Where Daycare Professionals and Ideas Come Together

What is Ask An ECE?

I have been searching for years for a place where child care workers could come together to share ideas, ask questions and get straightforward, honest answers from people who had been there before and understand. Child care is an interesting world we work in and really isn’t like most other jobs. It’s not your standard 9-5. We take home our problems and our friends and neighbours ask our advice on child care matters on weekends and holidays. It’s a lifestyle. We are constantly “in daycare mode”. Our kids see us at the mall and are shocked we do not live at the daycare centre. Oh, and we call them “our” kids. People think I am crazy when I say I have 22 kids. I celebrate 22 birthdays, kiss 22 sets of booboo’s, tie 44 shoes many times a day, keep track of 22 hats/coats etc., celebrate hundreds of loose teeth, and potty train close to 20 kids a year. Let’s see the VP of finance do that!

We do it because we love it and the rewards may not be monetary (we certainly didn’t go into the field for the pay cheque!), but the hugs and love we get is more than enough. So, welcome to AskanECE, join now and be a part of our community. No one said our job was easy, but we’re here to help any way we can.

Recent Posts

Halloween Crafts - Part 1

It's October, and that means Halloween is coming. This is a great time of year in daycare, since the programming pretty much takes care of itself. That means you need some craft ideas for the season. I have several that I use, and I'm going to start here with one of the most popular. This is a nice, short craft, and works for toddlers as well as the older kids.

Don't forget to check out our other Halloween crafts when they're posted in the next few days.

Styrofoam Ghosts

Required Materials

Men in Daycare

How many of you work with a man in the child care field or have a male child care provider at your child's centre? How do you feel about men in the child care field?

I took my Early Childhood Education Diploma both through Seneca College and Loyalist College. Out of all the courses I took to get my diploma, I had only one male in any of my classes. This student was fantastic. He had a real love for children, a willingness to learn, his projects were fantastic and creative. He would have been great addition to any daycare centre.

Programming Theme Idea - Countries

I'm really excited about this week's programming for the daycare. We have decided to do a theme based on food and link it with a different country each day of the week. We are lucky enough to have a full-time cook at the child care, so we have altered this week's menu to highlight foods from Ireland, Mexico, Italy, China and Sweden.

Great Project Idea

I find science one of the hardest subjects to program for when it comes to childcare. More so now with toddlers, preschoolers and school-age all sharing a room at one time or another. My daughter's daycare provider sent me a link to Science Kit and Boreal Laboratories website and told me about some of their items that might be suitable for daycare.

Finding Child Care

I have worked in child care for over 6 years. I have a college diploma in Early Childhood Education and a university degree in History/Child Psychology. I have the education and experience, yet I never saw it coming. All these years, I never fully appreciated the stress parents were under when they came for a tour of my centre. I never realized just how hard it was to pick the perfect daycare for a child. That was, until I became a parent myself. In April 2007, I came to the realization that my maternity leave was quickly coming to an end and I would have to return to work.