Thank you to everyone who participated in our event.

Please feel free to look through the gallery of images from our special event below. 

Mon Oct 3rd

8:30am to 4:30pm
Towneplace Suites by Marriott Brantford and Conference Centre
30 Fen Ridge Court, Brantford

Educators are competent and capable, curious, and rich in experience. They are knowledgeable, caring, reflective, and resourceful professionals. They bring diverse social, cultural, and linguistic perspectives. They collaborate with others to create engaging environments and experiences to foster children’s learning and development. Educators are lifelong learners. They take responsibility for their own learning and make decisions about ways to integrate knowledge from theory, research, their own experience, and their understanding of the individual children and families they work with. Every educator should feel he or she belongs, is a valuable contributor, and deserves the opportunity to engage in meaningful work.

Leading the Way: Childcare & Self-Care Go Hand in Hand

In this dynamic and inspiring presentation, Earl Lambert, Motivational Speaker & Inspirational Storyteller, reminds us of what’s most important in our careers as Early Childhood Educators. He shares some teachings of his Indigenous culture and how it applies to todays caregiving practices but also how it applies to taking care of yourself amidst the hustle and bustle of your every day work. Using magic, music, humour and fun audience interaction, he’ll leave you feeling inspired in the fundamental role you play as an educator and that much more motivated toward making a difference!

Earl Lambert is a Cree-Métis Warrior who continues to live out his passion as a motivational speaker and inspirational storyteller.

His dynamic and entertaining way of combining the elements of comedy, music, magic, hip-hop and uplifting energizers with inspirational life-lessons has made him popular with First Nations and organizations across Canada.

Earl’s a certified Life-Coach who attended the University of Northern British Columbia, where he majored in Commerce with a double minor in First Nations studies and Political Science. A successful entrepreneur, he is currently the CEO and President of 3 companies; Warrior Spirit Productions Ltd., WSP Property Investments and lastly, PROUD TO BE Apparel, an increasingly popular clothing line that continues to sell in several countries across the world.

He lives with a great sense of pride as an Indigenous role-model paving a way for a brighter future. He continues to gain strength from the spiritual teachings of his elders and is well-known for not only his powerfully upbeat energy, but for his positive and optimistic outlook on life. Driven by his passion to motivate others toward making positive life choices and living out their dreams, he remains committed to inspiring others with the gift of his words!

Seeing, Wondering, and Investigating in our Outdoor Environments – Jenny Britt & Sasha Patterson, YMCA of Southwestern Ontario

How do you ensure that seeing, wondering, and investigating occurs in your outdoor spaces each day? This session will explore how educators can ensure children’s voices and experiences in inquiry are represented in the outdoors. Embracing children as researchers, who actively participate in pedagogical documentation, allows for more authentic storytelling of the aha moments and wonderings that arise during rich outdoor play experiences. We will discuss tips and strategies for using provocations and documentation as a vehicle to make children’s voices visible.

The Confident Professional | What’s Your Story- Lisa Clarke

Your personal narratives shape how you show up as a professional. What do your stories say about you? What is the story you want to be telling? Here’s your chance to honour the who, what, where, when & how you got here, to fully embody your why. This workshop will explore reflective practices that will get you to the very core of your ‘why’, so that the very important work that you do can be done with intention, integrity and incredible impact.

Building Connected Teams – Adventureworks

When individuals are provided opportunities to make meaningful connections with team members they are more likely to develop positive relationships and a culture of support. This highly interactive workshop will provide participants opportunities to connect with others and learn activities and approaches that they can utilize to develop their own connected teams. Please note that we will sprinkle a little bit of FUN into this session. The Power of Connections – Lansdowne Children’s Centre “Fostering good relationships with children and their families is the single most important priority for Educators in Early Years programs” This workshop will explore the positive impact that Educators can make on children and their environment through connecting, relationship building and being a responsive partner.

The Power of Connections – Lansdowne Children’s Centre

“Fostering good relationships with children and their families is the single most important priority for Educators in Early Years programs” This workshop will explore the positive impact that Educators can make on children and their environment through connecting, relationship building and being a responsive partner.