Presented by: Bethany Zack and Jess Abraham

This workshop focuses on supporting and celebrating 2-Spirit, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer, and sexual and gender diverse (2SLGBTQ+) children and families within child care and EarlyON settings.

This interactive session will provide you with simple tools and ideas to create an affirming environment that honours sexual and gender diversity, and fosters a sense of belonging for all. Take home learning resources will be provided to all participants.

Presented by:  Pamela Saa, MSW, RSW and Zahra Patel, RECE

This workshop, presented by a Child and Family Therapist and ECE collaboration, will emphasize the importance of partnerships between ECEs and mental health professionals. In an interactive learning space, we hope to inspire new ideas and perspectives on the role of an ECE in a family's circle of care.

Collaborating with other programs and professionals in parenting is like assembling a toolkit to reach vulnerable families. Just as a well-stocked toolkit provides the right tools for different tasks, partnering with various experts and programs equips Early Childhood Educators with the resources and support needed to effectively address the diverse needs of families.

The session will support educators with practical skills to initiate conversations about mental health and encourage collaboration - ultimately enhancing the well-being of both families and educators.

What attendees will learn:

1. Importance of collaboration
2. Noticing when a family needs support
3. What supporting family with mental health access can look like
4. Alleviating educator burnout through village building

Presented by:  Ce Cil Kim, MA and Shawnee Hardware, PhD

This presentation is not designed to be just another anti-racism workshop. By using an intersectional lens, it requires participants to rethink their notions of childhood, ages 0-6, as being an age of idyllic innocence. By looking at the historical and situated lived experiences of Black, racialized, and Indigenous children, we ask participants to think about how they can pedagogically include a more nuanced representation of children. Two key questions we ask participants to reflect on while in the session are: 1) How does your socialization inform the way in which you view childhood innocence? and 2) Who gets to be seen as "innocent" in childcare spaces?  Finally, we will use a dialogical approach so that as a group, we can critically think about our practices to ultimately ensure that all children experience a deep sense of belonging in early learning environments. 

In this session participants will:

• engage in individual and group discussions about what pedagogical practices (community of practice) promote anti-racist and anti-oppressive early learning environments.
• critically reflect on their notion of childhood innocence.
• create, through case studies discussions, strategies to foster safe and anti-oppressive learning environments.

Presented by: Patricia Falope &  Victory Igwenagu

This practical workshop will explore implementing culturally safe practices in the context of childcare and early learning. It will draw on existing literature, evidence from community-based research among over 200 Black parents with children aged 0-6 in Toronto, and real-life case studies from families served across the Greater Toronto Area. The session will delve into tough questions, such as: Why is childcare and education a perilous experience for so many Black children and families? Why are Black children over-represented in special education and child protection?

Applying the lens of anti-Black racism, participants will be engaged in examining the underlying practices and attitudes that hinder culturally safe practices, and the role of ECE education, and other influences in shaping these. Working together, they will begin unpacking the real barriers to effective, respectful inclusion and diversity practices. The workshop will go beyond family involvement and diversity and inclusion policies to what comes next, by focusing on the lived experiences of Black families and what we can learn from their perspectives.

The role of early childhood settings, as the first point of formal engagement with the education system, will be examined with correlations drawn to how these experiences shape child and family outcomes and perceptions. Through a guided critical review of the underlying structural and social factors that play a role in fostering or hindering true diversity and inclusion, participants will employ practical tools related to childcare and early learning program implementation, to align their interactions towards building genuine partnerships. By the end of the workshop, participants would have developed personal action plans towards creating a more inclusive environment where every child and family feels valued.

Skills gained will include:

• Culturally safe practices for working with children and families from marginalized groups.
• Implementing shifts towards zero indifference in childcare and early learning delivery.
• Developing practical and personalized strategies to foster more inclusive, healthy and respectful environments for all.

Presented by: Andrea Seater

This workshop will focus on the importance of building positive, respectful and productive relationships with parents and caregivers so that children will achieve success in their early childhood setting.

Topics will include:

• Learning about the child and family through the F words
• Exploring developmental checklists
• Communicating with caregivers about their child’s progress/success/challenges
• Understanding what to do if there are concerns in development
• Reviewing advocacy tips and community resources

Through group activities, informal discussion, and reflection on staff’s personal work environment, the class will learn strategies to learn about families' unique stories, explore ways to support a child who is not reaching all their developmental milestones, and leave knowing how to engage parents and caregivers to create a meaningful partnership with the child’s success as the first priority.

Presented by: Isaiah Grewal and William Tziavaras

Isaiah and William will share their experiences of growing up without speech and being presumed incompetent in early childhood programs, school, and developmental services. This presentation will address:

• what I wish my family, teachers, supporters and service providers had understood in my childhood and youth
• how apraxia operates in my life and what helps
• autistic play and learning in children

Q & A will follow video presentations.

Presented by: Louise Zimanyi and Elder Albert Marshall

"When we walk together in a good way, we learn to see and know the world through two eyes."

'Walking Together' (Annick Press, 2023) is an innovative picture book, co-authored by Louise Zimanyi and Mi’kmaw Elder Albert Marshall. The story introduces readers to Etuaptmumk, the gift of multiple perspectives in the Mi’kmaw language, also known as Two-Eyed Seeing (E/TES), as we follow a group of young children connecting to nature as their teacher.  This session explores how E/TES braids together the strengths of Indigenous and non-Indigenous ways of knowing and can inspire nurturing respectful, reciprocal, responsible relationships with the Land and Water, plant-life, animals and other-than-human beings for the benefit of all.

Participants will:

• engage in an interactive reading of  "Walking Together"
• share experiences of how nature is a teacher through storytelling and drawing
• discuss how “nature has rights, we have responsibilities” to protect Mother Earth for the ancestors, present, and future generations
• explore practical ways to engage in and with nature through E/TES for all ages

Presented by: Joseph Gibbons

Learning to consistently prioritize and enhance your mental and physical wellbeing is paramount if you are to live an optimized life. Too many people are tired from morning to night, routinely overconsume caffeine, and frequently struggle to get deep, restful sleep. Endless to-do lists and consistent stress have depleted them to the point of utter exhaustion. The concept of waking up refreshed, having sustainable energy all day, and falling asleep easily might be a truly foreign concept to you, but it doesn’t have to be.

There is another path you can take; one that is both universal and specific. This two-part, experiential presentation will help participants understand the biological and psychological factors contributing to mental wellbeing, energy, immunity, and happiness. You will be encouraged to reflect introspectively on the ways in which you might optimize your health and happiness, even when inundated with countless responsibilities and daily stresses.

In this fun and interactive workshop each participant will begin developing their unique blueprint for optimal health and wellness. Additionally, each participant will be provided with a copy of the presenters award-winning book, Discovering Optimal: Shift Your Narrative, Transform Your Habits, Boost Your Energy.