Our task is to help children communicate with the world using all their potential, strengths, and languages, and to overcome the obstacle presented by our culture.

— Loris Malaguzzi

I just wanted to introduce myself to anyone who is reading this – and say thank you! My name is Kim (she/her) and I am Registered Early Childhood Educator, Masters of Science student at the University of Guelph, in Ontario, Canada, and passionate sister, friend, daughter, skier, and cat-parent. I am known to occasionally do a back-country canoe trip or two as well. I completed a BSc in Psychology, and two years later, chose to complete a BASc in Child, Youth, and Family in order to register as an ECE. Prior to this, I have worked as a respite provider, inclusion counsellor, day camp director, emergency supply teacher, research assistant, tutor, outdoor education facilitator, and administrative assistant. I have volunteered in a speech and language pathology clinic, childcare and learning centre, classrooms, as an experiential learner in research, and as a graphic designer. I travelled in my teens and early 20s to Kenya, Australia, Europe, and the UK, but Guelph has been my steady home for my whole life. As a researcher I am investigating Ontario educator’s well-being, and as an educator I am learning how to instruct and give feedback at the post-secondary education level.

I created this blog because I have begun to engage in multiple reflective practices, and I wanted to start to share some of my insights regarding ECEC in Canada. Learning and growing with children has given me a deep sense of purpose and meaning in my life. Learning about what is meaningful for child development, various pedagogical approaches, and how to be a co-learner is something I am deeply curious about. As I learn the best practices for working with young children and how the administration of programs for children, social policies, and political climate affects children, I wanted to document my most valuable insights surrounding early childhood care and education. This blog started in the fall of 2019 for my course FRHD*4210 . I occasionally document my insights and attempt to pose interesting questions, ideas, or considerations for any readers. This blog is how I plan to contribute to advocacy for and the professional recognition of the ECEC sector, as well as keep a pulse on the ways in which my thinking and practice has been transformed as I engage in my lifelong learning processes.