ARCHIVED—Introducing the Educators

• Patricia Hogan
• Lila Hope-Simpson
• Francine Ouellette Lavoie
• Gwynneth Hawes Cook
• Penny Spence
• Beatrice Bennett
• Margaret Kelly
• Tanis Kohls
• Sharon Larkins
• Al Lawrence

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Patricia Hogan

Dartmouth Preschool
Dartmouth, Nova Scotia

For many years, Patricia Hogan, her husband and children were a military family, and so she has seen the way early childhood education operates in several provinces. She first became involved in the field for a very practical reason. She and her family were living in Cold Lake, Alberta, and they wanted part-day care for their son and daughter. Her experience led her to direct her considerable energy and desire into helping families gain access to quality day care.

In the 32 years since that start, Hogan has travelled across Canada and picked up experience and training as she went along. She studied early childhood education, doing courses at post-secondary institutions across the country.

She has worked with immigrant mothers and their children, aboriginal communities and families in both urban and rural communities. In 1983, she moved to Halifax and began at Dartmouth Preschool two years later. She left for three years for a posting in Goose Bay, Labrador, where she was the childcare coordinator for the Family Resource Centre, before returning to Dartmouth, where she has been ever since.

Hogan's goals are to help children achieve self-esteem and confidence, respect for themselves, respect for others and respect for their environment, an awareness of appropriate behaviour with others, an enjoyment of challenges, and language skills. She is proud to be associated with Dartmouth Preschool because the centre helps a number of families that might otherwise not have access to a preschool program.

Get in Touch!

Dartmouth Preschool
25 Alfred Street
Dartmouth, Nova Scotia B3A 4E8

Telephone: 902-469-1770
Email: phogan@sprint.ca

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Lila Hope-Simpson

Home and Heart Child Development Centre
Wolfville, Nova Scotia

And, although she hadn't expected it, that job started Lila Hope-Simpson on a career now in its 25th year. She got hooked.

Her original background is in special education and the philosophy she brought with her to early childhood education was influenced by that experience: No child is ever turned away.

Her background in adult education also led her to include parents in her work. She organizes a number of workshops for parents every year. This allows parents to participate in the program and offers learning opportunities for them as well.

Hope-Simpson also developed and delivered a certificate course for home care providers, and has created several resources for parents, such as the Tots to Toddlers handbook. She also writes a biweekly newspaper column on positive parenting.

She has worked in both private and non-profit centres. (Incidentally, she does not like this terminology, pointing out that private and non-profit centres are actually far more alike than the terms would suggest.) She has also worked in a variety of capacities, as an educator, family resource coordinator and director. With this experience, she opened her own centre about 10 years ago.

Because her centre serves families from a wide variety of backgrounds, Hope-Simpson keeps the program flexible to meet parents' needs.

Get in Touch!

Home and Heart Child Development Centre
149 Allison Coldwell Road, RR #1
Wolfville, Nova Scotia B4P 2R1

Telephone: 902-542-2057
Fax: 902-542-2057
Email: ironwood@glinx.com

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Francine Ouellette Lavoie

Centre de la petite enfance la Montgolfière
Laval, Quebec

With that, Francine Ouellette Lavoie launches into a story about a trip with her group of children - a trip down a little dead end street that leaves the Centre de la petite enfance la Montgolfière and goes down to the river's edge and then to a little wooded area. "Not a big wooded area, but just big enough to seem a little spooky, big enough to spell adventure."

And adventure is what it's about. Every season, every week, every day is a new adventure - an adventure planned around learning and designed to take advantage of the various ways children learn, planned to capitalize on opportunities to develop emotional, physical, intellectual and motor skills.

Ouellette Lavoie began her career working in a nursery with very small children, but after 17 years decided to get the qualifications to be an educator. Since then, she has worked another 23 years in early childhood education.

A gift for putting people at ease combined with her 40 years working with children makes her a natural resource person for parents and other educators. She sits on several committees representing the childcare centre where she works as well as her fellow employees. She also works closely with students on work placements. More than 25 students from local colleges have worked under her supervision.

Early childhood education is her primary focus, however. "I am not an administrator. I am an educator," declares Ouellette Lavoie. "Education, provoking children's natural curiosity, is what I love doing. I like to open eyes and ears."

Get in Touch!

Centre de la petite enfance la Montgolfière
203, boulevard Saint Rose
Laval, Quebec H7L IL5

Telephone: 450-628-5385
Fax: 450-628-1851

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Gwynneth Hawes Cook

North End Children's Centre
Hamilton, Ontario

Twenty years ago, Gwynneth Hawes Cook found herself with a house in Hamilton's north end and wanted to use it for something that would benefit the community. As a result, the North End Children's Centre came into being in 1985.

Hawes Cook has been an educator since 1972. She has also been an activist for children's rights throughout her career. She has created opportunities for children of broken homes to be with both parents and has been a resource for both children and parents in need.

