Bragging on my Workplace

I have often mentioned my work--my job, my passion--here on this blog. We have made the news a few times in recent years, usually in conjunction with a fundraiser event. This morning, CTV beautifully portrayed who GRIT is, and what we are all about. I'd love to share it with you.

The Essence of GRIT

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This was today. Celebration of children, families, staff, and learning at our year-end luncheon. My partner and I work closely with a group of mentors, who help us "train up" newer staff, and are always the first to eagerly step in to any volunteer role around the office. They are great. I feel the photo loses a bit of its impact without all the lovely faces. But it IS the internet, and I DON'T have permission. That being said, I left my partner's face, because she's amazing, and I just had to share her :)

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This may become my new thinking spot.

The playroom has kinda become my baby, and I am often reflecting and evaluating how we utilize the space.

In 275 days, this is probably the first photo were I am completely, 100% unaware that I was having my picture taken.

Clearly, I was deep in thought.

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My partner and I were inspired by this idea for our weekly playgroup. Rolls of paper towel, food colouring and water, a variety of droppers for all fine motor levels (including one turkey baster), and we have the easiest art experience ever. The kids loved dripping and squirting colours all over their canvas. After playgroup, streams of paper towel were draped over everything around the office to dry.

Then... what to do with them? While we are trying to emphasize process over product with our arts & crafts experiences in playgroup, it seemed awful to think about just putting all the paper towel in the garbage after all that fun (not to mention incredibly un-eco-friendly).



So, after using some other colleagues as sounding boards, we came up with a few ideas. I am hoping to turn several sheets into decorative flowers to add to the springtime ambience in our playroom. Other sheets were glued onto card stock this afternoon, embellished with curls and shapes, and adhered to the windows looking into our playgroup. Photos of the kids in the process of creating were then glued on top of this to create an artistic photo story for parents and staff to admire.

I have loved watching the children create and explore with the art supplies we put out; and then taking their art one step further as we display it in the classroom. I hope they like it, too!

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Staying late at the office today.

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Inclusion. It's good stuff. Trust me.

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"Upside down, and all around, I'll take you where the stars are found..."

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Work: where it is not unusual to find blue ice cubes in the freezer.

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"Row, row, row your boat, gently down the stream..."*

* "...if you see a crocodile, don't forget to scream!" :)

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At work we have two bean bag chairs. Each were only half full (ever the optimist, my coworker stated). So I decided to put one bean bag in with the other to make one awesome bean bag chair. I quickly found out why one of the bean bag chairs was a bit wussy; it had a hole. Which I discovered as I opened the casing and tiny little dots of Styrofoam threatened to make the playroom look like the current outdoors.

So it was that at around 2pm on a Friday afternoon, I found myself sewing what I hope was the only hole, and stuffing the repaired bean bag into the same case as its partner. We now have our one awesome bean bag chair. And we only had a small "snow" storm. :)

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My job description:

• Advocate for the inclusion of children with disabilities in all settings.
• Promote children's development through play-based learning.
• Facilitate effective family-centred practice.
• Work as part of a collaborative team.
• Hold bunny rabbits.

Yup; I think I

covered it all today.

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A fundraiser on GRIT's behalf was held tonight at The Muttart Conservatory. I have been to the Muttart several times, but definitely never at night! After the presentation was done, and the auction items were called, and the wine was finished, we took in the colour and beauty of some of the displays.

My Job Matters

I realize that the title of my blog post could come off sounding arrogant--as if to say, "my job matters, and yours doesn't." Not the intention at all. I really just want to emphasize that my job matters, period.

I work with children with disabilities. Really, my role is quite a bit more complex and varied than that, but that's the simplest way to outline it.

And my job matters.

I help give kids without verbal speech a way to communicate effectively.
     That matters.
I help parents learn how to advocate for their child's needs.
     That matters.
I make learning fun.
     That matters.
I watch children, whose parents are told they would never walk, take their first steps.
     That matters.
I teach children how to play.
     That matters.
I teach others how to modify activities so their child/student can be successful.
     That matters.
I make sure children are fully included with their peers in school.
     That really matters.

Our new premier has already given due attention to education cuts that have were made in this province previously. I hope this decision is contagious among other provincial decision-makers, and that funding for children with special needs--which has been frozen the last few years--will thaw. After all, inclusion means supporting all students.

In the mean time, The GRIT Program does everything in its power to meet the needs of the children and families it serves. It takes a village to raise a child. We are so thankful for the community partnerships we have formed that help keep GRIT providing quality service to families. That matters.

"...we don't know a child's full potential,

so we will assume it's limitless."

-- Barb Reid

http://www.edmontonexaminer.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3339494

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Project: Ikea Meets Reggio is complete!

After generous coatings of paint in softer, earthy colours, the Play Doh table was reassembled and brought back to the office. It flows so much better with the overall decor of the playroom that it took my partner a minute to realize I'd brought it back!

So that's one down... :)

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Because The GRIT Program (where I work) is a family-centred educational program, we work in family's homes, as well as neighbourhood preschools and kindergartens. We don't have a classroom of our own. We do, however, have a playroom, and run a small playgroup a few times each month for the kids in our program.

As we always try to adhere to current research and best practice for child development and education, we are presently trying to adopt many aspects of the Reggio Emilia Approach in our playroom. One of the most salient changes we are making is to the decor and 'ambience' of the environment.

On a tight budget, my partner and I have been brainstorming the little things we can change in the classroom--for little or no cost--to make it more conducive to learning through play and discovery. Knowing some of the benefits of plants, we placed a few in the classroom last month--each originally a cutting from a plant or two in our homes. They are thriving quite nicely. I also managed to obtain some fish for free, and they have drawn interest from some of the kids over the last few weeks. We have also gathered some natural materials (namely, sticks and pebbles) for the children to play with and explore in the different centre areas.

We also know that when we display the children's art work, it will 'pop' more if the playroom isn't busy with the primary colours (vibrant red, yellow, green and blue) so traditional of preschool and kindergarten classrooms and equipment. While there is nothing wrong with these vibrant colours, per se (after all, they're generally the first colours children learn developmentally), they're certainly not easy on the eyes. And sometimes there can be too much colour in one's learning space. So this weekend, I undertook Project: Ikea Meets Reggio.

For several years, the Play Doh Table has been a bright green and yellow Ikea table. My partner and I felt no guilt in covering it over with a few coats of paint (sorry, Ikea!). We were given some paint by a colleague in a natural taupe and chocolate brown. Perfect. With the long weekend at hand, I knew I would have ample time to prime and paint new life into the table.

So it was that on a Friday evening, I found myself dismantling the legs from the top (thank you, Ikea!), and applying two coats of primer over the bright, glossy colours. It looks better already.

My Work Rocks

I am blessed. I work for a great organization doing great things. Lately, we have been given a decent amount of media coverage. The timing of this has to do with our upcoming fundraiser. Still, we are an organization that makes sure it is always following best practice. We believe in empowering families, inclusion, learning through play, and learning through life. These are great values to run a business by, and I think it's one of the reasons that The GRIT Program is such a great place to work. Here is a little bit of what I get to experience every day.



The GRIT Program, through Carson, also got some coverage in a free local paper, The Edmonton Examiner: