木瓜直播

Storytelling From the Heart of Africa is a dynamic workshop for early childhood educators, offering practical tools to teach children about African culture through oral storytelling, music, and movement. Participants will explore traditional African tales that foster literacy, creativity, and cultural awareness, while learning to incorporate diverse perspectives into their classrooms. Aligned with the conference theme of diversity, this workshop equips educators with inclusive practices that celebrate cultural heritage and nurture a sense of belonging for all children.

Presenter: Mekdes Gete

In this workshop, participants will engage in a rich discussion about making traditional leadership roles as inclusive as possible in child care programs across BC. Facilitators will guide participants in exploring their own leadership profiles and provide strategic ideas for integrating inclusion into every stage of program design and implementation. Participants will also learn about creating inclusive workplaces and building healthy and respectful relationships with their colleagues.

Presenter: Alycia Garcia, Cara Baudin

Early years settings can be full of high expectations for both children and educators leading to anxiousness, stress and struggle. We give so much of ourselves to our work and our days are so busy we often feel like we are on a merry-go-round of routines and curriculum. How then can we learn to slow down, take a breath and focus on what really matters in our day – care, connection and joy? In this interactive workshop we will unpack the meaning and importance of care in early childhood settings through the lens of the 木瓜直播Code of Ethics. Together we will discover how prioritizing care will ultimately lead to more meaningful experiences for children, stronger connection with families and greater job satisfaction for educators. Actively demonstrating care for children, families and ourselves will create deeper connections and joyful environments where we can all learn, grow and thrive.

Presenter: Charlene Gray

In the fast-paced field of early childhood education, professionals and leaders must balance administrative demands, program quality, and the ongoing support of their teams. Creating a Culture of Reflective Practice is a practical exploration of how to embed systems, structures, and protocols that foster a culture of intentional reflection in early learning environments. Participants will gain tools to work from a place of values and vision, build strong relationships, recognize and support team strengths, and cultivate professional learning in meaningful ways. Through storytelling, collaborative discussions, and clear, actionable strategies, this workshop invites attendees to rethink their approach to creating spaces of respect, trust, and collaboration. Whether managing large or small teams, mentoring others, or aspiring to lead, participants will leave equipped to enhance their performance, strengthen their teams, and create programs that inspire and thrive. By promoting systems and structures that encourage collective reflection, the workshop reinforces the shared accountability of building a culture of reflection, positioning it as a community effort rather than the sole responsibility of leaders. Participants will leave with actionable steps to cultivate professional learning, amplify team strengths, and build programs worthy of their communities—rooted in respect and collaboration.

Presenter: Marilen Hernandez

This workshop delves into the concept of self-compassion, exploring why it is often foreign to many and how it can strengthen self-regulation. Participants will learn about the three pillars of mindfulness self-compassion and the four keys to integrating self-compassion into daily life. During our time together, we will examine the benefits and common resistances to self-compassion, addressing their roots in family, childhood experiences, and societal influences. Through exploring myths, research, and personal dialogue, participants will gain insights into creating space for themselves and nurturing curiosity and awareness through mindfulness and somatic practices. This experiential session encourages a deep exploration of the inner world, aiming to shift perceptions and enhance personal growth.

Presenter: Kate Toye

Referencing work with young children in ECE classrooms at a lab school and an urban childcare centre in Vancouver, BC, this workshop invites participants to consider tea as the co-composer of rituals of collective care and careful attention. Inspired by Kummen’s (2010) question on what might happen if children and educators came together to create a way of living where the rhythms and flows of their daily lives outlined their situatedness as a community, tea asks of us to be more than consumers. Tea is magic and medicine, mystery and time. Tea has agency and adynamic materiality that spills into every part of our daily rhythms. When food-sharing practices in early childhood education are infused with a sense of artfulness as a difference and an attunement (Manning, 2015), children-educators-food-tea-materials-stories can become agentic participants in the thinking, doing and composing of convivial gatherings. The intentional shift to reimagine food-sharing practices as relational and aesthetic experiences rather than routine-based care create mediums for connection, creativity, and curriculum-making. Thus, gatherings with young children then transformed into opportunities for deeper relational and pedagogical engagements, disrupting the image of the educator as a contractable caregiver and the child as a passive receiver of food.

Presenters: Sara Sutherland, Adrieene Argent, Sylvia Kind, Tatiana Zakharova-Goodman, Johanna Po, Laura Lloyd-Jones

Geographies of watercolours connects directly with the advanced curriculum course elements of what actively decolonizing practices could include in early childhood education, asking how can we think differently with colonial habits of mapping? The session will include watercolour experimentations and understandings of practice, politics, language and the potentiality of materials in a collegial, experimental space. What happens when we leave rubrics and assessment behind to make space for pushing boundaries and what happens when ideas live within and beyond formal curriculum.

Presenters: Dr. Sarah Hennessy, Kayla, Fiorda, Susana Pineda, Saba Sadeghian, Larissa Guenther

Join the Capilano University Children’s Centre pedagogist, atelierista, director, and educators as we explore ways of doing, making, and re-making pedagogical narration practices together with children. Where we are held not by methods rather by our curricular, artistic, and pedagogical commitments and the impulse to create a collective life of thinking, creating, and working ideas together. What might it be like to be with children in processes of doing, undoing, composing andre-composing ideas, conjectures, and traces of curricular inquiries? How might things work and what new thoughts are possible to think when we undo some of the stabilities of what documentation ‘should be’ and craft other possibilities?

Presenters: Sylvia Kind, Adrienne Argent, Johanna Po, Gabrielle Neves, Ali MorrowMarking

Social emotional learning, and the capacity to take time to focus and create meaningful ways to build it is what this session is all about. This session focuses on how we can be aware and stay connected to ourselves in tricky moments when we feel uncertain or unsettled and instead of turning to an authoritarian way of responding, can instead be pro-active and remember ourselves and the children we're supporting.

Presenter: Katy Bigsby

This interactive workshop, equips early childhood educators, administrators, and childcare providers with essential knowledge of employment rights, including fair wages, workplace safety, and job security. Through real-life case studies, group discussions, and actionable strategies, participants will gain tools to advocate for equitable working conditions and professional well-being. The session empowers delegates to strengthen connections within their communities by sharing this knowledge and fostering a culture of fairness and respect in the ECE sector. The workshop combines collaborative dialogue, resource-sharing, and action planning to ensure participants leave with practical solutions to bring back to their workplaces.

Presenter: Mahsa Hedayatzadeh

This workshop will support the increase of children’s time and meaningful experiences outdoors, including Indigenous ways of knowing, learning, and land as teacher. DANU stands for , D for Discovery, A for Art, N for Nature and U for Understanding. to understand ones self as well as the world around us, our place in the natural world and how to express ourselves. You will be offered some practical and useful hands on ideas and ifnroatmion on how to get children outisde and connecting with nature and aminals in safe, fun and approachable ways.

Presenter: Alicia EmbreeDANU

This is a 2 part workshop

See description - E5 for details

Have you ever wondered what it is like to be outside with children all day, no matter what weather condition and seasonal changes? Have you sat in the rain, listened to the tree branches talk as the wind danced by your ears? We have been held by our land in such careful and tender ways, now it’s our turn to return the favour! What are some effective and engaging ways to deliver environmental education to young children? In this workshop, two passionate nature-loving ECEs will take you through their own journey as outdoor educators. We’ll do storytelling, discuss topics such as foraging, waste reduction, recycling, green living and play games in nature! Let’s nourish our connection to the natural world and be caretakers of the land together.

Presenters: Allison Koberstein, Jui-Jou Jasmine Chou