Serving Innisfail, Olds, Penhold, Springbrook, Three Hills
& Surrounding Areas
403-227-2767
Professional Development
Agency staff arrange on-going training for our day home educators in a variety of ways including: in their homes, at monthly meetings, conferences, and in office training opportunities.
Our Family Day Home Educators are expected to achieve, at a minimum, their Child Development Assistant Certificate within 6 months of contracting with the Agency. They are encouraged to pursue their Child Development Worker and Child Development Supervisor Certification during their career with our Agency.
As part of an Educator’s commitment to professionalism in the field it is expected that Educators will attend training sessions, conferences, and agency meetings to meet requirements for professional development.
Professional development grant funding is available for staff who are paid employees of licensed child care programs, as well as family day home program educators working under licensed family day home agencies. This is to be used for approved workshops and post secondary courses.
The Paid Release Time Grant provides licensed child care programs with funding that allows their certified educators to be paid while studying, completing post-secondary coursework, and attending workshops or conferences that have been approved for professional development funding.
Self-Paced Learning
Indigenous Canada
Indigenous Canada is a 12-lesson Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) from the Faculty of Native Studies that explores the different histories and contemporary perspectives of Indigenous peoples living in Canada.
From an Indigenous perspective, this course explores complex experiences Indigenous peoples face today from a historical and critical perspective highlighting national and local Indigenous-settler relations. Topics for the 12 lessons include the fur trade and other exchange relationships, land claims and environmental impacts, legal systems and rights, political conflicts and alliances, Indigenous political activism, and contemporary Indigenous life, art and its expressions.
February 13, 2023
Your Finances and Self-Employment
How do you manage your finances when you're self-employed?
We will discuss:
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Making a Budget for your business and life.
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Putting Aside Money for Taxes and CPP.
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Think In Percentages. How much should you set aside for vacation pay or maternity?
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Why Set Up An Emergency Fund.
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How to start Planning For Retirement: RRSP or Tax Free Savings.
Session will be hosted via Zoom
September 16, 2023
MAXIMIZE Conference
Maximize Early Learning Professionals of Central AB Conference Committee presents:
MAXIMIZE 2023 —MAXED Out
September 16, 2023
9 am – 4:30 pm
After 30+ years of hosting an annual Early Childhood Educator Conference in Central Alberta, MAXIMIZE is hosting its Final Conference, for free!
Come ready to learn and laugh with Judy Croon -Canada’s Keynote Humorist, TEDx speaker, comedian, and radio host.
&
Hear from Amanda Lindhout, a Canadian humanitarian, winner of the Red Deer Women of Excellence Award in Human Services, public speaker, journalist and author of A House in the Sky: A Memoir.
Self-Paced Learning
Brain Story Certification & Theory-to-Practice Sessions For ECEs
With the support of the Government of Alberta and in partnership with the Palix Foundation, the Association of Early Childhood Educators of Alberta (AECEA) is excited to provide ECEs with an opportunity for continued professional learning on the scientific underpinnings of early brain development and the important role ECEs play in brain development in the early years. The professional learning will be free to take and ECEs will be reimbursed for their time spent learning.
The Alberta Family Wellness Initiative (AFWI) has developed an online course to make Brain Story science available to professionals and the public. Brain Story Certification is designed for those seeking a deeper understanding of brain development and its consequences for lifelong health. The course is also designed for professionals seeking certification in a wide range of fields.
March 15, 2023
Learning Stories with Lindsay
Through this session we will take time to learn and understand how Learning Stories:
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help make connections with families
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support the inclusion of children and family voices
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tell us stories about babies
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allow children to dictate their own stories
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can be used to revisit children's learning journeys
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can contribute to teaching and learning wisdom
October 10, 2023
Starting a Social Media Conversation
Starting a Social Media Conversation will be delivered by Jo Phillips in partnership with Jo(e) Social Media.
After listening to over 100K kids, there is one thing clear about the challenges they face when it comes to social media. They need to be able to talk about it. The good, the bad, the challenges and the opportunities.
Starting a Social Media Conversation is a program designed to stimulate a continuous, positive social media conversation between kids and the adults in their lives, led by the lived-experience of the kids. Many kids won’t report the bad things that happen online, because parents take away their video game, or phone, or Snapchat to keep them safe. Kids' Adults need to learn how to support and understand social media from the child’s perspective, and to create space to help with the negative in an effective manner.
Self-Paced Learning
Supporting Early Learning & Care Services
The Alberta Resource Centre for Quality Enhancement (ARCQE) offers accessible programming to the Early Learning and Care Service sector, helping professionals deliver quality practices that support community, children and families.
Are you curious about where to start and how to align Flight with current educator practice and interactions with children? As a provincial support agency, ARCQE has been awarded a contract to guide curriculum implementation support for all licensed program types (Child Care, Family Child Care, Out of School Care, program and Preschool programs) with a variety of options to support engagement with curriculum concepts.
ARCQE is pleased to share news of expanding opportunities for support with implementation of Flight framework principles in practice. To learn more about pedagogical partner support and the new professional learning series available titled “Possibilities for Practice”.
June 12, 2023
Brain Architecture Game
The Brain Architecture Game is a tabletop game experience that builds understanding of the powerful role of experiences on early brain development – what promotes it, what derails it, with what consequences for society.
We will come together to play and learn about ACE's, community assets, and our impact on a child's early brain development.
Spring 2024
Colour Spectrums
ColourSpectrums is a personality styles and human dynamics model presented to groups and individuals in an entertaining, interactive workshop format.
The ColourSpectrums Workshop Experience:
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Participants sort the ColourSpectrums cards to reveal unique personality strengths and challenges.
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Every colour spectrum is a particular combination of strengths and challenges that is unique to each individual.
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This dynamic educational experience enlightens (ah-ha! learning) and entertains (ha-ha! learning) in an exciting process of self-discovery.
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We create powerfully positive colourful conversations.