Southgate Medallion Tribute

Happy 2024!

I hope you all had a peaceful holiday with your family and I wish you all the best for the coming year ahead.

JANUARY 2024 Ages and Stages Questionnaire

Please look out for information and an invitation to participate in the January 2024 Ages and Stages Questionnaire.

You will receive the letter on January 8th and the link to take the two questionnaires on January 10th.

The agency highly recommended that you complete both questionnaires. The ASQ- SE2 focuses on your child’s Social and Emotional Development and the ASQ 3 asks you questions that relate to the Holistic development of your child.

Your consultant will follow up with a response by February 29th.

Please reach out to your consultant if you have any further questions.

(*The ASQ is open to children aged up to 5 years)

Thank you and have a great January and February

Emma Dajavs

Coordinator.

The agency chose the Terra Centre as its focus for the 2023 Winter Donation Drive.

Terra Centre is a non-profit organization helping pregnant and parenting teens develop the self-reliance and skills to be successful parents. In any given year, Terra supports nearly a thousand teen parents and their children, whose lives would be critically different without Terra’s help. Teens can come to Terra at any stage in their parenting journey and receive support for several years, up to the age of 24.

Friday December 8th was a busy morning for all our consultants as we zipped across the city, dressed in our ugliest of sweaters, to drop off Holiday Gifts to our educators, and collect donations of newborn items.

Items collected by parents, educators and agency staff were delivered to Terra Centre that same day. As you can see, many of you donated generously to this important cause.

The Agency would like to convey its deepest gratitude to all parents and educators who participated in the Winter 2023 Donation Drive.

Thank you to all the educators who attended our first ever Agency Virtual Paint Night!

Megan and Emma had so much fun facilitating painting a starlight wintery scene and a cute snowman.

Both the consultants and the educators enjoyed a night of connection, creativity, and chatter!

We look forward to hosting this again in the future and hope to see you join us!

The Agency recently acknowledged Nafisa’s 25 years of service to Early Childhood Education.

Ashley (Consultant) and Emma (Coordinator) paid a surprise visit to Nafisa’s day home to deliver gifts, flowers and a certificate of years of service.

Nafisa was both surprised and happy and enjoyed visiting with Emma and Ashley to talk about her family, her successes as a day home educator, and the joy she has felt giving care to so many children over the years.

Thank you Nafisa for your commitment to providing excellence in childcare, for your positive energy and for creating a positive relationship with the agency.

Here’s to many more years of partnership.

It fills me with so much Pride to write a small Note of Appreciation to SMFDH Agency. I have had the Privilege to work with them for the last 25 years! It seems that it's always been like a Family. SMFDH Agency has always been very supportive and always encouraging with learning opportunities, to meet and make friends with Educators and learn from each other (Many Faces with One Heart). I have had the pleasure of working with many Consultant's over the years who have shared new Techniques and Idea's, have been very understanding and helpful whenever I've needed help and guidance to best Support the Children and their Families. I've been blessed to work with many children in my care, Teach them,Guide them,Nurture them, Play and Listen to their Stories, help them when they get hurt or sad and to see them grow!

Thank you for everything you do and all the Support over these amazing 25 years! Looking forward to many more years of Nurturing children and supporting Families.

Wishing you all a very Happy New Year!

Nafisa Jivanjee

I have been working with Southgate Medallion Family day homes since July. 2019.

I graduated from Grant MacEwan’s Early Learning and Child Care Program in 2013. I love my role as a consultant, supporting Educators in providing high quality childcare. I believe we should always be growing and learning, I enjoy continuing my Education and am currently taking a leadership course through NAIT. I love that as a consultant I get to build relationships with so many Educators, they teach me so many beautiful things!

My husband and I have two amazing children that we love dearly and in my free time I love to draw, paint and read!

Exploring the what, the why and the how

In the Early Childcare Education (ECE) community we often use the term “Co-learner” to describe how, as an adult, you are encouraged to interact with your children. As parents, you can be co-learners with your child(ren) along with other ECE professionals in their lives.

But what does it really mean and what does it look like to be a co-learner alongside children; and why is it important to try to adopt this practice of relationship in your home?

Defining the co-learner

When adopting the Alberta Flight Curriculum Framework a co-learning parent or guardian is defined as someone who:

Plays, seeks, participates, persists, cares alongside children and… openly seek to learn about children and their full environment.

Why is it important to be a co-learner?

Co-learning is a term that is used to describe the first part of the “Noticing” stage of the planning cycle. The first part of the planning cycle when you are planning for children’s interests and actions of play, is always to begin with forming connections with the children, at their level, so that you are better able to take meaningful and authentic observations of the children in play. As parents, you know your children the best! This makes it easier to notice what it is that is happening when they are playing and generally interacting with others.

As a co-learner you are building deeper connections to children, and a deeper understanding of the children’s play. As the Possibilities ECE Blog writes:

“Humans need each other. We are born with a desire to connect with other humans. In education, we construct knowledge through a process of working with others… individuals learn better in connection to others.” 12/1/2021

How are you co-learning? Be a shrub not a tree!

You are most likely co-learning without even knowing you are!

Here are just a few examples of how you co-learn throughout your day with your child(ren):

· When you splash in puddles with them- or during this time of the year, run in the snow with them.

· When you get muddy, messy and glittery alongside the children!

· When you ask your educator how was the child’s day in the dayhome?

· When you talk to others about your child’s play and inquire about whether they have noticed this kind of play too?

· When you role model being playful, seeking an answer to a question, persisting with a problem.

· When you sing, read, meditate, or exercise alongside your child.

These are just a few examples, but they all have one thing in common…they require you to be ACTIVELY involved with your children and ACTIVELY engaged with all other people in your child’s circle of influence. To be a co-learner: is to do, is to be proactive, is to be with the children at their level.

Picture yourself being a shrub - sitting at the child's level, and not a tree, standing over them!

Beyond being at the child’s level, you should be a participant too. Play with the playdough, join in the role play, run in the snow- do those things with your child that they enjoy doing! Let your child lead- they have great imaginations and a wonderful sense of play.

References:

https://www.possibilitiesece.com/blog/2021/1/12/what-is-co-learning

2014 Flight: Alberta’s Early Learning and Care Framework by Makovichuk, L., Hewes, J., Lirette, P., & Thomas, N.,

January. 1st, 2024 - New Years.

February. 19th - Family Day.