As child care and early learning educators we spend our days in relationship to others and are attuned to children and their curiosities about the world surrounding them. We observe, we listen, we reflect, and we engage with children as co-learners and construct knowledge together.
Providing caring and responsive relationships is the foundation of our practice and it is important to recognize that when we invest in our own wellness, we are better able to connect and be responsive to others.
How Does Learning Happen (2014) highlights that by strengthening the capacity of adults who care for children, they can better support children with skills such as, coping with stressors, self-regulation, and the ability to solve problems and make decisions (p. 31).
One of the four foundations of Ontario's pedagogy is well-being and it asks us to provide foundational opportunities to children to develop skills that support their well-being and they will carry with them through life.
By engaging in our own personal wellness journey, we are able to role model acquired skills and foster the development of them with children. We know now more than ever that in order to strengthen early years programmes, we must support educators in their multidimensional role.
We’ve created this space as a place for you to find tools and resources to support your own wellness, and consider well-being in context to your professional practice.
