. As early
childhood educators we always
refer to our experience and finding
ways to expand upon them, and
within this realm I found myself
growing daily. I want to thank our
Board, staff, and volunteers for my
growing experience.
This has been a year of building
on our work and building on our
partnerships within our changing
ECE field. Change often can be
uncomfortable; however with the
common focus for our field to move
forward, change can be used as an
opportunity to grow and evolve.
The Executive Director and the
Board of Directors have been committed to working within the budgets and resources provided from
our endowment funds allocated to
specific projects. Because membership revenue continues to provide
limitations, without the funds from
the endowment, many projects
wouldn’t have been so successful
for us this year. ECEBC’s Treasurer,
Brenda Tilk, has worked closely with
our Accountant Dorothy Buckland,
CGA, to prepare an annual budget
and year-end statement. This year’s
lower revenues are mainly due to
lower membership and reduced
conference revenues. On a positive note, our education programs,
Student Bursary Program, and
Leadership Initiative continue to
be successful and a benefit for the
entire early childhood sector.
I would like to thank the Conference Committee for their careful
management of reduced funds and
for yet again bringing an exceptional conference. Although we may
have a deficit from the conference,
we continue to see the value and importance of providing a conference
to our members and will continue
to find ways to provide successful
conferences.
that will allow us to continue with
the projects and look to keep our
conference deficit minimal or nonexistent for the coming years. We
are continuing to find ways to have
other projects either continue or be
supported through ECEBC. These
include the ECEBC Student Bursary Program and Let’s Talk About
Touching.
To all of our members, funding
agencies, specifically Vancity Community Foundations, and supporters, thank you for moving our work
forward within the early learning
care community.
Respectfully submitted,
Vi-Anne Zirnhelt
President ECEBC
Under the leadership of our new
Executive Director, Emily Mlieczko,
and newly elected President, Denise
Marshall, the Board of Directors
will work to have a 2010 budget
ANNUAL REPORT 2009
Board of Directors 2009/2010
ECEBC Staff
President
Member at Large
Executive Director
Lynne Brown
Sheila Davidson
Member at Large
Membership and Bursary
Administrator
Vi-Anne Zirnhelt
Secretary-Treasurer
Brenda Tilk
Denise Marshall
Michelle Gilmour
Appointed Member
Barb Duffy
Director of Professionalism
Joan Astren
ECIN-Articulation
Roni Cahen
Yasmin Irani
Office Manager and
Leadership Administrator
Maria Mejia
Director of Personnel
Mary Peirce-Biagi
Director of Conference
Lynn McBride
TAKING CARE half page eng
1/20/10
5:00 PM
Page 1
Taking care of you
is our priority...
leaving you to care
for your priorities.
www.WINTERGREEN.ca
ANNUAL REPORT 2009
BALANCE SHEET
As of December 31, 2009
Unaudited – see notice to reader
Actual
ASSETS
Current Assets
Cash
Investments
Accounts Receivable
Prepaids/Deposits
Capital Assets (net)
TOTAL ASSETS
CURRENT
MONTH PREVIOUS
MONTH PRIOR
YEAR
28,341 140,542 0
7,898 176,782 51,905 140,542 0
8,195 200,642 48,895
25,542
13,660
9,044
97,141
-
176,782 -
200,642 97,141
63,087 -
-
63,087 (697)
-
-
(697)
7,441
(2,791)
4,772
9,421
30,649 57,072 25,975 113,695 176,782 30,649 57,072 113,619 201,339 200,642 30,649
57,072
87,720
97,141
LIABILITIES, NET ASSETS & FUNDS
Current Liabilities
Accounts Payable & Accrued Liabilities
Payroll Liabilities
CCFED Fees in Trust
Total Current Liabilites
Net Assets & Funds
Unexpended Program Funds(opening)
Unrestricted Net Assets
Current Surplus(Deficit) & Change in Fund Balances
TOTAL LIABILITIES, NET ASSETS & FUNDS
Notice to Reader
On the basis of information provided by management, I have compiled the statement of financial position of
the Early Childhood Educators of BC as at December 31, 2009 and the statements of operations and changes
in net assets for the year then ended.
I have not performed an audit or a review engagement in respect of these financial statements and, accordingly, I express no assurance on them.
Readers are cautioned that these statements may not be appropriate for their purposes.
