Photo Karen Graham.
Early Childhood educators Brenda Demarche and Nancy Hurley are expanding the programming and hours of operation of the Early Learning Centre to reach more local families.
There has been a significant transformation in the facilities for our local EarlyON Centre in the Old Millbrook School.
A fresh coat of paint has been applied, some new pint-sized furniture delivered and an infant area been installed providing brighter and more functional new play areas in the two rooms used by our youngest residents.
Over the summer, the centre has benefited from the expertise of Tara McLean, who is familiar to many residents having worked at North Cavan Public School. She has spent the summer applying her ECE skills in Millbrook in the centre and at Centennial Place where she ran a new Rhyme Time Program each Monday. She returns to school this month to complete a Bachelor of Education.
Permanent staff have now been hired to complete the roster. Local resident Brenda Demarche joined the staff as a full time educator in August and is applying her RECE skills in the development and delivery of a wide range of educational programming. Amanda Suurd will complete the complement this month in a part-time position.
Program changes beginning this month is the extension of the Stay n’ Play program on Tuesdays and Thursdays which will now begin at 9 am and run until 2pm, and will continue on Sundays from 9:30 am until 1pm. Monday programing at Centennial Place will now be available every week except on long weekends, alternating between the Music and Movement program and Rhyme Time. Structure in the program is minimal, allowing children to explore play centres including art, water and collections of loose parts to stimulate imaginative play either with or alongside other visitors. Snack time is also open-ended, allowing participants to set their own timetables to encourage them to come when it suits their schedules.
The programming mandate has expanded to include children up to the age of twelve and to provide support for parents and caregivers and the first program for older children arrives on September 28th with PA Day programming to support older children. Centre Administrator Nancy Hurley continues to develop programs aimed at strengthening parenting skills, supporting parent education and fostering healthy child development with her staff as well as in partnership with other organizations, ensuring support is delivered by qualified professionals. Sessions will include information sharing about child development, nutrition and play-based learning and facilitating connections with specialized community services, with the first Parent Information evening featuring Angela Hoar RECE, Pedagogical Mentor and Materials Initiative Coordinator at Compass Early Learning and Care. Sharing pedagogical expertise with other local organizations will facilitate the delivery of consistent programming for youngsters in the community.
When asked if the Early Years program may be vulnerable to funding cuts from the new provincial government, Hurley was unfazed. After all, the early years programs including full day junior kindergarten began as a conservative initiative during the Mike Harris government in 1998, when the province commissioned the first of a series of provincial Early Years Studies. It recommended investment in early child development and parenting to ensure the preparation of a competent, educated population.
New research at the time was revealing the importance of brain development in the first three years, when competence and coping skills for the later stages of life are established. Research suggested that even junior kindergarten programs missed the most critical period of brain development, as the actual architecture of the brain which establishes the nature and extent of adult capacities occurs from conception to age four. The report recommended the introduction of a network of free, early child development and parenting centres where play-based, problem-solving learning with other children and adults and parenting programs to support caregivers in all aspects of early learning. It may have taken twenty years to arrive in Millbrook, but the need for this program is only growing, so odds are, the program is here to stay. KG