As told by Dayna Wheeler, from the Akerley Child Care Centre, Nova Scotia College of Early Childhood Education
1. I help children learn and grow
Children learn through play. Each day I get to guide them in play experiences and watch them develop new skills. When a child does or tries something new, that’s so rewarding!
2. I get to build meaningful
relationships with the children and their families
We become extended members of each child’s family! We provide care for their children five days a week; the amount of trust that the parents put in us is beyond words. I take great pride in that, as I treat each toddler as if they were my own child.
3. I have a home away from home
I am at Akerley Child Care Centre more than I am home. My coworkers have become family to me. We work as a team: Constantly communicating. I can’t describe the amount of trust and respect I have for them. And if we don’t see each other enough from Monday to Friday—we even get together on weekends!
4. It makes me happy
Regardless of my of mood, once I open the door in the morning and hear the toddlers yelling my name and running to me for hugs, it’s only pure happiness. It’s something I look forward to when I wake up—the love from those children never gets old.
5. This is a hands-on job
When I graduated high school I knew I didn’t want to be sitting in a chair on a computer all day. I wanted something that would keep me busy and I would enjoy doing. Being an early childhood educator doesn’t feel like a job to me. At work I smile, laugh, cuddle and dance! How many people get to “Whip and Nae Nae” at their job?
6. NSCECE is a small college, so I felt
I mattered as a student
I wasn’t a number when I attended for two years. Within a week or two every teacher knew me by name, and I built relationships with them. They were my mentors—I wouldn’t be where I am today without them. If you showed them you wanted to learn, they would do anything in their power to help you. Sometimes I would sit in my teachers offices and just chat with them about life.
7. NSCECE not only offers in-class learning, but they offer hands-on learning in actual child care centres through practicum placements
You get four different job placements during the two-year program—one per semester. Two days each week I was in a centre, learning hands-on skills from professional early childhood educators. That was were I figured out what I valued in a child care centre.
