Day in the life of an Early Childhood Educator

Every day is different. Every day is something new and I just don't know what to expect. So I go in with the feeling of excitement and looking forward to what's next. I've gone to the park and picked up grass, twigs, leaves, rocks, flowers, you name it, whatever I can find on the way because I try my best to make it different, incorporate different learning materials and different learning styles. For an adult, it might be a little silly, but for the kids, they love it. We have early playtime in which children take their own centers and create what they want to create. It could be dinosaurs, volcanoes, extinction, it can be anything. And what we do, we take that curiosity and we create a learning opportunity about it. It's a learning experience for us as well because they're so unique. One strategy or one way of teaching might work with one child, but not with the other. So we need to get to know the kids on a deeper level and learn about their personality, their learning styles and all that, and then go from there. When I was in Canada, I was just here to learn the English language classes. And during that time, my son was in child care. I was used to go and do the circle time with him, sit, sing songs. And that really inspired me. So I decided to go in the early childhood education. I get study and then I came back as an early childhood educator. And now I'm delivering all those programs myself for the children. What drew me to the field of early childhood education was my wonder of learning and my wonder of children too. I've always loved them, respected them. And really it goes back to my sister. She would always read to me as a child and she's a lot older. And she sparked the curiosity of literacy in me. I was involved in a lot of sports in school, and which carried over to coaching and helping younger kids learn skills. So having that coaching experience also helped me decide to help children. Being flexible in this role is very important. Children's emotions and characteristics are day to day different. One day they could be sad and you could walk in and you could change their whole day just by being in the room. If you are respectful and you respect the families who are coming into your center, the child will start trusting you because they see their parents are welcomed. Therefore, this is a welcoming place or it's a trustworthy place. So they will open up and once they start trusting you is when they are ready to learn. I'm just so amazed how their brains work and how they come up with certain conclusions. And from an inquiry or when they take an activity and they build it further. And they'll take something simple as coloring to the next level or play-doh or it could be anything. And I'm always amazed how they by themselves create. What I find most rewarding about working with children is seeing their growth throughout the months or years that you spend with them. Seeing where they came, where they started up to where they end up. It really like gives me a sense of like pride and like fulfillment. Just watching them grow and just knowing that you had a part in that. It's just so much more meaningful to walk into a job where the community and the parents and the families see you as part of the family. And it's just so gratifying to do that every day. Because I love children, I love to work with them. And I think I'm going to end up working with the children forever. Knowledge and education is fueled through curiosity. Sometimes we don't know the answers. But we're leading and we're supporting each generation to find their own answer, to find their own path. Education at an early childhood level is very different from education as in high school or post-secondary. They're going into school to experience things that they will remember for their whole life. Going to school and playing, making friends. Those are like lifelong skills that you develop. Children are learning how to learn. My name is Christopher Principe and I'm a registered early childhood educator in York Region. My name is Samina and I've been in this profession for about 25 years. My name is Shakira Sinclair. I've been in ECE for five years. My name is Susie Luchente and I have been in the field for about six years. My name is Samra. I'm in the field for five years now. I've been in Canada for seven years. My name is Richard Solomon. I'm currently in ECE and I've been in the field for over 10 years.