Dorothy Buckland, CGA
July 15, 2010
ANNUAL REPORT 2009
Statement of Operations
For the year ending December 31, 2009
Unaudited – See notice to Reader
REVENUES
Leadership Fund
Conference Revenue
Memberships
Endowment
Bursary
Merchandise
Sales and Journal
Other
LTAT Grant Revenue
TOTAL REVENUES
2008
2009
46,329 190,664 76,219 85,500 119,194 330 7,673 1,652 30,000 557,561 271,564
164,470
93,055
77,357
61,172
12,841
4,070
1,407
685,936
EXPENSES
Leadership Institute
38,141 197,515
Conference
178,189 165,134
Endowment Expenses
84,759 83,427
Wages and benefits
59,375 74,142
Bursary Expenses
119,152 60,719
Journal Production
26,347 23,688
CCCF Membership
20,156
LTAT Grant Expenses
8,797 17,729
Office and Administration
10,957 12,600
Board Expenses
10,133 11,632
Premises & Maintenance
8,619 9,722
Accounting and Legal
10,289 8,094
Renovations and Furniture
18,538 7,934
GST Expense prior years
6,706
Membership Database
6,060
Postage and Delivery
3,872 3,774
Retreat
255 2,265
Other
372 2,239
Computer Maintenance
1,645
Travel and meetings
1,771 768
Telephone 2,945 715
Insurance
2,330 541
Membersips and Association
2,087 300
Website Maintenance
530 144
Materials and Kits
3,176 14
Administration Recovery from Grants
(45,457)
(57,702)
Advocacy
1,596 546,773 659,961
Excess of Revenue over Expenses
10,788 25,975
ANNUAL REPORT 2009
ECEBC BRANCH REPORTS
The following branches submitted reports on highlights from the past year.
Caledonia Branch (Prince George)
The Caledonia Branch has had a steady membership
this year and is always looking for more ways to reach
out to other providers in the community and find ways
to meet the needs of our members. Meetings and events
held by the branch this year have been open to all child
care providers and have encouraged providers to find
out more about membership and to be a part of local
networking.
The Caledonia Branch holds meetings every second
month between September and May. During this past
year we have had potlucks, a make-and-take craft night,
and have had a guest speaker night. In May we look
forward to elections of seven of our executive positions, as well as the celebration of the 2010 graduating
class of Early Childhood Educators from the College
of New Caledonia.
I came into the position of chair in May 2009, and as
my time now comes to an end I will take with me a year
of growth and many learning opportunities. Although
accomplishments of the past year may feel insignificant
or small, I’ve come to realize that they’re all actions that
have helped to set change in motion. I look forward
to seeing the changes of the next year, and what it will
bring not only for my local branch but for the provincial
membership as well.
Branch elections and membership outreach
Branch activities, events, and workshops
• In November we had a make-and-take craft night.
• In March we had a guest speaker speaking about the
importance of ECE and what it means to be a part
of a local and provincial membership.
• In May we held our AGM and student award celebration night. One student will be awarded sponsorship of both a provincial and local ECEBC Student
membership.
Outstanding issues for the past year
• Providing more professional development for members, such as workshops and more guest speakers.
• Gaining more members, trying to entice new ECEs
to the field to join and find value in becoming a
member.
• Finding a balance with meeting dates and times.
The first meeting in September and our AGM in
May have always had larger turnouts. We’re trying
to find ways to generate more interest for the other
three meetings; however, weather is usually a large
factor in low turnouts in our community during
these winter months.
Sydney Rustemeyer, Chair, ECEBC Caledonia Branch,
Prince George
• This year at our AGM we will be electing seven of
our eight executive positions.
• This year we’ve had all child care providers open
to attending the meetings and activities/events
we’ve held in order to reach out and gain more
members.
• We have had surveys, questionnaires, and discussions to find out what members want out of a local
membership and what we can change.
ANNUAL REPORT 2009
Comox Valley Branch
Nanaimo Branch
This past year our branch has built on the collaborations
and partnerships that we have developed over the past
few years. We continue to sit on the local Early Years
Interagency Council as well as the School District’s
Early Learning Committee. We partnered with the
Child Development Association to offer a workshop
with Debra Mayer and are embarking on a professional
development partnership with the Child Care Resource
and Referral office. We have made presentations to
the ECE students at North Island College and hosted
a celebration dinner for them each June. Our branch
recognized National Child Day with our annual Guest
Reader project, where community members are invited
into centres to read a book chosen and provided by our
branch. As well, we participated in Kidsfest, hosting a
craft and information table.
The Nanaimo Branch currently has 23 paid members
and meetings/socials are held September through June
at different licensed facilities throughout the community. This gives members an opportunity to visit
other centres to learn about the centre’s philosophy
and program. The turnout for meetings was very good
this year, with 20 to 30 people attending each month.
