Tuesday, October 18, 2022 is the 22nd annual Child Care Worker and Early Childhood Educator Appreciation Day.
This day recognizes the commitment, hard work and dedication of Early Childhood Educators (ECEs) and staff who work with young children. Each year, the day is proclaimed by The Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care (OCBCC), the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), municipalities and school boards across Ontario, and is marked by hundreds of child care centres, unions, and allies.
This year’s Child Care Worker and Early Childhood Educator Appreciation Day theme is Worth MORE! Appreciation Day will be especially important as we work toward a Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care system that includes decent work and pay for ECEs and child care workers. While new federal commitments are beginning to bring more affordable child care to some families, our work must continue to ensure that we solve the child care workforce crisis and truly value the work of ECE and child care workers. We know that to expand the child care system to serve more families and to improve the quality of child care for young children, decent work and pay for child care workers are essential. ECEs’ working conditions are children’s learning conditions.
It takes a very special person with a big heart to be a Child Care Worker and Early Childhood Educator Daycare. They work long hours and switch between multiple jobs throughout the day such as educator, nurturer, entertainer, disciplinarian, cleaner and planner doing the paperwork… the list could go on and on.
It's assumed daycares are always as just a place that kids would get dropped off while parents worked. You soon realize, daycares are more than that . As parents, daycares can be the most important decision to make for their children.
Children would not be the same without the amazing childcare workers and early childhood educators who constantly provide and assist, pour their hearts into teaching, comforting, and nurturing them each day when parents are not there. Daycare is not just a place for kids to go, but rather a safe and happy place for children. It's like a second home for some. It's a place with so many strong, admirable educators staff who help raise kids to learn, be kind, be compassionate little human beings and preparing them for their bright future!
At LCCC, we are constantly amazed as each staff knows how to do it all calmly, with a smile on their face, and are genuinely excited each day to welcome the children into their care! Everyday we see our educators carry such professionalism, share an abundance of knowledge and display care for the children and community as a whole. Each day our educators are making such a positive difference in each and everyday in the lives of the children that they care for, as well as for their families.
There is so much more that childcare workers and early childhood educators do. They are WORTH MORE and deserve more. We recognize all your hard work and efforts!
Thank you for greeting us each morning with a smile on your face
Thank you for reassuring that everything will be ok if a child is crying at drop off or throughout the day
Thank you for keeping the kids safe
Thank you for comforting kids when they need it
Thank you for motivating, inspiring , being positive reinforcement and being cheer leaders to keep going!
Thank you for teaching kids not only things like colors, ABC’s, and numbers, but also how to share, use manners, and how to build relationships with the other kids
Thank mending their hurt to make everything better when parents aren’t there
Thank you for feeding them healthy meals to help them grow
Thank you for not only the encouragement you give to kids, but also encouragements to the parents as well.
Thank you for having patience with the kids as they go through transitions, bad weeks, naps, etc.
Thank you for the pictures and daily updates of how their day went
Thank you for all the crafts and little holiday gifts you create with them
Thank you for the open communication you encourage between parents and providers
Thank you for loving the kids like your own
Thank you for pushing the kids to do better, think harder, and be the best that they can be