Southgate Medallion Tribute

Happy 2024!

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

December File Review

I am happy to report that our last file review from Licensing went very well. Thank you to the three educators who welcomed Jacquie Blackmore, our agency Licensing Officer, into their homes. She was very impressed by what she observed during each visit.

As a reminder, you will only ever be visited by our Licensing Officer, Jacquie Blackmore for an unscheduled visit. Please always ask her for her ID – she will be pleased to do so. Always ask for ID when anyone comes to your home, especially those purporting to be from the government.

Day Home Closures

If you have no children in your day home on a day in which you would usually be open, please let your consultant know. As it is winter, travel conditions for the consultants and myself can be more dangerous than usual. It is common courtesy to send a quick email if you know that your day home is going to be closed.

Handbook Password Change

From January the password for the handbook will be changing. We will give you the password at the upcoming Standards Core Training on Wednesday 3rd and Thursday 4th January.

Thank you and have a great January

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 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.

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.

Nafisa's Response:

"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 Consultants over the years who have shared new Techniques and Ideas, 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 Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!"

Nafisa Jivanjee :)

We are excited to welcome Maisa Altaf, Karthiga Selvaraj, and Sana Kaleem to the agency!

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!

A big shout-out to our consultants Tadelech Midaksa and Stephanie Eke, and educators Vera Halabi, Marie Rose Cid, Saba Tariq, and Humera Khan on completing the Supporting Curriculum Practice Flight series!

3rd & 4th January, 6.30pm to 9.00pm: Core Training – Standards

Planning for individual infants and toddlers in groups involves paying close attention and finding ways to tune in to individual children to learn from them what they need, think, and feel. This tuning into each child within a group is the core of high-quality care. Connecting with families helps teachers build trust and understanding as well as learn about the family’s culture and home language. Conscious preparing of the environment, engaging in responsive care routines, and providing opportunities for exploration based on young children’s interests, curiosity, and motivation are all important pieces of high-quality infant and toddler group care. During their first 2 years, infants learn about who they are through repeated experiences with their parents, and with you, as their teacher. They also learn through body experiences. Through relationships, infants learn their first ideas about whether they are listened to or not, whether what they choose to do is valued or not, whether how they express their emotions is accepted or is not, whether they can explore or not, and whether their needs are mostly met. In contrast, preschoolers and school-age children have a more developed image of who they are. It is important for teachers to know that although our sense of self develops throughout our lifetime, how we treat infants and what we allow and expect them to do and not do has a great influence on who they become.

Here are some suggestions to consider when you observe: -

• Start with a specific focus.
• Pick an infant or toddler in your care to observe and make notes about what you see.
• Focus on a specific domain or goal to understand how the child interacts with peers or family, or when exploring objects.
• Use a checklist or other form to help you observe and track development.
• Choose a time of day to observe a child, such as during drop-off and separation from family members, or during outdoor play.
• Just observe for a while without looking for anything and see what you notice.
• Pay attention to your own responses and feelings.
• Focused observation can often help an adult feel closer to a child, and maybe even more empathetic to the child’s experience. How does observing a child affect you?

https://childcareta.acf.hhs.gov/infant-toddler-resource-guide/learning-suite/child-care

"Hello everyone!

My name is Stephanie and I have been with Southgate Medallion Family Day Home Agency as a Consultant since 2021. I have a B.A in Education and MGS in Gerontology. Having worked in the field of childcare as an educator for over 12 years, I have supported and interacted with children and families from diverse backgrounds.

I love exploring the world through the eyes and natural curiosity of children, reading, walking, and watching movies. Working in this rewarding field of early childhood education with Southgate Medallion Family Day homes has been an engaging, stimulating experience as I continue to meet new families, children and educators.

OUTDOOR VIBES (Things we experienced)

Date: November 2023 By: Nasima Begum

Observation: As I was observing the children, when they were sitting on the bench, S and A were lifting up their hands by saying “yeah we did it, made it to the playground”. On the other side S, E & C giggled by saying the same. There was curiosity while playing with the tubes & sand. S and C either used a spoon or hand to fill the tubes through the coconut hole. It was observed C used Spoons in both hands to shape the sands by saying “ it looks flat now” he continued to layer the sands with the spoon.

Learning Disposition

Playing & Playful: Children were happily playing as the playground is their favourite place to visit. Also, they did chalk creation together by sharing with each other what they drew. It was full of fun as C & S were giving their thoughts of adding what else to draw. .

Caring: C & E while playing on the spring equipment, C was holding his brother's hand as they were moving too fast on it.

Participating: S, A & C joined to play with the cardboard tubes. El, E, & S played with dishes & playing food. They all shared their experience of their play with each other.

Seeking: C was Curious what if the sand reaches on top of the coconut? So, he stirred with a spoon so that the sand would go down to the hole in the tube.

Conclusion:

Outdoor play presents opportunities for exploring and using large equipment. This involves children taking turns, sharing, cooperating, negotiating and talking to each other, all essential skills when interacting with other people in a positive way. During the Children's play, there was lots of imagination. Children are creative and natural explorers and imaginative play allows them to express themselves and make sense of the world.

As stated on page 65, Alberta's Early Learning and Care Framework, 2:4 Responsive Environments: Time, Space, Materials, and Participation,

“Space for play, for alone time, for social play with others, and for focused opportunities to pursue an interest are important for children as learners and as citizens.”

The office is closed on January 1, 2021, and will reopen on January 2, 2024.

Please call the After Hours Emergency Phone: 780-245-3097 in case of any emergency.

We wish you all a Happy New Year!