Early Childhood Educator in Toronto, Ontario

My experiences working with children range from ages 0 to 12. I have worked with children in both junior and senior kindergarten where I have planned and implemented a range of play-based learning experiences that reflect the Kindergarten Curriculum. I have also worked with a diverse group of children ages 0 to 6 in my fourth year internship at an Ontario Early Years Centre where I effectively implemented family-centered programs that promote family involvement in the learning of young children and children with special needs. In the summer of 2012, I worked as a summer camp counselor for the Malvern Family Resource Centre with school aged children who were 6 to 12 years old. There I worked closely in a team with the program coordinator and other counselors to develop plans for an eight week program and implemented a variety of large and small group activities in the areas of creative arts, science, and physical education. I have also worked in a daycare setting with children 10 months-2.5 years old, and initiated a variety of programs such as music and movement, story time and circle time. My first experience working with children with special needs took place in a jk/sk kindergarten classroom. I worked collaboratively with the kindergarten teacher in order to develop strategies and activities that would engage a child with autism. In accordance with my Assessment course at Ryerson, I developed an IEP with the classroom teacher for the child in order to specifically identify step-by-step goals to assist the child's learning and development. \r\n\r\nI have also worked in a \"Meeting the Milestones\" program at an Ontario Early Years Centre which aimed to assist small groups of preschool children with varying needs to prepare them for kindergarten. This involved developing activities that would promote areas and skills that they were less strong with. This included children with autism, learning delays as well as speech delays.