Upcoming Virtual Professional Learning Opportunity!

June 28, 2023Leave a comment

The Centre of Indigenous Professional Learning
“Resurgence of Our Knowledges”

The Centre of Indigenous Professional Learning is inviting early years professionals to join the “Roles, Responsibilities, and Leadership in Early Childhood Education” virtual series.

This virtual learning series focuses on First Nation, Métis, and Inuit worldview(s) regarding roles, responsibilities, and leadership in early years environments; with relation to the College of Early Childhood Education’s Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice and Indigenous ways of knowing and being.

REGISTRATION AVAILABLE: July 3, 2023 – September 8, 2023

Questions? If you have any questions, please e-mail; iplinfo@oahsa.ca

Please click the link below to register.

https://oahsa.ca/professional-development/

TBDHU Resources on Eating Disorders and Using Neutral Language About Food

May 12, 2023May 12, 2023Leave a comment

At our May Cook’s Network, we discussed using neutral language about bodies and food in Child Care and Early Years settings. Michaela Bohunicky, Registered Dietician at TBDHU asked us to share these resources with you. One is Eating Disorders Ontario Prevention- Overview of Disordered Eating Prevention- How Can Schools Help? And the other is Teaching and Talking to Students About Food and Nutrition.

EDO-P.pdf

Teaching-and-Talking-to-Students-About-Food-and-Nutrition.pdf

Please feel free to share with your teams and families! This content is most geared toward school-agers, however, the information and links in the articles have great suggestions for how to have conversations about bodies and food with children of all ages. We hope you find this helpful!

Have a lovely Friday!

National Indigenous Peoples Day 2023

May 10, 2023Leave a comment

National Indigenous Peoples Day is a day recognizing and celebrating the cultures and contributions of the First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Indigenous peoples of Canada. This year, it will take place on Wednesday June 21, 2023.

The Métis Nation of Ontario has recently developed an Education Kit containing Métis culturally appropriate resources, along with an Educator Guide, providing lesson plans that link to How Does Learning Happen? and the Ontario Curriculum for Grades K-3. The kit has been developed to provide educational support to front-line educators, teachers, school boards, child care centres and the Métis community.

In honour of National Indigenous Peoples Day, TBDSSAB wishes to give away one Métis Nation Education Kit to a member of our Child Care and Early Years Community! This Education Kit contains the following: 2 dolls, finger puppets, spinner, sash, wooden spoons, music, 2 books, ball and cup, and Métis flags! It also contains the bilingual resource guide mentioned above, which explain the teachings behind each item in the kit and some suggestions of how to incorporate these materials and teachings into your program. To enter to win this Métis Nation Education Kit please complete this FORM.

Self-care and healthy brain with Dr. Jean Clinton

December 22, 2022Leave a comment

Have you seen this new resource from the College of Early Childhood Educators (CECE)? In collaboration with Dr. Jean Clinton, the CECE’s have compiled a series of videos which share advice, tips and tools on self-care, that can be integrated into your practice as well as information on how your brain operates under stress. Dr. Jean Clinton reminds us that just like children, trauma can present itself in many ways and may affect our responses to situations. You can find the links to the videos below:

Watch video 1 HERE

Watch video 2 HERE

Virtual Tour with Waabogonee!

September 16, 2022September 16, 2022Leave a comment

Are you curious about other early learning environments?

Do you want to learn about what is happening in our community?

Then join in on our virtual tours!!!

On Thursday October 13, 2022 from 2-3PM the incredible educators from Waabogonee EarlyON Centre are inviting us to join them for a virtual tour of their EarlyON centre! Rhonda, Nicole and Jade will share some of the many strengths of their programs, including the indoor and outdoor play spaces, stories from families, documentation, cultural teachings, and so much more!

We will come together for approximately one hour, and Waabogonee staff will share with us:

Land Acknowledgement
Pre-recorded video presentation
PowerPoint
Q&As & Discussion Period

We welcome you to join us and become inspired by these incredible educators. To sign up, please complete the registration form HERE!

If you have any questions, or if you are interested in showcasing your program, e-mail us at early.years@tbdssab.ca!