Today, North End Children's Centre Inc. is a registered charity that does much more than provide childcare. The centre distributes clothing and meets other community needs. Hawes Cook also helped establish the Rainbow Festival, a locally run festival for families.

Because the centre is licensed, certain standards are met and the required curriculum is followed. But, as with everything else Hawes Cook does, this is just the beginning. "We look to each child's needs and if they need more, they get more."

Hawes Cook likes to focus on each child's strength and creates activities that allow the children to do what they do best and then use that positive experience to make advances in other areas. "Described like this, it sounds very controlled, but it isn't," she explains. "When you have a lot of years experience in this field, you have a whole lot of options you can draw on. A lot of what I do is improvised based on what is happening that day."

Get in Touch!

North End Children's Centre
75 Hillyard Street
Hamilton, Ontario L8L 6B3

Telephone: 905-577-6196
Fax: 905-577-6196

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Penny Spence

Brokenhead Aboriginal Head Start Program
Scantenbury, Manitoba

"I am a strong believer in promoting and preserving our culture and in the benefits that it offers our children," says Penny Spence. She is a member of the Bear clan and attends sweat lodge ceremonies to help her to keep focus and cleanse her body and mind. She is eager to pass along the culture she embraces passionately to the children in her care. In this, she gets help from members of the community. For example, an Ojibway language teacher comes to the centre daily to teach the children.

Spence is a strong advocate of Head Start and refers to Health Canada's Aboriginal Head Start: Principles and Guidelines as her "bible." For example, her commitment to the Ojibway culture and language lines up with the first of the six elements of Head Start, the others being education, health, nutrition, social and parental involvement.

This last is of special importance to Spence. Families play the primary role, and the centre is there to help them. Parents and elders were strongly involved in the creation and direction of the program. Family members also contribute four hours of their time every month to help the children with their learning.

Spence's commitment is more than philosophical. Her own experience as a parent played a crucial role in her becoming an educator. " After I had my daughter," she explains, "I was thanking the creator that he had entrusted me with her and I knew right then and there that I wanted more for her. So I went out and got my education and here I am today."

Get in Touch!

Brokenhead Aboriginal Head Start Program
Brokenhead Ojibway Nation
General Delivery
Scantenbury, Manitoba R0E 1W0

Telephone: 204-766-2636
Fax: 204-766-2809
Email: spencepenny@yahoo.ca

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Beatrice Bennett

Ready, Set, Go! Preschool
Calgary, Alberta

Beatrice Bennett got involved in early childhood education 25 years ago, when she and her husband discovered that there was no preschool for their children. She set up a preschool and has been involved in a wide variety of education initiatives ever since.

Bennett has worked with the Alberta Association for Young Children, sat on organizing committees for provincial conferences, and been involved with family day home programs, and parks and recreation programs. For the past six years, she has been with Ready, Set, Go!, a preschool associated with the Boys and Girls Club of Calgary.

Her primary goal as an educator is to make sure that everyone involved in each child's upbringing is working in the same developmentally appropriate manner. She devotes much of her time getting to know each child and then documenting his or her interests, strengths and needs. She and her colleagues then use this information to plan activities and to work with parents.

During her time with the centre, Bennett has overseen the inclusion of children with special needs, set up support programs for parents, worked with speech, occupational, physical and behavioural therapists from outside agencies, and acted as a mentor for early childhood education practicum students from the local college.

One growing need Bennett identified is children who have difficulty dealing with their emotions. Recognizing that progress would be difficult or impossible in other areas for these children, she and her colleagues developed programs that help the children to learn to deal with emotions such as frustration, disappointment, sadness and anger.

Get in Touch!

Ready, Set, Go! Preschool
Boys and Girls Club
4527-77 Street NW
Calgary, Alberta T3B 2L9

Telephone: 403-520-1520
Fax: 403-276-9988
Email: dbhbennett@aol.com

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Margaret Kelly

St. Alban's Daycare
Burnaby, British Columbia

St. Alban's Daycare is an outreach program of the church Margaret Kelly attends. She has been involved with the program for more than 25 years, the last 18 as head supervisor.

"If a child can't be with their parents for part of the day for whatever reason, that is where we come in," explains Kelly. St. Alban's offers to care and treat each child with the highest respect and do it at an affordable cost.

Kelly is very active in training future educators. She sits on the Douglas College advisory board in New Westminster and teaches workshops at nearby Burnaby College. She also acts as mentor for students from a number of local colleges and schools. She also accepts placements from all of the various schools teaching early childhood education on the Lower Mainland.

Her greatest pride, however, is the ongoing development of the staff at St. Alban's. Kelly insists that the four educators and one special needs provider working with her are the best staff in the field. Among the services they provide are a hot lunch and two snacks every day, and these are included in the basic cost of the program.

