Category: Appreciation

Celebrating Child Care Worker and ECE Appreciation Day

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On October 21, 2021, TBDSSAB recognizes Child Care Worker & Early Childhood Educator Appreciation Day as a special tribute to our heroes in early learning who work tirelessly to support children’s wellbeing and engagement every day. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this will be the second year in a row without an in-person celebration.

“CCW & ECE Appreciation day is an opportunity to celebrate the educators and child care professionals in our communities. Child care is essential to the success of families and our community as a whole. On behalf of the Board of Directors, thank you to the heroes in early learning across our District for all that you do to support children in the early years.” Lucy Kloosterhuis, Board Chair, TBDSSAB

“The pandemic has been a challenge for the child care system. I encourage the community to support CCW & ECE Appreciation day and take the time to say a special thank you to our child care professionals.” – William (Bill) Bradica, CAO, TBDSSAB

Families, children, and community partners are encouraged to show their appreciation and support for child care professionals in a meaningful way. Free downloadable resources are available on the TBDSSAB website to help the community support Child Care Worker and Early Childhood Educator Appreciation Day. For more information, please visit: www.tbdssab.ca/heroesinearlylearning/

Heroes Rising Up Virtual Rally

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The AECEO in partnership with The Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care, and Toronto Child Care are hosting a virtual Rally & Action on Tuesday October 19, 2021 from 7-8:30PM Eastern Time.  You can register to attend this rally here. This event will celebrate the work of staff in Child Care and Early Years programs.

The AECEO are also seeking “snapshots” of individuals working in the Child Care and Early Years sector throughout Ontario.  These “snapshots” would be shared in a slideshow/movie, as well as other public facing components for the campaign. These are due by October 13 via email to jtomas@aeceo.ca

More details and a consent form to submit can be found below:

Snapshots Request

Consent Form

Communicating with Parents During the Pandemic

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We wanted to say a special thank you to Ari Vainio and Jaymie Rusnak for hosting a conversation on communicating with parents during COVID-19. Ari and Jaymie had many clever ideas to support communication with families during these trying times. One unique example is their “virtual playdates”. Ari and Jaymie have scheduled times where families can pop in on Zoom and have a virtual visit in the program. This allows parents to get acquainted with the environment where their child spends so much of their day, and to meet some of the other children that their child plays with. Another creative idea that they shared was offering parents the option of going for a social-distanced walk (when the public health direction allows). Ari and Jaymie shared that they would go for social-distanced walks throughout the Lakehead University campus with families as a way of getting to know each other better. This provided families with a sense of comfort and trust in knowing who they are leaving their child with each day.

While there were many great ideas shared throughout the conversation, we were still left feeling like it wasn’t enough, and that we wish we could have a closer relationship with families right now. This presented as a good reminder for all of us that we are doing the best we can in the circumstances that we are dealt with currently.

Let us know how you’ve been connecting with families in the comments below.

Valuing Educators as Child Care Re-Opens

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The Building on How Does Learning Happen? document states that “Involving educators in planning for reopening right from the beginning, values their expertise and ideas and is critical for a successful reopening.” It further goes on to say that “Educators who experience being valued contributors will be better able to support children and their families during the re-opening transition” (Ontario, 2020, p. 3).

We want to know how you feel educators can be involved at your centre! Share your ideas below!

Throwback Thursday!

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What an interesting year 2020 has been so far. We thought we were in for a 3 week March Break, and look where we are today. The Emergency Order continues to be extended, and we are all navigating this new normal of living with COVID-19. Since March, the TBDSSAB has supported the operation of three Emergency Child Care programs within our District, and we are now into Phase 2 where some child care centres are beginning to reopen under rigorous guidelines.

At this time, even with the re-opening of child care programs, we are unable to visit all of you like we have in the past. This opportunity to slow down and reflect on our work, our lives and our values implores us to consider what changes we want to make as we move forward and how we might reframe a “new normal”.  We will come out of this time changed, and hopefully for the better.

As we look back at the memories we’ve shared together, we want you to know that we are thinking of all of you, missing you dearly, and wishing you the utmost safety and well-being at this time. We look forward to what the future holds for our work together and a time where we can be reunited.

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I had the pleasure of attending a presentation given by two educators at Schoolhouse Playcare Centre. These educators shared an interesting journey that they’ve had in the preschool room about doors. It was incredible to see how the educators extended this interest and acted as co-learners with the children.

The two educators truly embraced the inquiry process. Through their observations, they determined the children were curious about doors. They planned for new ways of exploring doors throughout the program such as in the art and blocks areas, and they created documentation to educate families and community members about the learning, interests, and questions they’ve been exploring. Some exciting highlights were:

  • they had families bring in photos of their doors from home
  • they had parents and grandparents help to add a door with hinges, doorknobs, and a doorbell to the dramatic play area, and;
  • they added door handles and real tools to the play environment for children to explore and manipulate

Thank you for the hard work you are doing with the children and families at Schoolhouse Playcare Centre. You have truly fostered the four foundations throughout this journey and it’s great to see the creative ways that families have been engaged along the way. Additionally, thank you to Wanda for inviting me to attend this presentation; attending these types of events is one of the best ways for us to build positive relationships with educators.

ECE Appreciation Day

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This week, we want to take the time to acknowledge a big achievement for Early Childhood Educators in Thunder Bay. Last week, for ECE Appreciation Day, the Thunder Bay City Hall held a short ceremony, followed by a flag raising, to acknowledge the invaluable role that ECEs hold in our community. See the photos below for a glimpse of this wonderful event.