Ana is the Founder of Early Years Thriving (also known as Early Years Workshops). Ana has a Diploma in Early Childhood Education, a Bachelor's Degree in Child and Youth Care, and is currently completing a Master's Degree in Professional Education. Ana's main purpose with her training is to inspire positive change in the early years by helping adult caregivers to think about the ways in which they can help their children thrive.

As the organizer, Ana is the best person to reach out to if you have any questions. Ana will be hosting the event and interviewing two guest speakers.

Facilitator Bio: Carla Ward is an experienced Early Childhood Educator and the visionary founder of Early Learning Foundations, a business dedicated to promoting education and elevating the profession of Early Childhood Education. With over 18 years of diverse experience in education, Carla has held various roles and is committed to the growth and development of children.

Webinar Description: Designing a "YES" space for children is a great way to create a safe and engaging environment that promotes exploration, independence, and learning. A "YES" space is a designated area where children can play and explore freely, without restriction. In this presentation, you will learn what a yes space is, how it makes happier children, the educator's role and how to start designing a yes space. 

Facilitator Bio: Kisa Marx is the founder of Kidcrew Adventures located in Oak, Illinois. After working in the field of Early Education for over twenty years, she has become a fierce advocate for the physical, social and emotional development of the smallest among us, and in 2020 that journey led to deconstructing the traditional teaching model that is often adult-centered in order to place relationships and connection at the head and the child in the center. When Kisa is not defending the rights of children and play, she can be found hanging with her crew, with her family or cuddled up with one of her fur babies and surrounded by plants.

Webinar Description: In this webinar, I will guide the audience through the traditional model that usually encloses children under the pressure of unreasonable expectation and pin-point why this method does not align with DAP and actually inhibits optimal learning. I will then demonstrate how establishing a play pedagogy meets the child where they presently are, allows them to grow in an organic way and provides multiple opportunities to connect, build confidence, a sense of belonging and creates a framework for lifetime learning and self-actualization. 

Facilitator Bio: Kayla is an ECE, the host of the ECE honestly podcast and the owner of Blossoming Niños child care program. 

Webinar Description: In this interview, Kayla and Ana will have an ECE honestly conversation about all things ECE and podcasting. Kayla will also share her perspectives as a Family Child Care provider. During this session, participants will get a chance to ask questions and learn from Kayla.

Facilitator Bio: An Ontario Certified Teacher of 15 years with the Toronto District School Board, Saira Remtulla is passionate and devoted to children and teaching. As the Founder of Connected Start, Saira has developed a fun-filled program tailored to children age 0 to 5 years, which provides them the foundational tools necessary to achieve success in their educational journey. Making 'connections' with their caregivers, their surroundings, and each other are the keys to success!

Webinar Description: In this webinar, educators will learn how to use rhymes to CONNECT, ENGAGE and EDUCATE children using the Connected Start Method. The focus is connecting with children through the use of puppets, rhymes and play. The rhymes used incorporate Indigenous land acknowledgment, student well-being, and opportunities for various inquiry topics. The second focus is to empower and build educator confidence with the intent to eliminate challenging behaviours and improve educator well-being.

Facilitator Bio: Ashleigh Davies is an early childhood educator with her bachelors in ECCE and has worked with children in a variety of roles over the last several years. Ashleigh has worked as a post-secondary instructor, leading ECE post-basic courses, and currently is the CAPC Coordinator and Parent Community Liaison with North Shore Community Resources. She runs several workshops throughout BC and in each of her workshops she brings her passion for inclusivity, social justice, and advocating for the importance of early childhood education & educators.

Webinar Description: This workshop looks at discussing how we represent gender in the classroom in an inclusive environment. Workshop also looks at addressing how we as educators may be influenced by our ideas of gender roles and how they become portrayed in the classroom, discussing ways to make our classrooms inclusive for all children, regardless of gender.