Kelly believes that it is absolutely crucial to teach children tolerance at an early age. St. Alban's is an inclusive centre, accepting children of all levels and abilities, and the staff members ensure that children learn how to respect their peers.

Each child gets to feel that he or she belongs, and is an important part of the group. "Our motto is planting a seed that will bloom through life."

Get in Touch!

St. Alban's Daycare
7717-19th Avenue
Burnaby, British Columbia V3N 1E8

Telephone: 604-522-6228
Fax: 604-522-7538

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Tanis Kohls

Awahsuk Aboriginal Head Start Preschool
Surrey, British Columbia

During her time at Awahsuk Aboriginal Head Start Preschool, Tanis Kohls found herself becoming more and more passionate about inclusion.

After beginning work as an early childhood educator, she quickly found herself drawn to children with special needs. She was inspired and motivated by the work she saw her colleagues doing with these children - so motivated that she upgraded her skills to acquire a special needs diploma and is working towards a degree in child and youth care with an emphasis on child welfare.

She devoted herself to ensuring all children have a sense of belonging and acceptance. "I believe all people have the right to feel loved, accepted and productive within today's society and that is my objective with every child I deal with," explains Kohls.

As a special needs coordinator, she documented the needs of the children at Awahsuk and successfully applied to the provincial government to fund a special program that allowed parents and educators to work with specialists to create activities to meet children's special needs.

Kohls continues to develop skills that will enable her to become a resource person for children and families living with special needs. In 2005, Kohls made the difficult decision to move on from Awahsuk. "I believe that the most important thing in early childhood education is to have a really strong teaching and caregiving philosophy that you feel passionate about. In this regard, I was very fortunate to have four years with the team at Awahsuk, as my coworkers influenced the development of my professional beliefs and practices in a profound way."

Get in Touch!

Langley Child Development Centre
PO Box 3323
Langley, British Columbia V3A 3T9

Telephone: 604-534-1155 extension 133
Email: tanis_kohls@hotmail.com

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Sharon Larkins

Tender Beginnings Child Care Centre
Nanaimo, British Columbia

Sharon Larkins founded Tender Beginnings Child Care Centre in 1995. It is her second centre, having established another in 1978. Throughout her career, she has placed strong emphasis on providing quality education that is open, inclusive and focused on the children.

The centre is on the ground floor of her home and this location fits with her larger goal of providing the family-centred care she believes is best for children. Although Tender Beginnings is a relatively large centre, currently serving 25 children and their families, Larkins has ensured that it feels like a second home to the children and their parents.

Larkins and her staff aim to help children to learn more about their world and to appreciate and respect others in it. Respect begins with self-respect: children can count on staff that will listen and accept their feelings as genuine.

Larkins believes that all children have a right to attend the centre, regardless of developmental needs. There are currently four children with designated special needs at Tender Beginnings. Larkins is especially pleased that the support worker assigned to help these four children is one of the first children she had under her care when she began in early childhood education 26 years ago.

Larkins is strongly committed to helping the profession develop. She is a founding member of Caring and Sharing, a group of educators who meet regularly to share ideas. She takes part in workshops to help young educators develop their skills. The benefits go both ways, says Larkins. "I hope never to stop learning, and meeting with students keeps me in touch with the latest developments."

Get in Touch!

Tender Beginnings Child Care Centre
646 First Street
Nanaimo, British Columbia V9R 1Z4

Telephone: 250-754-1063
Fax: 250-754-1076
Email: d_larkins@telus.net

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Al Lawrence

Le'Lum'uy'l
Duncan, British Columbia

Al Lawrence believes success depends on his working with the close-knit family of parents, elders and staff that make Le'Lum'uy'l tick. Founded in 1986 by a single mother who brought together resources in the community and from the university in Duncan, the centre has been the work of many hands from the beginning. This is an approach that Lawrence has carried on in his time as director of the centre.

Because the local community is young and growing, Lawrence expects that the centre will expand this year and every year. As a result, he supports people who wish to study early childhood education. Currently, 28 members of the community are at university pursuing their ECE qualifications to serve future needs. They will join the 22 staff already at the centre.

Lawrence also sits on British Columbia's Early Childhood Development Table and the Aboriginal Childcare Society.

At home, he contributed to Le'Lum'uy'l's work to adopt a program called Creative Curriculum that helps the centre meet the language and cultural standards of the community. The centre has two elders on staff and other elders regularly help teach traditional activities such as fishing.

Other programs, such as an animated alphabet program that teaches oral proficiency, and close co-operation with schools, help prepare the children and the community for the future. "We need our children to grow up and take over because they are more than half our community."

Get in Touch!

Le'Lum'uy'l
5744 Allenby Road
Duncan, British Columbia V9L 5J1

Telephone: 250-746-5966
Fax: 250-746-5901
Email: al.lawrence@cowichantribes.com