Blog

As the year draws to a close, we at Strive are taking a moment to reflect on the incredible journey we’ve shared with the Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) community. This year has been marked by growth, innovation, and a commitment to empowering professionals in their vital work with children and families.

Meet Andera Novak (she/they), Strive’s Marketing & Communications Specialist!

We asked Andera some questions to get to know them a little better. Keep reading to see what she said!

In this post, Heather Bywaters, RN, BScN, MN, from the Middlesex-London Health Unit, shares valuable insights and strategies to help professionals prepare for the season ahead. This blog post outlines general guidance on illness prevention, enhanced cleaning protocols, outbreak reporting and tips for supporting staff, children, and families during respiratory illness season.

We are excited to share that recently, an expansion of ‘Culturally Responsive Book Bundles’ project has been actioned. 10 new titles have been curated and Oxford County will now be included in this next drop.

The chosen books emphasize positive representation and are designed to foster a sense of belonging, well-being, citizenship, and empathy among all children, families, and early years professionals.

Keep reading to learn about the new books chosen to support our continued efforts in representing belonging in books.

Introducing the brand new Community Animator & Mentorship Hub, where you can stay connected to various resources on mentorship and mentoring relationships. This blog explores some of the curated books used to support the development of this new website addition.

In this month's post, we delve into what CoPs are, explore how they can be leveraged to support professionals in ECEC, and offer guidance on joining CoPs.

In addition, building on the success of Communities of Practice: Leadership and Communities of Practice: Infant Educators, and Communities of Practice: Cooks and Dietary Planners, informed by the insights of our Community Animator, Strive is excited to introduce new opportunities this Fall to enrich the early learning community across London, Middlesex, Elgin, and Oxford counties with the launch of additional Communities of Practice (CoPs).  

On Wednesday, July 17th we hosted a professional learning session called “Book Tasting: A Conversation on Children’s Books”. During this session our Resource Centre Specialists, Liz and Sara, facilitated a conversation on how they vet books for Strive’s ECE Professional Resource Centre.

Folks were able to reconnect with some “classics” as well as be inspired by new books. This blog highlights the books selected for this professional learning session as well as some important information from Array Books in relation to their process of vetting books and the importance of doing so.

The governing bodies in the early years sector play a crucial role in supporting, regulating, advocating for, and promoting the interests of early years professionals and the quality in ECEC.

In this post, gain insights about the various professional organizations and associations that exists within our sector, outlining their purpose and highlighting some of those currently active within the sector.

We are so excited to introduce you to Kayla Paquette (she/her), HBA, RECE, Strive Community Animator!

We asked Kayla some questions to get to know her a little better. Keep reading to see what she said!

The Strive Team is overjoyed to introduce you to Jesse Walker (he/him), our Strive Marketing & Communications Specialist! This is a brand new position at Strive and we are so looking forward to working with Jesse and seeing where this new role takes us!

We asked Jesse some questions to get to know him a little better. Keep reading to see what he said!

Learn all about Sarah Hall and her amazing StrawBubs multi-sensory program, the inspiration for it, and how we as early years professionals can utilize her knowledge and tips in our practice!

A wonderful group of early years professionals from Orchard Park Early Learning Centre attended a Strive event called “Extreme Makeover: Classroom Edition” facilitated by Ally Scott and were ultimately eager and inspired to make changes to their centre’s environment. The magic began unfolding and the changes kept flowing. Keep reading to go along the journey of their transformation, and to learn about the amazing impact it had on themselves, their practice, and the children in their care… you may even be inspired to start your own classroom makeover!

Sheryl Third (she/her), RECE, writes about mentoring being a strategy for professional learning and support from a historical perspective while asking herself a very important question- where do we go now? While promoting us to make connections to gratitude and to consider how our own willingness to learn from others impacts mentoring relationships, Sheryl dives into some prompts that help us reflect on how we can support one another.

