ECE Level II Exemption

Reading and Writing

These are two more of my absolute favorite things. For a while, I didn't have time to read but recently, as part of my wellness plan in another class - I made a promise to do more of it. I really thought during the Covid-19 shutdown I would have more time, but instead I hatched chicks and caught up on housework and did a lot of writing. A lot. I can still read a book in a day if I really get into it. 

I love writing all kinds of things, mostly fiction, but even writing a blog post brings me joy. Making the daycare's newsletter brings satisfaction and even writing out proper reports. Simple things I suppose ;) There is something really fulfilling in writing something that satisfies another person and they get the message you are sending. My verbal skills are always improving but my writing skills are above those - thankfully. If I'm not sure what to say I will often just wait and send an email later. 

These are two skills that serve me well in many aspects of my life. They are also skills that can always be improved and practicing make them better. 

Music

I have been playing the piano since I was 6 years old. That's over 30 years of piano playing. I took exams up to grade 3, but found the pressure to be more than I wanted. I wanted to play but without the stress - so I continued up to my grade 8 books. Looking back, I wish I would have continued taking the exams. Regardless, music a is a big part of my life. I am very happy that my children love music as much as I do. 

When working with the kids we do a lot of singing and dancing. I may not be the best singer but kids are the least critical of all - usually. Music is a great way to express yourself physically and is often a great emotional outlet. You don't have to be great at it, so it's easy to participate in one way or another. 

My family

By far, the most important thing in my life, is my beautiful family. I am married, and have been for 15 years. (Pretty sure that's a skill in itself) We have 4 children: 2 girls and 2 boys. 

They are my priority in everything. 

Having a family means that there is some juggling going on between home life and work life. This gets to be pretty tough when kids are sick. I know I won't concentrate at work, so I choose to be home with my sick kids unless my husband can be there in my place. There's also a lot of planning going on - making sure lunches are made, everyone is ready for school, supper is planned and that everyone's extra curricular activities are organized. It can get pretty chaotic when you need to go in four different directions on the same day. My ability to schedule comes in handy at home. 

Having a large family also requires patience, time management and conflict resolution. These are things you get better at as your children get older and the juggling and conflicts get more complex. It also takes a lot of love and compassion. 

These people are the people that help keep me at my very best.  

Chickens!

This could be the longest post ever. 

I love my chickens. Actually, I now have guineas and turkeys as well - and other animals. For simplicity, I'll keep it to the chickens because the turkeys are still small and the guineas are technically not born yet. 

We've had chickens since 2016. My husband got them thinking I would get bored of them and he could turn the coop into a meat shop. We started off with 12 browns and this year we have 41 laying hens, 4 roosters, 18 juveniles (feb 2020 hatch) and over 50 grow-outs (replacement hens). (plus 10 turkeys and possibly 43 guineas but that's a different story)

Chickens are amazing little birds. Okay, maybe they are a little on the simple side, but their personalities are intriguing. I could go on about them for ages. I've had to use a variety of interesting skills with these guys: 

Problem-solving - How did I get my chickens to stop chasing the saskenergy guy? 😑

Teamwork - We had to move an enormous set of laying boxes from one coop to another. 

Organizing/planning - making sure there's enough room for everyone to grow happy and healthy and ensure proper feed for everyone involved. 

Dedication - Keeping up with everyday chores even in -50 weather. 

Patience - They eat the garden. The end. 

Communication skills - Does ordering more eggs or chickens count? I think it does. 

Perseverance - One year I lost 3/4 of my flock to a fox. 

Responsibility - I take that very seriously. They depend on me for food, water, shelter and a safe place to live. I take it very personally if I fail them somehow. I know it's just a chicken - but I feel each loss regardless. 

Chickens are also my calm-down space. I can go out and watch them and do the chores and they are happy just to see me. Maybe it's because I bring the food and maybe it's because they like me. It's all about perspective. 

#theytotallylikeme

Preschool Teacher to Educator in a daycare

The transition from a preschool teacher to an educator was definitely a learning experience. I went from guiding some independent 3-5 year olds, to having to care for children aged 6 weeks to 12 years old. 

At first, I was overwhelmed. I am a mom of 4 kids but I still wasn't prepared for how different things would be in this setting. A lot of the things I knew how to do needed to adapt to smaller people and their expanding minds. They were all still learning the basics - quite literally. It did take a few weeks but I eventually got the hang of it and was able to use my programming skills to my advantage. I simplified themes and started following what the children were interested in. If it happened to be a topic I was especially fond of (farm animals) we were able to explore it for weeks!

Another thing that helped, my ECE learning continued, and the more I learned about the various ages, the more I was able to adapt my programming. I do miss working in a preschool, but I love working in the daycare. The simplest things can teach the most complex skills. For example: ripping paper. This simple skill is good for fine motor skills and strengthening fingers. It also encourages hand-eye coordination, especially when trying to rip a straight line. Some of us are still working on this as adults. 

I've recently become an interim director, and I also love that. I have grown considerably in the last few years as an educator. As a parent I can often relate to situations parents find themselves in, while at the same time keeping to the Early Childhood Educator Code of Ethics. I enjoy the paperwork, organizing schedules, dealing with invoices and income reports. I am still learning a lot about these things, and maybe they weren't smooth at the beginning, but every month I've learned something new. I love being with the kids and our team of educators - it's a positive work environment!

During my tenure as director I've had to deal with some complex issues such as injured staff - twice at one time, hiring new subs and employees, reorganizing schedules on a weekly basis to accommodate, toilet overflow (twice), behaviour issues, a change in fees, a new consultant, a financial review of our fiscal year, and the ever-so-lovely Pandemic Covid-19. 

