Inside the Federation

Winner of the 2009 Canadian Child Care Federation's Award for Excellence in Child Care - Pat Wege

CCCF President Don Giesbrecht presented Pat Wege of the Manitoba Child Care Association with the 2009 CCCF Award for Excellence in Child Care at the Celebration Gala at the co-hosted MCCA and CCCF National Child Care Conference in Winnipeg this May. Pat has worked tirelessly to improve the delivery of child care services in Manitoba for over thirty years. She has worked as a caregiver, manager, and presently as Executive Director of the Manitoba Child Care Association. Her efforts have shaped and influenced the Provinces’ child care systems in every way. She is involved in policy development, research, quality promotion, regulatory review, professional development provision, working conditions for caregivers, work with media and advocacy with politicians and policy makers, and influenced the public’s opinion of child care. Pat’s contributions to the field cannot be measured and her influence has touched every part of child care in Manitoba and Canada.

CCCF has joined together with the Canadian Language and Literacy Research Network to develop a Resource Kit containing 2 volumes of practical and research information on building a foundation for numeracy with young children.

The Early Years Volume is aimed at child care practitioners and the parents of young children while the School Years Volume is aimed at elementary school teachers and the parents of school aged children. Contained in the resource are informative articles as well as activity cards with a self reflection tool. Both Volumes will be grounded by a research paper. Expected distribution date is the Fall 2009. For updates and more information, visit www.qualitychildcarecanada.ca or www.cllrnet.ca.

I was deeply moved and very honoured to receive the beautiful plaque in recognition of my 18 years of service at the Canadian Child Care Federation at the recent conference in Winnipeg. I arrived at the CCCF office in September 1991 with no experience in early childhood education. To that point, my career had included teaching in the secondary school system, writing, editing and library work. I was on a quick learning curve as my first job was information officer! The resource collection was all in boxes and had not been catalogued! I have learned so much over the intervening years from the wonderful people with whom I have worked at the staff, Board, Member Council, and provincial/territorial levels. I feel that I have been able to make more of a difference in the early childhood education field than I have ever could have in secondary school education.

When I joined the Federation, the organization was known as the Canadian Child Day Care Federation and had about 500 members! I have experienced the CCCF’s many challenges and successes over the years. The move to an affiliate structure was a significant event in CCCF history and has been very successful and linking the sector across Canada. When I look back at the important resources that we have developed, I am very proud of the collaborative work that we accomplished in their creation. I am also very pleased to have had the opportunity to work with my colleagues in Alberta on the first ELCC accreditation system in Canada. Their gifts that acknowledge my work were totally unexpected and very much appreciated.

Thanks to my friends and colleagues from coast to coast to coast in Canada. I will miss you all but I will follow the advancement of earlyA learning and child care in Canada and the successes of the Canadian Child Care Federation with great interest.

Thanks for the memories and all the best for the future!

Anne Maxwell

In the Fall issue of Interaction Magazine

The Fall issue of Interaction magazine (October 2009) will continue the greening child care theme with a focus on eco-friendly practices in child care and creating natural outdoor play spaces. Read about outdoor nature-based play space projects, and see how environmentally-friendly your practice can be with our eco-checklist.

In between these print issues of Interaction, you’ll receive regular updates on CCCF news via Interaction.ca. If you don't already receive Interaction magazine, don't miss out... subscribe now.