Inclusion/ Inclusion

July 13, 2022March 8, 2022Leave a comment

English – Establishing an Environment that Works for All Children

French – Créer un environnement qui convient à tous les enfants

In this video, Donna Lero and Kathy Brophy discuss how to foster inclusive environments that support children’s individual needs and build on their strengths. After watching, tell us what stood out to you in the comments below.

Inclusion of Children with Disabilities/ L’inclusion des enfants handicapés

June 29, 2022March 8, 2022Leave a comment

New Practice Guideline on Inclusion of Children with Disabilities

English

Nouvelle ligne directrice de pratique sur l’inclusion des enfants handicapés

French

Have you seen this resource from the College of Early Childhood Educators? Take a look and share your thoughts and questions in the comments below.

Parent Engagement/ Engagement des parents

June 15, 2022March 8, 2022Leave a comment

English – Inviting Parent Involvement in Early Years Programs

French – Inviter les parents à participer aux programmes pour la petite enfance

In this video, Gilles Cantin talks about how educators can support parents and caregivers to be active contributors in their child’s learning. Share your questions and key takeaways in the comments below.

CCEY Professional Learning Survey

June 7, 2022June 7, 2022Leave a comment

The District of Thunder Bay Social Services Administration Board (TBDSSAB) is conducting a survey to gather information to help with planning professional learning for the Child Care and Early Years (CCEY) sector.

Your feedback is important to us! This anonymous and confidential survey is being distributed to all people who are currently working in TBDSSAB-funded early years programs. Please share this survey with all staff in your program. HERE is a poster than can be printed and posted in your staff room.

We will use the information we gather to create retention and professional learning strategies that will have an impact on all those in the sector presently and in the future.

As a thank you for completing the survey, we will be holding a draw for five gift baskets valued at $50 each. You will be provided a link at the end of the survey where you can enter your contact information for the draw. Your contact information will not be associated with your survey responses in any way.

The survey and draw are completely anonymous and voluntary, and the results will assist us in improving our programs and services. The results will be shared with service providers and posted on our website (www.tbdssab.ca) later in 2022. Please complete the survey by 4:30pm on June 17, 2022.

Link to Survey (English & French): https://form.simplesurvey.com/f/l/CCEYProfessionalLearning

The survey should take approximately 15 minutes to complete. You may decline to answer any question included in the survey. If you have any questions, please contact Carole Lem, Communications & Engagement Officer at Carole.Lem@tbdssab.ca or (807) 766-4219.

June 1, 2022Leave a comment

Asian Heritage Month is the perfect time to learn more about Asian-American/Canadian culture through your preferred arts, media, and flavours.

Film & Television

Over the last few years, Asian communities have been given more opportunities for authentic representation in film and television. Below are a few links to stories explaining the impact that casting and storytelling in mainstream media has had on Asian communities:

‘Crazy Rich Asians’ is going to change Hollywood. It’s about time. Time (2018): Link.
Seeing ‘Didis’ on screen: What South Asian representation on Bridgerton means to the diaspora. The Star (2022): Link
Pixar’s Turning Red: Adolescence, Asian family dynamics and diversity. Cold Tea Collective (2022): Link.

Books [Source: https://www.cbc.ca/books/17-canadian-books-to-read-for-asian-heritage-month-1.5135252]

To celebrate Asian Heritage Month, CBC Books has curated a list of 17 novels, nonfiction, comics and children’s literature by Canadian writers with Asian ancestry.

Included on this list is Chop Suey Nation by Ann Hui, which includes honourable mention and interviews with the family behind Thunder Bay’s own Ling Lees restaurant.

Fun fact: “Chinese food” as we know it in small-town Canada is not authentic Chinese food. To quote Hui:

“It’s a food that was created out of discrimination and racism and ingenuity and creativity. It tells such a fascinating part of our history here in Canada.” – Ann Hui

Read the full article on CBC’s website for the list of all 17 recommended books.

Want more inspiration on a regular basis? Follow these accounts on Instagram or subscribe to the Cold Tea Collective newsletter here:

Represent-Asian Project: Link
Cold Tea Collective: Link
Asian Lit for Kids: Link