By meadowlakeNOW

Meadow Lake agency to celebrate early childhood week

May 26, 2017 | 6:11 PM

While the month of May is Early Childhood month in Saskatchewan, Meadow Lake is taking time this coming week to recognize the field of work and its staff.

The Meadow Lake and Area Early Childhood Services agency has a daycare, community development program, a home-visit based early childhood intervention program, and has just established the specialized support initiative, intended specifically for First Nations families and children.

Executive director Deb Coupland said the week is to celebrate those who work in the demanding line of work. Early Childhood Educator day was on May 15.

“I think it’s really great because it’s an underappreciated and difficult job that requires a lot of professional skills,” she said. “The staff is working with kids every day doing programming. We’re trying to meet the needs of the children, the needs and requests of the families, and the needs of the community and run it as a business. It’s a tricky balance.”

The organization typically works with children from infancy to six years of age, but the new specialized support initiative includes school-aged children as well. Their work focuses on various areas of development like fine and gross motor skills, expressive and receptive language, self-help skills, social skills, auditory and visual attention, and memory.

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“We work with the whole child,” Coupland said. “And the whole family as well, working around daily routines, and keeping it age-appropriate.”

As for the specialized suport initiative, the Meadow Lake branch is able to request backing from federal government under Jordan’s Principle which ensures First Nations children have the same access to supports as other children no matter where they may live. 

“This will help us do things like support students transition from home to school, and give parents or caretakers a break if they need,” Coupland said. “We’re looking forward to getting more referrals as this program grows, and empowering those who need support.”

She said the agency has asked the City of Meadow Lake to declare early childhood intervention program week from May 28 to June 3.

“We will be hosting a barbecue on June 2, where our families and community members are invited to come for lunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.” she said. “We’re really looking forward to networking, talking, and connecting with people letting them know that we appreciate the community, our families, volunteers, and a few others that help.”

kathy.gallant@jpbg.ca  

On Twitter @ReporterKath