Anna Parker- early childhood educator
About Miss Anna
I moved to Castlegar with my husband and two daughters in the fall of 2022.
I am a mother of three, and have had experience working with children for over 10 years. When my son was born in 2013, it became apparent shortly after his birth that he was showing signs of developmental delays and medical complexities. I spent several years attending therapies and medical appointments, managing funding contracts and organizing supports, being trained in providing complex medical care and therapeutic interventions, learning extensively about child development, and creating activities to help him achieve specific developmental goals. It was through this unique experience that I became fascinated by early childhood development and grew to be extremely passionate about providing care for children with that development in mind.
My son tragically passed away due to his complex medical condition in 2019. After taking some time to grieve as a family, I decided to formalize my knowledge and experience in Early Childhood Development, and completed my Early Childhood Educator program. My experiences have made me well-versed in many aspects of early childhood development, able to see the unique gifts and potentials of each and every individual child, and have offered me insight into the difficulties families face advocating for their children and the support they deserve from educators. I have first-hand experience in advocating for my own vulnerable and complex child, and it has provided me with infinite compassion for the varying and individual needs of children and families.
I am passionate about working with children and their families, developing meaningful and respectful relationships with the children in my care, and designing engaging activities for children with educational and developmental goals in mind. I love to work with families. I take great pride in our families knowing that they can feel confident to leave their children in my care where they will be provided with a loving environment, positive guidance, compassion, and support. As a mother, I know what a huge decision it can be to leave your children in care, and it is an honour whenever a parent trusts me with that responsibility.
I absolutely love watching the children grow and develop through exploring their environment and testing their theories about the world. It is so magical to experience children's innate wisdom and natural curiosity, and to get to watch them explore the world around them as they play, learn, and grow.
When I am not working with the children in my care, I enjoy spending time with my husband and daughters, hiking with our dog Luna, doing yoga, cooking, crafting, and pursing my other passion of interior design doing projects around my home.
Teaching Philosophy
I am committed to helping your child reach their full potential. Our program and environment is designed to foster creativity, exploration, having fun, and a love of learning. I believe that early childhood education should be holistic and experiential. I am committed to educating the whole-child by fostering a positive environment that sees every child both for their gifts, and as a gift. It is my view of children as being capable, valued, individual, and full of innate wonder that allows me the foundation to build meaningful and reciprocal relationships with the children that I work with. Through these relationships, I learn more about the individual needs of the child and am able to provide meaningful feedback and progress comments to build their self-esteem, and foster their sense of well-being and belonging. It also allows me to get to know the individual needs of the child and design activities catered to their interests and specific targeted developmental goals. I've chosen to create my own program that aligns with my philosophies so that I am able to deliver a respectful, comprehensive, and holistic education, and to better support the children and families in my care.