Some of the guest speakers included Sheila Davidson,
Executive Director ECEBC at the time, Elizabeth Pennell, coordinator for early years for School District 68,
and Charlene Gray and Colleen Friendship.
Other highlights include:
• ECE/kindergarten teacher meet and greet dinner.
• Attendance by ECEs at school “Welcome to Kindergarten” events.
• Partnering with kindergarten teachers to create
and produce booklets to give to every child prior to
school entry. These books include photos and text
about the children’s new school. A larger version of
the books will be placed in every centre for ECEs
and parents to read with the children.
• Continued joint professional development with our
school district.
• Attended all-day kindergarten planning meetings.
We are also excited that branch members are participating in the Communities of Leadership Innovation
project this year.
We will be holding elections in September and, as
always, are working on ways to expand local and provincial memberships.
Along with our fellow provincial ECEs, we will continue
to watch for announcements regarding the government’s plans for four- and three-year-olds following the
implementation of all-day kindergarten.
Charlene Gray and Laurel Hodgins, Co-chairs, Comox
Valley Branch
Full-day kindergarten and how it will affect the children
in our care and the enrollment at facilities was a concern
of members and other ECEs in the community. We
invited Elizabeth Pennell, the early years coordinator
for School District 68, to speak at our April meeting.
This meeting led to kindergarten teachers and ECEs
attending a meeting in May. Another meeting will take
place in the fall of 2010. Charlene Gray and Colleen
Friendship did a presentation on “Seamless Transitions
to Kindergarten” to our branch in May.
Amber McLeod and Kolbie Rai, Co-chairs, Nanaimo
Branch
ANNUAL REPORT 2009
North Okanagan Branch
Prince Rupert Branch
Accomplishments:
This year Prince Rupert celebrated its 100th birthday,
and part of this celebration was a children’s parade
through downtown. Many families, child care providers, and children joined in the festivities.
• Spring conference (May 2009) partnership with
ECD Coalition, ECEBC, Supported Child Development/Child Care Resource and Referral.
• May is Child Care Month event with Vi-Anne Zirnhelt (May 2010).
• Representation on ECD Coalition Child, Youth,
and Family Committee, Crime Prevention through
Social Development Child Care Action Team.
• Branch Chair of program advisory ECE program at
Okanagan College.
• Great community involvement at ECEBC Conference and gala.
Issues in area:
• Shortage of ECEs.
• Financial cutbacks, shortfalls for child care centres.
• Lake of interest in attending regular ECE meetings.
• Lack of local funds to attend ECEBC Conference
2010.
Priorities for action:
• Increasing branch membership.
• Working with local coalition to get more with school
districts, municipalities in North Okanagan.
• Connecting the early childhood community through
advocacy events, continuing education, and social
networking.
Lynne Reside, Chair, North Okanagan Branch
In collaboration with the 2009 Communities of Innovation Leadership group, the Prince Rupert Branch hosted
a luncheon for the ECE community. We welcomed Rita
Chudnovsky, ECEBC’s Leadership Coordinator, and
Sheila Davidson, ECEBC’s Executive Director at the
time, as guest speakers.
During the next year the Prince Rupert Branch will be
having a membership drive to increase our membership
locally and provincially.
Katie Wahl, Chair, Prince Rupert Branch
Terrace Branch
The Terrace Branch of ECEBC is in the throes of planning a conference for September 2010. This will be our
15th conference, which has been mostly annual with
only a couple of years missed. Early childhood educators from the Bulkley Valley region hosted a conference
in Smithers in the fall of 2009 and about 20 people from
Terrace were able to make the two-hour drive to participate. We hope to partner with them and alternate an
annual conference between Terrace and the Bulkley Valley group. It was rewarding to make more connections
and we hope to continue this through partnering and
sharing of future conferences across the northwest.
We have about 10 to 15 people who regularly attend our
meetings, and the May meeting will include election of
board members and planning advocacy strategies to
promote the work we do as being valuable but under
funded. We continue to struggle with lack of substitutes,
retention of early childhood educators in the field, lack
of awareness of the importance of our work, and the
impact of full-day kindergarten.
