Early Childhood Educator

I am a Registered Early Childhood Educator. My credentials include a diploma in Early Childhood Education and a Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood Studies.

I began my professional journey working as a private care-giver for children in their homes. This led me to begin my Early Childhood Education Diploma and then later into my Bachelor of Arts in Early Childhood Studies.

I have always loved learning alongside young children, while exploring our imaginations together. In my studies, my learning focused on emergent curriculum – a dynamic, responsive form of education that honors children’s voices, fosters creativity and critical thinking, while encouraging meaningful, relevant learning experiences rooted in real-time curiosity. This kind of curriculum grows from careful observation and is shaped by children’s evolving skills and interests.

In Ontario, Canada, I have worked as a Registered Early Childhood Educator in a wide a variety of settings including: childcare centres, school boards, after school programs, and most recently providing expressive arts therapy to children in community organizations and therapy clinics.

Overseas, I have worked in kindergartens in Jamaica, Finland and Mainland China. I have worked within different international curriculums including Emergent, Reggio Emilia, Montessori, International Baccalaureate, Early Years Foundation Stages, The Anisa Model and The Virtues Project.

As I continue to pursue my personal and professional interests, play, imagination, and the perspective of a child remain my greatest sources of inspiration. Even as an adult, I am continually nourished by the unique way children engage with the world.

Early Childhood Curriculum Portfolio

Over the years I have developed many enriching play-based learning experiences for children of different ages and from diverse backgrounds. It is often difficult to categorize each activity, as they are holistic by nature, supporting several learning domains simultaneously, all while nourishing children’s creativity, problem-solving and critical thinking.

The photos included focus on the learning experience, and all children’s faces and names have been removed to protect their privacy.

Finland

The following curriculum examples are from my final placement in university, I worked at an international kindergarten in Tampere, Finland. This was a group of children who were 6 years old, and in Finland are categorized as pre-schoolers, as they begin formal school at 7 years old. I am so grateful for this educational experience with these children and their educators. I learned and developed so much as an early childhood educator during this time.

Stamping with Bottle Caps and Paper Rolls

Building

Drawing, cutting, tracing and more

Measuring and Mixing

Ninja Stars

Painting Rocks and Virtues

Set and Costume Design

Magical branches

Straw Porcupine

Straw Towers

Paint blowing with straws

Straw flutes

Wheels

“Shawna is a very confident, friendly, and enthusiastic person. The children respected her and enjoyed her lesson plans whenever she taught. Her lesson plans always interested the children’s natural inquisitiveness making them enjoyable for both. The children learned without even knowing that they were learning!!! Shawna was very comfortable and capable of earning their respect and maintaining control over a class of 22 very excited 6-year-old youngsters. Shawna has a very kind and adventurous heart. The children would open up to her and share their stories, thoughts, and feelings. A wonderful quality Shawna has is that she is not afraid to show emotions. When something was funny, she would laugh freely, but she was always empathic to their needs. Whenever Shawna was unsure on how to handle a situation, she would always ask first. She was greatly aware and concerned about the children’s well-being. Due to her inquisitiveness, Shawna gained a lot of insight when dealing with younger children and vulnerable people. Finally, Shawna has great respect for everyone. The children knew that she respected them and in return they respected her. She learns quickly and she was not afraid to ask questions when needed. Her kindness, candour, determination, creativity, and sense of humour are great assets. Shawna is also a team player, she worksvery well with others, but she is not afraid to take the lead if the situation deems it necessary. We have greatly benefited from her responsibility, candour and kindness.”

Liliana Valencia Ahtiainen

Beaches – Toronto

This next set of curriculum experiences is from my time a child care centre in my home town of Toronto, Ontario. This was a group of Canadian pre-school children, ages 2-4. We were fortunate to get to spend most of the day outdoors as this centre had a wonderful outdoor play space with lots of trees, animals, shade and sand.

Large scale group painting

Body tracing art

Boxes

Bubbles

Building

Build a robot

Cleaning

Dinosaur glacier dig

Drama – camping

Drawing

Dropper paintings

Glitter

Leaves, paint and glitter

Sensory – moon beads

Sensory – moon sand

Nature – caterpillar

Rock painting garden

Paper plate face frames

Paper quilt collage

Parachute

Sand Art

Shaving cream and paint

Tissue paper

Totem pole

Hangzhou Montessori

This next set of curriculum experiences is from a Montessori kindergarten in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. As the foreign English teacher of the school, I did not need to follow the Montessori curriculum, and instead was granted pedagodical freedom with my English language curriculum. This was a group of children who were 1 and 2 years old.