Ms. Alice
Hello everyone!
My name is Alice (Ms. Alice). I’ve been working for Willow Park Preschool for the last 6 years.
I’ve received my Early Childhood Education Diploma from UERJ (University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) in 2004. At the same time, I started working as a Teacher’s Assistant at a constructivist* preschool and fell in love with their emergent curriculum**.
Life can be unexpected sometimes and in 2006, I found myself moving to Canada!
Once I got settled in and comfortable enough to get back into teaching, I started working at a Montessori Preschool. I’ve enjoyed my time there and had fun exploring the amazing Montessori materials, but started to have a few concerns with the lack of playing I was seeing.
That’s when I found Willow Park Preschool and fell in love (again) with this awesome play based program that engages the children through an emergent curriculum*.
Because of my background in constructivism, this program spoke to me in many levels. It’s what I believe, it’s my essence, it’s what makes me love to come to work every morning.
After starting at Willow Park Preschool as a Teacher’s Assistant, I began upgrading my studies and in 2 years I’ve received my Level 3 ECE Diploma and have been the lead teacher since then.
I’m also a mom of 2 amazing children. I guess 1 child (11) and 1 adult (19) (yikes)!
I’m passionate about animals, nature, the ocean, dancing, traveling and of course, being an Educator!
Thanks for reading my profile and I hope you get the chance to get to know our beautiful Preschool!
Ms. Alice
* Constructivism is the theory that says learners construct knowledge rather than just passively take in information. Because knowledge cannot be directly imparted to students, the goal of teaching is to provide experiences that facilitate the construction of knowledge.
* * Emergent Curriculum is a philosophy of educating and a thorough way of planning out lessons and learning that is responsive to each child’s interests and progress; making it much more meaningful and tailored to each student.
Ms. Jessica
Hello, Families!
I am so excited to be joining Willow Park Preschool. I received my Bachelor’s Degree in Family Social Sciences at the University of Manitoba. As soon as I graduated, I realized I was interested specifically in Early Childhood Education and pursued my certification as a Level 3 Educator. During my early years in the field in Winnipeg, I worked with all ages of children from infants to school-aged, and focused on working with preschoolers with additional support needs. When my husband’s job brought us to Calgary in 2017, I continued with inclusion support work, helping to set up preschool children for success in their school years. Recently, I have shifted into a classroom setting where I have been enjoying providing learning opportunities to larger groups of children.
I am passionate about play-based learning and an emergent curriculum. I strongly believe play is a child’s work – it’s how they make sense of the world around them, how they fit into that world, and how they develop socially and emotionally. I completed the coursework for Flight: Alberta’s Early Learning and Care Framework in 2023, which reinforced my beliefs that children are capable and mighty learners. The best practice for us as educators is to build on children’s everyday experiences in order to foster their love of learning and meet them where they are developmentally.
When I am not teaching, I enjoy spending time with my family – my husband, our 10 year old son, and our two cats. I love a good boardgame, spending time outdoors, tending to my plants, and working on various crochet/cross-stitch/embroidery projects.
Ms. Jessica
willowparkpreschool.com 