In the summer of 2020, we had the good fortune of hosting Bonika Sok as our Strive Project Intern from Fanshawe’s Honours Bachelor of Early Childhood Leadership program. During her time with us, Bonika authored a blog post where she shared her experiences of having her name mispronounced and changed during her formative years. This…
Child care and early years professionals are a precious commodity and essential part of happy, healthy, and successful communities. Now, more than ever, we know how important it is to have caring adults supporting young children and families. We are so proud to be a part of this vibrant community and this Professional Spotlight Series…
“Nursery school is a great option for families looking to provide their child with some socialization and learning opportunities…often times the programs are smaller and therefore give teachers the opportunity to provide more one on one learning for the children” – Grosvenor Nursery School Over the summer months, nursery schools from across London-Middlesex-Elgin…
You are cordially invited to invest in your own rest… We live in a culture that encourages a constant state of doing. Busy has become the expectation. We over-schedule, over-commit, and over-extend. Research would even suggest that how we perceive our level of “busyness” factors significantly into a false sense of self-worth (Bellezza et…
A Recipe For Reflecting & Recharging This Summer In a field that cares so much for others, we believe it is essential that you don’t forget to also care for yourself! Gift yourself time this summer to listen to what your heart, mind, body and spirit are in need of. Maybe its connecting with…
The Strive Team is delighted to introduce you to Olivia Musico, our Strive Project Intern! Olivia joins us from the Honours Bachelor of Early Childhood Leadership degree program at Fanshawe College. Olivia is an artist, an adventurer, a passionate advocate for mental health and wellness, and an accomplished public speaker. This summer she will be…
The Strive Team is delighted to introduce you to Amy Petrarca, our ECE Resource Centre Intern! Amy joins us from the Honours Bachelor of Early Childhood Leadership degree program at Fanshawe College. Amy is enthusiastic, creative, and passionate and we are excited to learn alongside her this summer. Amy will be working closely with the…
The 2022 Ontario Provincial Election is officially underway. Despite the recent signing of the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care agreement, affordable and accessible care, fair compensation, and decent work remain imperative ballot box issues in this province. Ontario’s Early Years Professionals have an important opportunity to raise our collective voices and…
Advocacy plays a huge role in the early years sector, not only because we are passionate professionals but it is also a responsibility outline by the College of Early Childhood Educators in our Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice. “RECEs communicate the value and importance of early childhood education in their communities and to…
Les professionnels de la petite enfance sont précieux, et un élément essentiel pour appuyer les communautés heureuses, saines et prospères. Maintenant, plus que jamais, nous savons à quel point il est important d’avoir des adultes attentifs qui soutiennent les jeunes enfants et les familles. Nous sommes si fiers de faire partie de cette communauté dynamique…
The ECE Resource Centre located at Childreach is now part of Strive’s umbrella of services. With that, the Strive Team is also expanding! We are therefore thrilled to introduce you to Samantha Wassing, our ECE Resource Centre Specialist. Sam has been a cherished member of the Childreach family for the past 3 years, stepping…
If you have participated in any professional learning with us at Strive, chances are you have participated in a post-session reflective chat or submitted responses to the session’s reflective feedback survey. This is our team’s way of encouraging reflective practice. Reflective Practice is a concept that is fundamental to the work we do as early…
Another year gone by… And what a year it has been! As with most aspects of life as we knew it, the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic required the Strive team to continue to shift and adapt in our known and familiar ways of engaging in our work, namely virtual professional learning. While not without its hiccups,…
Child care and early years professionals are a precious commodity and essential part of happy, healthy, and successful communities. Now, more than ever, we know how important it is to have caring adults supporting young children and families. We are so proud to be a part of this vibrant community and this Professional Spotlight Series…
Child care and early years professionals are a precious commodity and essential part of happy, healthy, and successful communities. Now, more than ever,we know how important it is to have caring adults supporting young children and families. We are so proud to be a part of this vibrant community and this Professional Spotlight…
Child care and early years professionals are a precious commodity and essential part of happy, healthy, and successful communities. Now, more than ever, we know how important it is to have caring adults supporting young children and families. We are so proud to be a part of this vibrant community and this Professional Spotlight Series…
Child care and early years professionals are a precious commodity and essential part of happy, healthy, and successful communities. Now, more than ever, we know how important it is to have caring adults supporting young children and families. We are so proud to be a part of this vibrant community and this Professional Spotlight Series recognizes…
Child care and early years professionals are a precious commodity and essential part of happy, healthy, and successful communities. Now, more than ever, we know how important it is to have caring adults supporting young children and families. We are so proud to be a part of this vibrant community and this Professional Spotlight Series…
What do you do when burnout sets in and the path before you becomes unclear? Michaela Jardine shares how gratitude changed her mindset and led her back home to herself.