Johanna Payjack and Terry Walker, Co-chairs, Terrace
Branch
ANNUAL REPORT 2009
ECEBC 2009/2010 Branches
Burnaby
Dawson Creek
Roxenne Harding, Chair
Candace May, Chair
Quesnel
Caledonia
Jocelyn Martin, Chair
East Kootenay
Kirstie Krisher, Chair
Surrey
Sydney Rustemeyer, Chair
Campbell River
Kamloops
Terrace
Kathy Rae, Chair
Marian Hardy, Chair
Central Okanagan
Nanaimo
Kim Chernenkoff, Chair
Comox
Amber McLeod and
Kolbie Rai, Co-chairs
Charlene Gray and
Laurel Hodgins,
Co-chairs
North Okanagan
Cowichan Valley
Joanna Mikkelson, Chair
Adriana Soler and
Kathy Williams,
Co-chairs
Lynne Reside, Chair
North Shore
Prince Rupert
Katie Wahl, Chair
Diba Ghazi, Chair
Terry Walker and
Johanna Payjack,
Co-chairs
Vancouver
Currently on hiatus,
looking for Executive
Victoria
Heather Peeters, Chair
West Kootenay
Lynn Proulx, Chair
ECEBC Bursary Program
Earlier this summer, ECEBC regrettably had to suspend the ECEBC Student Bursary Program due to an
exponential increase in ECEBC student bursary awards and the subsequent exhaustion of bursary funds.
Since that time, ECEBC has had meetings with relevant stakeholders to discuss the merits of ECEBC’s
Student Bursary Program and the possibility of a renewed funding agreement. All parties agreed that
the Student Bursary Program has been successful and agreed to continue dialogue about the future of
continuing the program.
After a further review of the ECEBC Student Bursary budget, we are pleased to announce that the Student
Bursary Program will be extended for the Summer 2010 semester only. Applications will be accepted from
Wednesday, July 28 to Tuesday, August 31, 2010.
If you have already submitted a Summer 2010 Bursary Program application and received an e-mail
notification stating that your application was accepted by the ECEBC office, please do not submit another
application for the Summer 2010 semester.
Please note that transcripts for the Summer 2010 semester must be received by the ECEBC office by
Thursday, September 30, 2010.
Bursary Application Forms
Application forms are available on our web site at www.ecebc.ca or by calling 604-709-6063 ext. 1.
You may submit your application forms by:
Fax: 604-709-6077
Mail: ECEBC Student Bursary Program, 2774 East Broadway, Vancouver BC V5M 1Y8
Please submit only one application form per person.
For More Information
For more information on eligibility criteria, how to fill out your application form, and how to submit your
transcript, visit the ECEBC web site at www.ecebc.ca.
The ECEBC Bursary Program is a partnership between Early Childhood Educators of BC (ECEBC) and the Vancity
Community Foundation with funds from the Ministry of Children and Family Development. The goal is to assist
ECE students with the cost of Basic and/or Post Basic Early Childhood Education programs at approved institutions.
Bursary applications are eligible for $200 per course (maximum of $1000 per semester).
Become a Montessori Teacher!
NAMC offers two diploma programs for adults interested in earning
their Montessori teaching certification:
• Birth – 3 years (Infant/Toddler program)
• 3 – 6 years (Early Childhood program)
NAMC’s programs are manageable and have been designed
specifically for busy educators with demanding personal lives.
If you can devote 3 hours a week to your studies, you can
become a certified Montessori teacher in 7 months.
Our programs appeal to people who are interested in:
• Working as a Montessori teacher
• Transforming an existing center into a Montessori center
• Opening their own Montessori center
www.montessoritraining.net
Toll free: 1.877.531.6665
North American Montessori Center
Earn your
Montesso
ri
Teaching D
iploma
without m
issing
a minute
of WORK!
Professional Development
WestCoast Workshops
All workshops take place at Westcoast Child Care
Resource Centre, 2772 East Broadway, Vancouver
Registration Information for Westcoast Workshops
To register, download and fill out the registration form
at www.wstcoast.org. Submit the completed registration form and payment in one of the following ways:
• Phone 604-709-5661 with VISA payment
information or fax registration form to 604-7095662 with VISA information.
• Mail registration form and payment to:
Training Registration
Westcoast Child Care Resource Centre
2772 East Broadway
Vancouver, BC, V5M 1Y8
• Drop by Westcoast Child Care Resource Centre
with registration form and payment Monday
through Friday from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.
Guidance and Preschoolers: Revisiting the Fundamentals
Saturday Workshop, Oct. 23, 10:30 am to 12:30pm
Fee: $35
School-Age Science Made Fun!
