Early Childhood Educator in Calgary, Alberta

I have over 8 years of work and volunteer experience with children and youth, including at-risk and special needs children; ranging between Autism, Asperger's Syndrome, and ADHD. I have worked mostly with 2 to 12-year-olds, within an in-home and classroom setting. I have experience facilitating groups of up to 25 children, at a time. I did a Bachelor's of Science in Psychology, with a focus on child development, in order to better understand the child psyche and their developmental needs. Since embarking on a career working with children in the capacities of a teacher and a therapist, I have found utmost fulfillment and joy within myself. Working with children has not only been healing for them but for me too! My enthusiastic and empathetic nature makes me a fun and playful educator, that is well-loved by many. My knowledge, ongoing professional development in the field, and innate intuition make me a successful healer. I understand children on a deeper level and I am able to meet their needs by connecting with them individually and intuitively. I am strong at creating captivating and fun lesson plans based on FrogStreet and Emergent curriculum. I am also knowledgeable on the Montessori curriculum as well as the Flight framework. Outside of teaching within a classroom, my experience has consisted of working one-to-one with students on their individualized IPP goals. This experience has enhanced my ability to craft lesson plans that cater to individual child needs. I have completed a certification in child nutrition and physical literacy education with Mount Royal University and I am currently enrolled in a therapeutic play certification program with the Canadian Association of Play Therapy. The ongoing professional development that I have received throughout my career has made connecting with and understanding my students a huge strength of mine. As an Assistant Director in childcare, I have become confident leading a team of educators and lending support whenever and wherever needed. I am flexible and adaptable, able to take on many roles at once. I am experienced in managing a center when the Director is away for weeks at a time. My duties include managing enrollments, doing virtual and in-person tours, updating center binders and paperwork based upon licensing protocols, updating child and staff files, communicating child progress/needs with parents, ongoing training of staff on expectations and curriculum, assisting in the kitchen and placing orders for supplies, covering staff breaks, mediating conflicts between children or staff, collecting fees and overseeing PAD withdrawals, monitoring classroom activity and offering support when needed, communicating with different departments and professionals associated with the center, responding promptly and eloquently to emails and phone calls, providing information about the center and answering inquiries, as well as, ensuring the general upkeep and organization of the center. Through my experience as an educator, I have become very adept at integrating school syllabus and social skills teachings with innovative play ideas, to engage and entertain my students. I believe that teaching young children must be fun, in order to build rapport with them as well as to keep them motivated during lessons. At the same time, I am able to maintain firm boundaries with my students and I am adept at redirecting and guiding negative behaviors towards more acceptable ones. Through many years of working with children, I have learned creative and successful ways to reinforce positive behavior. I am experienced at creating exciting token boards and reinforcement charts, jars, and games. As a Behaviour Therapist, I gained significant experience in conducting assessments, collecting and analyzing data, creating detailed student reports, and tracking student progress. I am able to multitask between observing and engaging with students, while also collecting individualized behavior data. I have worked with children with severe developmental delays and I am comfortable handling outbursts and aggressive behaviors. I have worked closely with parents and teams of specialists throughout my career and I am confident in discussing student needs and progress with them. Some of my other duties as an Early Childhood Educator and Education Assistant, which I have become proficient at, include assisting students with bathroom use; such as diapering, hand-washing and wiping, observing them during snack breaks and implementing individualized food programs, creating and implementing classroom cleaning schedules as well as playground surveillance. I am also familiar with daily classroom housekeeping and organization as well as creating visuals and crafts for classroom activities. As an ECE and EA, I was also responsible for facilitating daily breathing exercises and yoga, to teach students different methods to calm themselves before/during outbursts. I have attended monthly continuing development workshops on childcare practices, classroom and teaching strategies, Applied Behavioural Analysis (ABA), and other topics within the field. I have: Bachelor of Science in Psychology Child Development Worker Certification Current Emergency Child Care First Aid & CPR Certification Current Police Information Check (PIC) & Vulnerable Sector Search Mount Royal University Reiki Level 1 & 2 Certification Diploma in Hypnotherapy