Dr. Tina Bonnett (Ed.D, MS.ECEd., RECE, CTIC), keynote speaker at The Courage to Care with her presentation “Cultivating Secure Spaces to Probe the Complexities of Care”, has been critically reflecting on her experience at this system-wide professional learning day. Tina has kindly shared her reflections with us to further share with the community! Keep reading to dive into Tina’s reflections, and to learn how you can take on a more transformative and reflective approach to your professional learning.

We asked our Interim Professional Learning Lead, Raluca, some questions to get to know her a little better. Have a read to see what she said!

With such heavy hearts, Ally Scott and Sheri Spriggs share a glimpse of their cherished memories of Dr. Diane Kashin who has recently passed away after her journey with Breast Cancer.

Reflecting on 2023. The surprises, challenges and gifts of the past year.

Why Accountable Spaces? Shifting from Safe or Brave Spaces to creating and maintaining Accountable Spaces is critical, as safety cannot always be guaranteed and bravery should not be a requirement for marginalized people. Whereas, Accountable Spaces require individuals to be responsible for their intentions, words, and actions. Cultivating Accountable Spaces supports the children, families, and communities we serve in a way that is equitable and accessible.

Meet Paige! Paige Collins, an educator at Stationview YMCA Child Care Centre. Paige has been nominated for the level of care she demonstrates when working with children and families. Her nurturing disposition facilitates an environment where children and families feel seen, heard, welcome, and safe. It is obvious that these are innate qualities, and we will only see her level of care grow as she progresses in obtaining her ECE diploma. Join us in getting to know her better and celebrating her contributions to the early years community.

Meet Becky! Becky Matthews, Site Supervisor with the YWCA St.Thomas-Elgin and a leader of the Before and After School Program at Elgin Court Public School, is an outstanding role model and leads with such care and compassion. Join us in getting to know her better and celebrating her contributions to the early years community.

Meet Caroline! Caroline Almeida, RECE, is a Program Supervisor at Whitehills Childcare Association, Sir-Arthur Currie location. Caroline was nominated for her passion, dedication, and joy for the early years field. Her story of entering the sector in London and her journey thus far is inspiring and may invigorate other professionals in our early years community. Join us in getting to know her better and celebrating her contributions to the early years community.

Meet Tayler! Tayler Vangeel is the Centre Supervisor at Family Centre Carling-Thames. Tayler radiates positivity and joy, and is an absolutely outstanding early years leader. Join us in getting to know her better and celebrating her contributions to the early years community.

In light of our recent episode on the Leading Inspired Learning podcast, “Cosy Cottage Conversations with Cindy Green and Diane Kashin”, we are reposting one of Diane Kashin’s blog posts, “Reflecting on Mentorship and Professional Friendship in Early Childhood Education”. In this blog, Diane shares about her work towards challenging the current view of mentorship and professional friendship within early childhood education and care (ECEC).

You’re cordially invited to join the Strive team as we explore how to better balance our professional goals and commitments with our need for rest.

The Strive team is thrilled to introduce you to Hadil Alshaghnoubi and Sara D’Alessandro, Strive Resource Centre Specialists!

When young children cannot find themselves reflected in the books they read, or when the images they see are distorted, eroded by negative stereotypes, or caricatures, their sense of self-worth can be diminished. In an effort to bring more diverse stories, identities, and lived experiences to bookshelves, these book bundles were shared with London-Middlesex in the Fall of 2022.

We asked our Strive Project intern, Jenn Nguyen some questions to get to know her a little better. Have a read to see what she said!

We asked our ECE Resource Centre intern, Liz Gannon some questions to get to know her a little better. Have a read to see what she said!

The Strive team is thrilled to introduce you to Kayla Bartlett and Halle Ifabumuyi, Strive Community Animators!

What’s in a name? Turns out, quite a bit. Bonika Sok shares how she learned to shed shame and embrace both her name and identity (and why you should too!)