Saturday Workshop, Oct. 30, 10:30 am to 12:30 pm
Fee: $35
Conflict Resolution Skills for Young Children
Evening Workshop, Nov. 3, 7:00 to 9:00 pm
Fee: $35
Teacher Talk C: Fostering Peer Interactions in Early
Childhood Settings
Short Course, Nov. 6, 2010, 9:45 am to 4:30 pm
Fee: $95
The Virtues Project
Short Course, Nov. 27, 2010, 9:30 am to 5:00 pm
Fee: $95
Literacy Development through Cultural Teaching:
Aboriginal Activities Make and Take
Saturday Workshop, Sept. 11, 10:30 am to 12:30 pm
Fee: $40 (includes cost of materials)
Laurel Behaviour
Support Services
Helping Children Cope with Change
Saturday Workshop, Sept. 18, 10:30 am to 12:30 pm
Fee: $35
Empowering individuals diagnosed with
Autism Spectrum Disorder
and other developmental disabilities.
Reggio-Inspired Practice
Short Course, Sept 25, Oct 2, AND Oct 16,
10:00 am to 3:30 pm
Fee: $195
Teacher Talk A: Encouraging Language Development
in Early Childhood Settings
Short Course, Oct. 2, 9:45 am to 4:30 pm
Fee: $95
Wooden Spoons and Rhymes: Make and Take
Evening Workshop, Oct. 6, 7:00 to 9:00 pm
Fee: $40 (includes cost of materials)
Responsible Adult in Child Care Settings
20 Hour Course
Oct, 19 to Dec, 7 (8 Tuesdays), 6:45 to 9:15 pm
Fee: $160
We offer:
• Behaviour Consultation
• Training
• Family Support
Guided by the science of
Applied Behaviour Analysis,
we have been serving individuals
and families for over 40 years.
Opening doors to a world
of posAbilities!
Spaces available in our Early Intensive Behaviour
Intervention (EIBI) program.
For more information, contact us at (604) 299-4001
or visit: www.posAbilities.ca
WESTCOAST ONLINE JOB POSTINGS
Westcoast Job Postings is a well-established provincial job board for the early
childhood community in BC. Last year alone over 560 jobs were posted for
the province of BC. Check our web site for new rates and packages for longerterm postings. We now offer a package for a 6 month standing job posting
for casual and substitute workers.
What do employers like about the Westcoast Job Board?
“I like the direct
focus on ECE
applicants”
“Good exposure,
good price, and
very convenient”
“Ease of posting
and the
response rate”
“It is a
respected
resource”
Are you looking for work? Use Westcoast’s JOB SEARCH page to browse the
postings. You can organize your search by type of care, your qualifications, preferred location, or leave the fields blank to see everything there is on offer.
Visit www.wstcoast.org and click on JOB POSTINGS, or call 604 709 5661,
or 1 877 262 0022 for more information.
WESTCOAST
PROFESSIONAL
DEVELOPMENT
AND TRAINING
SERVICES
Westcoast Child Care Resource
Centre offers workshops on a
wide range of topics for:
s Parents
SAFE SPACES
Bullying Prevention Programming for
Young Children
3AFE3PACES is a program that fosters and encourages the development of
pro-social behaviors in young children. Safe Spaces teaches young children
the skills they need to resist and prevent bullying through developmentally
appropriate curriculum activities.
3AFE3PACES training for child care staff consists of two sessions, with a combined total of 15 hours of training.
Centres might consider joining with other centres to share the training fee.
All staff in participating child care centres must attend the training sessions.
s Early Childhood Education
& Child Care Practitioners
s Others working with young
children and their families
Workshops for Parents
90 minutes: $150
TRAINER TRAVEL &
ACCOMMODATION EXTRA
Workshops for Practitioners
2–3 hour workshop: $300
Two workshops: $550
(same facilitator, same day,
same location)
Each centre is required to purchase a Safe Spaces kit for $400.
Some subsidy is available.
TRAINER TRAVEL &
ACCOMMODATION EXTRA
BOOK YOUR
SAFE SPACES
TRAINING NOW!
CUSTOMIZED
WORKSHOPS NEGOTIABLE
For further information, contact
Westcoast Child Care Resource
Centre: 604 709 5661
Toll free 1 877 262 0022
For further information,
contact Westcoast Child Care
Resource Centre
604 709 5661
Toll free 1 877 262 0022
2774 East Broadway
Tel: 604-709-6063 or 1-800-797-5602 Fax: 604-709-6077
Web Site: www.ecebc.ca
The Early Childhood Educator

to the Summer 2010 edition of the Early Childhood

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