Child care and early years professionals are a precious commodity and essential part of happy, healthy, and successful communities. Now, more than ever, we know how important it is to have caring adults supporting young children and families. The child care community has risen to every challenge over the past 16 months with grace,…
The Voice of a Facilitator As we enter into the 15th month of what most of us could not have imagined, we find ourselves grappling with how to continue providing engaging professional learning. In March 2020 we started down a road of what we thought were temporary measures of meetings and learning on…
An Executive Director with a Plan Once upon a time, there was an Executive Director, Barbara Jackson, who hatched a plan to help grow the skills of educators. After many years of working as the Executive Director of a stand-alone child care centre, I realized the immense pressure this role places on individuals…
We often forget how connected our local Early Years community really is! Early Childhood Educators are incredibly hard working and resilient people and our work has indisputable impact. We typically think about this impact in the role we play in the lives of the children and families we care for. However, we are overlooking…
It’s hard to believe we’re here! And reflecting on what has transpired across our communities, country and globe during 2020 is frankly, quite overwhelming. We continue to be deeply inspired by the resilience of early learning professionals in these trying times. We know it has not been easy and we hope you feel…
Art Therapist, Tisha Summers shares her journey of discovery and healing through love and art. It is a story of resilience, determination and a commitment to helping others.
In this post, Strive Project Associate, Breanna Piccolotto, take you “behind the fees” to demonstrate how we do this and what guides our operational decisions. The real cost of professional learning goes beyond the monetary, it is about accountability, community, and respect as well.
We are thrilled to introduce you to our newest team member, Breanna Piccolotto. Bre is joining Strive as the Project Associate, so she will be a key community contact, working closely with participants and facilitators alike. We asked Bre some questions about herself, to get to know her a little better. Keep reading to…
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!)
This week, the Licensed Child Care Network, in collaboration with Fanshawe College and Strive, sent an open letter to elected officials at various levels of the municipal, provincial and federal government. Our three organizations have come together to advocate, research, and promote a National Childcare Strategy for Canada, setting in motion a collaboration that is…
Hi everyone, We hope you are finding joy during this unique summer we are experiencing. The Strive team continues to work from home and are extremely grateful to the Childreach leadership for taking the safety of staff and the community very seriously. We know it has been a busy time getting centres up and…
Professional Learning while Social Distancing Strive recognizes that professional learning may not be top-of-mind during this unprecedented time.We are viewing this work-from-home opportunity as a gift of time to engage in intentional professional growth. Perhaps you need to catch up on documenting your Continuous Professional Learning (CPL from the College of ECE), or you…
Update: April 6 2020 With Childreach being our backbone and relying on their excellent leadership, we are following suit and remaining closed to the public until May 4th. Meaghan, Michelle, and I will continue to work from home. In terms of Spring planning, I wanted to inform you of our plan which is supported by…
Facilitated by Diane Kashin, Ed.D, RECE and Cindy Green, BSc, RECE. We are offering a second opportunity to participate in this online course. This unique opportunity invites a new way of engaging in professional learning, online! Diane Kashin and Cindy Green have created an introductory 5-part online series exploring block play. In your child care…
Facilitated by Diane Kashin, Ed.D, RECE and Cindy Green, BSc, RECE. ****This opportunity is SOLD OUT! Stay tuned to Strive for the next release**** This unique opportunity invites a new way of engaging in professional learning, online! Diane Kashin and Cindy Green have created an introductory 5-part online series exploring block play. In…
We are pleased to share with you Leading Inspired Learning, our strategic plan for 2020 – 2023. This is a transformative time in the Child Care and Early Years sector. This plan outlines the change we want to inspire and the strategies we will implement in the next four years. In 2016, we created our first-ever…
by The Strive Team The 2021 Federal Election is officially underway and Child Care is finally being recognized as a ballot box issue! This is an opportunity to raise our collective voices and make accessible, affordable Child Care, and fair compensation and decent work for Child Care Professionals a reality! As Early…
What is a Community of Practice? A Community of Practice (CoP) is defined as a group of people joined by a common passion, concern, interest or enterprise. The term was originally coined in the early 1990’s by cognitive anthropologist, Jean Lave and educational theorist, Etienne Wenger, during their assessment of contextual learning amongst various…
Ally Scott, BA, RECE, Project Coordinator of Strive In light of reaching the end of our 2016-2018 Strategic Plan (don’t worry – another one is on its way!) I wanted to highlight some of the key deliverables we have achieved and ensure everyone is aware of the various ways to engage with us and…
Child Care and Early Years Professionals: Site Tour Information Strive and the Early Years Professional Network are currently looking for potential centres that would like to host a Site tour. Below is more information regarding Site Tours, what hosting entails and how to apply. Thank you in advance for applying! Thank you for your interest…
Strive had the extraordinary honour of sharing Erika Murray’s impact story at our last Strive Committee meeting on Friday June 8, 2018. Erika had recently attended two of Strive’s professional learning opportunities – ‘Wee’ Wonder: Exploration of Everyday Materials for Infants and Continuous Professional Learning: Coffee and Conversations. It was evident that Erika has a…
As 2017 comes to an end, we want to thank all of our community partners for their ongoing support and dedication to the field of Early Childhood Education and to Strive. 2017 has been a monumental year for the growth of our profession and we look forward to what 2018 has in store. As always,…
Strive is proud and honored to announce our rebranding. Formerly the Quality Child Care Coordinating Committee, or QCCCC, we launched our new name, logo, and tagline in October 2017. With this comes not only an exciting change, but also marks this transformative time in the Early Years sector. While our strategic plan has been in…