I've used a large variety of skills: 

Organizing

Planning

Adaptating to new situations

Problem-solving

Leadership

Time-management

Communication skills - written and oral

I've also demonstrated: 

Compassion

Patience

Flexibility
Determination

Positivity

I have so much more to offer and as my education continues, my skills grow. These are not all my skills, behaviours, attitudes or strengths, but they have definitely been the top 12 I've been using in the last few months. 

ECE Level 1

Example newsletter

At first, writing up the newsletters was daunting. I didn't really know what to write or what kind of message I wanted to send. My first newsletter was … 1 page. I followed similar path from the director before me, but then it grew to 2 pages, and then 4 pages. It has stayed pretty steady there. I've attached here the one I did right before we re-opened during the Covid-19 Pandemic - June 2020

I've been able to cover a pretty large variety of topics as director already. A lot of parents have questions, and often it's the same as another parent. I decided to use the newsletter as a way to answer those questions, keep parents up to date, broach a subject that we may be needing to address or introduce new policies/procedures. I love the creativity I get to use and I love, love writing. It's definitely a great way for me to use some writing skills that I've developed over the years. It's also a great way to gently open the conversation to anything that needs to be addressed, such as tardy parents or reasons behind why we do things, and even how children learn.  

Child and Adolescent Development

Role of Play

Interpersonal Communication

Interpersonal communication helped me find words. Lots of words. It helped me be a better team member and develop people skills. It took a lot of trial and error but I have gotten much better at saying things honestly, without being offensive - most times. It takes a lot of practice. I also learned how important it can be to take time before responding when I'm upset. Sometimes, things aren't as bad as we perceive them and someone isn't out to get us. This is especially true in emails and text. It also helps to calm down before responding so that you don't say something you can't take back and escalate a situation. 

Equine Studies

Health, Safety and Nutrition

Child Guidance 1

Child Guidance 1 Grades

Roles and Values of Educator

This class helped me to grow so much in regards to how to be a good director. It really guided me by giving me good foundational reasonings for things I had stood up for in the past. I now have the Code of Ethics to back me. It also helped me to understand what was really valuable when it came to being an educator. I've attached the marking sheet for one of my assignments in this class. 

This assignment was so hard because I had lived nearly identical situations in real life already. My solutions at the time had been less than idea or they had been the right ones with the negative outcomes. This assignment helped me find ways I could have made it better, or it supported my decision despite the negative outcome. I had to consider a lot of different outcomes for each scenario I was presented. I had to be very disciplined so as not to be swayed to do as a parent wanted instead of what was right for the child in question. It also helped me see how I could have better served a child that needed it.

Getting 100% was the biggest confidence booster I could have received, especially after real-life situations. It was also humbling. I understand more that what's important for the child and the family varies per family and it IS okay to approach situations differently. It's also important to stick to the Code of Ethics even if it's not the popular choice, even if it means a family will walk away, but there's often a way to find a good compromise and still stay in those codes. 

Code of Ethics

Statement of Philosophy

When I graduated high school, I wasn't expecting to find a career with small children. I was fully set on working with horses. After taking a job to help my mom as a preschool teacher's aid, I began to really enjoy it and was often told I was good. After a while, I found that I loved it. I moved forward in this direction as a pre-k teacher, then educator and director. I left my preschool job because my youngest son had a severe allergy that I needed to monitor closer to home, otherwise I would likely still be there. 

Over the years my respect and understanding for educators has changed. In the past, it was a lot of 'I know better than anyone else', but as I've taken courses (and had my own children) I've grown considerably. I am more compassionate, I can see beyond the behavior to the reason behind it, and I am able to adapt to more scenarios with more ease. I also developed a lot of humility. There is something to be said for all the people who mentored me when I was so arrogant about what I knew then. Considering what I know now - I really didn't know that much. Those people deserve medals. ;)

I am also a big believer in honesty. In the beginning, I've just been honest without being careful with words, but now I can use that honesty for good things. I strive to do better than what is expected and I can follow rules very well. 

Working at Les petits pois daycare gave me an amazing opportunity to further my education. I was introduced to the grant that is available for those working in early childhood centers. I started off slow but have since taken nearly all my certificate classes. I am two programming classes and 2 practicums away. I plan to continue straight to the diploma and earn my ECE Level 3. Seeing how my learning changes how I teach and interact with kids, including my own, is incredibly motivating.

 I want to be one of the best and I am incredibly interested in furthering my career. I am currently an interim director but my ultimate goal would be permanent director somewhere or back to teaching pre-k. I love working with kids and motivated educators, and I love teaching. 

Disclaimer: unless it's my own kids, but seriously who can teach their own kids? 

Welcome

Welcome to my online portfolio. 

This was originally made as part of my Employability Class but I already have plans for it in the future.  

That being said, this project has not been pain free. 

I'll cut to the chase - I'm finally back to a site that I'm comfortable using, and familiar with all it's quirks. Although, I see that there has been some updates - looking snazzy blogger.com. All the other suggestions for making an online portfolio were not as easy to use as I expected them to be. 

If you're here, you're either my teacher (Hi Laura!) or possibly a fellow student, or maybe you've been given this link to find out more about who I am. Perhaps I've applied for a job at your company and you need to know what I'm all about - so you googled me. (So sneaky) 

Look no further. Just kidding - please keep looking. You'll find information about my ongoing education in the early childhood education field, information about my past employment, examples of work or educational work I've done and probably a few random things that may not seem important, but will tell you about who I am as a person. 

Enjoy.