Introducing ‘Nurturing Play and Beyond‘ – a comprehensive online hybrid course created by Early Childhood Educators for Early Childhood Educators, school age educators, ECE assistants and those with responsible adult training.
This course aims to bridge the gap in access to holistic, comprehensive training and learning opportunities for educators working with middle years children in school age child care programs across the Province of British Columbia.
Participants will delve into nine meticulously designed modules, inspired by the BC Early Learning Framework, trauma-informed practice, and guidance from subject matter experts in child care and education. These modules are crafted to promote inclusive, high-quality, and holistic child care.
Nurturing Play and Beyond was developed by Tyler Summers and is administered by the School Aged Child Care Association of BC (SACCA). Funding for the development and piloting of the course was provided by the Government of Canada and the Province of British Columbia.
The course is offered over a 4 week period, with 6 hours of self-led course material per week and a 2 hour facilitated session at the end of each week. Participants will receive a certificate for a total of 27 professional development hours. (Participants may take more or less time with self-led content depending on learning style).
Scenario-based learning allows learners to view situations from different perspectives, encouraging thoughtful reflection. Applying learning in a more practical way can help to build confidence and gives the learner the ability to transfer knowledge to real-life work. You will see how best practices might look in action, determine alternate strategies you could implement in these situations, and reflect on your own experiences as a care provider.
Your task is to take on the perspective of the provider within the scenario and determine:
What worked well?
What, if anything, could be done differently?
Remember, it is not the job of providers to diagnose children. Instead, we can do our best to create safe childcare ecosystems that promote social emotional well-being and support children and their diverse range of behaviours. This will be important to keep in mind while navigating the scenarios in Module 4.