Year: 2017 — Province: British Columbia
Certificate of Achievement Recipient
UBC Child Care Services
Kittiwake Daycare
2881 Acadia Rd
Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1S1
Telephone: 604-822-5914
Email: kittiwake.staff@ubc.ca
Website: http://www.childcare.ubc.ca/
Type of setting: Mixed-age Child Care, children aged 1.5 to 5 years
An advocate for nature-based risky play and a naturalist at heart, Melanie Walters sees exploration as foundational in learning opportunities and self-expression.
Philosophy of care
Through active exploration of their environment and risky play, Walters provides children with opportunities to test their own limits and boundaries, experience feelings of bravery, pride, joy, exhilaration and overcoming fear in their own accomplishments.
Support of child development
- Walters is aware of progressions and sets boundaries for safe exploration and learning opportunities.
- Promotes creativity through exploration of multi-sensory materials like clay, paint, yarn, or pencils.
- Walters offers years of experience in nature-based risky play to help shape and design a forthcoming playground in her neighborhood.
Involvement with parents, families and the community
- Walters has taken the initiative to learn some Spanish in order to better communicate and connect with children in a language they are familiar with.
- Avidly mentors and guides children, colleagues and guests on how to facilitate risky play and the creation of related pedagogical narrations — a process of documentation, analysis and reflection.
- Provides parents with newsletters, resources and opportunities to become involved in the centre and their childrens' daily activities and learning journeys.
Rave reviews
"I like building sand castles with Melanie. She allows me to do it for as long as I like. I like Melanie because when I make cards for her she always says 'I love it'."
"Our son, who is in kindergarten now, still happily reminisces about the projects he did with Melanie such as making bird feeders out of pine cones, going on nature walks, growing plants in the Kittiwake garden, etc."