Category: Inspiration

Inspiration, tips and fun stuff

Reflections on the 2023 ECA Conference

Like many others, I am now recovering from this year’s wonderful ECA Conference. As usual, Storypark took a team to the conference and this year I gave my very own presentation–a somewhat scary but exciting experience! From powerful keynote speakers to engaging sessions and meaningful conversations, this conference left a lasting impression. In this blog post, I will document my...

/ October 10, 2023
Mother walking son into child care centre

Streamlining communication processes

The Learning Enrichment Foundation is a community-based non-profit in Toronto, Canada. It supports the local community in meeting various needs through employment training, immigrant settlement services, language training, and youth programs. It also has 24 early childhood education and care centres serving 1855 families. LEF is one of the largest childcare providers in the City of Toronto. A need for...

/ March 23, 2023

Standard Operating Procedures in ECE

When successfully managing multiple ECE learning services or programs, there are initiatives you can implement that will make the difference between success and chaos. Leading with purpose and building culture and systems are both areas that can have a positive impact on your organization. It is a vast topic! If you recently attended the webinar hosted by Melony Gibson and...

/ March 23, 2023
Early childhood educators sitting at table together looking at shared screen

Teamwork in child care – building stronger teams

Fostering teamwork in child care has never been more important than it is now. Building strong early childhood teaching teams has far-reaching implications for educators, children, their families and your organization. However, there are record numbers of early childhood educators leaving the sector. With so many educators moving to other careers, it is increasingly difficult for organizations to foster a...

/ November 30, 2022

Less can be more when documenting children’s learning

There are two schools of thought around the aesthetics of documenting children’s learning. Some educators prefer to create colourful borders and backgrounds using various programmes and apps, which they then upload as an image to a child’s Storypark profile. Others believe the beautifying of stories in this way takes time and focus away from the photos and actual content of...

/ October 10, 2022

Stop the cobwebs and ghouls

Is it time to stop the cobwebs and ghouls? Tessa McStravick asks this question and offers some non-spooky alternatives for Halloween. One October, walking into a department store, my friend Ani came across a human skeleton seated on a bench at the entrance. She had her two small children with her and she wasn’t too pleased to find that the...

/ October 4, 2022
children playing in nature on a hill

Planning and documentation in nature-based settings

Planning and documentation in nature-based settings Planning and documentation in nature-based settings are crucial if you want to embrace and support an emergent curriculum. But for many, the idea can bring up perceived barriers and challenges that can prevent you from moving forward with bringing nature and technology together. Dr. Claire Warden recently presented an online workshop that explored planning...

/ September 15, 2022
educator reflecting on her work

Reflective Practice in Early Childhood Education

Reflective practice in early childhood education – growing as educators and learners Reflective practice in early childhood education has been described as a process of turning experience into learning. That is, of exploring experience in order to learn new things from it. Reflection involves taking the unprocessed, raw material of experience and engaging with it to make sense of what...

/ September 11, 2022

Giving children authentic and specific praise and feedback

Do you often find yourself giving children feedback and hearing yourself use the same phrases many times a day? Do you often think your praise and acknowledgement sounds rehearsed, and non authentic? How does this make children feel about their work? Can you ever master the art of giving authentic and specific praise? Picture this…You have been working hard on...

/ August 19, 2022

OSHC – 5 benefits for children who attend out of school hours care

OSHC – 5 benefits for children who attend out of school hours care When children attend an OSHC service, they gain more than just exceptional care and supervision. Educators ensure children have a safe, stimulating and inclusive environment where their physical, social, emotional and educational needs can be met. They have opportunities to participate in activities that support their growth...

/ June 2, 2022