Year: 2019 — Province: Alberta
Certificate of Achievement Recipient
BrightPath Sage Hill
Child care centre for children 6 weeks to 5 years
Calgary, Alberta
"Ms. Jennifer's gentle demeanour is very calming and makes [children] feel at ease. My son looks forward to going to school because of her; his face lights up when he sees Ms. Jennifer."
— Parent
Jennifer Beaman earned a bachelor of science in geology and geology-physics, but decided to pursue her passion for teaching young children. She continues to build on that passion through ongoing professional development, while mentoring and sharing what she learns with her colleagues.
Philosophy of care
Jennifer brings her science background to her work, emphasizing enquiry-based learning, asking "what if" questions and exploring the answers with the children. She ensures that each experience is purposeful and meaningful, and teaches specific skills to set children up for success later in life.
Support of child development
- Creates activities based on children's interests and then enhances them by adding learning objectives: for example, a picnic/tea party also involved a science experiment to explore how the temperature of water changes over time; shoe tying is a chance to develop self-help skills.
- Shares her love of science with the children: their interest in dinosaurs led a month-long unit, with activities for children to uncover fossils and make their own, while also having real fossils to touch, measuring their own height against dinosaurs', and trying on a geologist's field outfit.
- Works with professionals such as speech therapists and adapts their strategies (e.g. visual timers, sign language) to ensure consistency and success for children at stressful times; teaches the children about how they all have different needs and to be kind when others are struggling.
- Creates direct learning opportunities based on what she sees the children doing: for example, their pretending to be doing each other's hair led to a visit to a barbershop; Jennifer also solicited a donation of actual hairdressing tools from a parent so the children could see and touch them.
Involvement with parents, families and the community
- Goes above and beyond for visiting parents: to welcome one child's father, who works with trains, the children built and decorated a large train out of cardboard, and set it up as if to go for a ride.
- Provides detailed daily reports to parents at pick-up; meets with parents after hours to discuss their child's day, development and strengths; often provides parents with resources so they can contribute to better meeting their child's development needs at home.
- Developed user-friendly curriculum on the solar system for a summer program for the children at the centre that will also be available to teachers at BrightPath locations across Canada.
Get in touch!
BrightPath Sage Hill
71 Sage Hill Passage
Calgary AB T3R 0S4
587-230-0512
sagehill@brightpathkids.com
https://brightpathkids.com/locations/sage-hill/
Facebook: @BrightPathSageHill