The April  to June edition of Esteem is now available online!  View it, along with our Monthly Planner and special event inserts, on our Esteem page under the Resources and Publications section.  Watch for a copy in your mailbox coming soon!  

The ECCDC launches a new web portal for families in Niagara - Parent Direct Niagara! Parent Direct Niagara is a free, online information service designed to help connect the parents of young children with the programs, services and supports they require. This service has been made possible with funding from the Ontario Trillium Foundation and the Niagara Community Foundation, and with the support of the Early Years Niagara Planning Council, its affiliate organizations and the Regional Municipality of Niagara, Children’s Services Department. Please...

The ECCDC is delighted to be partnering with Literacy Link Niagara (LLN) on the Past is Present Community Book Project - an initiative that will bring children’s literature, a toolkit of curriculum planning ideas and training tied to the War of 1812 bicentennial celebrations to Niagara’s licensed child care programs through the ECCDC and a family literacy kit to families across Niagara through Literacy Link Niagara. Visit our Community Projects and Initiatives page for more information.

We have added some new features to ECCDC Intranet pages for Child Care Centres! We have been working on expanding and improving our ECCDC Intranet, primarily in the area of contact information and Professional Resource Library membership management. If you are a Licensed Child Care Centre in Niagara and possess a login to our Intranet, click here for more detailed information on the changes you will see and how to use the new features. Please contact the ECCDC at eccdc@eccdc.org or...

Tammy McCormick Ferguson,  the ECCDC's Executive Director, and Andrea Hannen have published Part 2 of the three-part  article Leadership in the 21st Century in the Winter 2012 issue of the AECEO's eceLINK magazine: "Characteristics of 21st Century Leaders". "Today’s leaders face a new reality. The characteristics and behaviours of 21st century leaders differ dramatically from those of leaders in earlier times......" The first installment of this article, from the Summer/Fall 2011 issue, examined six aspects of 21st century leadership. The current issue also includes a tribute to...

The Niagara Licensed Child Care Centre Numeracy Project held its Wrap-up and Recogntion Breakfast Event at the Holiday Inn. Visit our Community Projects and Initiatives page for details and summary of the project and to view pictures!

Niagara’s Fifteenth Annual Early Childhood Educator’s Awards of Excellence  were held on Thursday November 24th at 6:00 pm at the Holiday Inn Suites St. Catharines Conference Centre. Congratultions to all the award recipients! Please click here to read more and view photographs from the event.

Are you interested in building relationships with parents and caregivers that will support information sharing and the development of collaborative strategies for addressing needs and difficult issues? The ECCDC is offering a new training opportunity: "Building Supportive Relationships with Parents and Caregivers". Click here to view the flyer.

The McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership at National Louis University recently published their Fall Research Notes, which includes the research we produced through the MPCC project! Topic: Mentoring Directors as a Strategy to Improve Quality in Early Childhood Programs. Findings and interpretation: Changes in Administrator Behavior, Overall Program Quality, and Teachers' Interactions with Children.  

View our ECCDC Mentoring Update flyer to find information on data gathered from the formal MPCC program, new resources, and current "Continuing the Momentum" activities.

The Ministry of Education launched its Early Learning Framework website. Visit the website to: familiarize yourself with the six guiding principles of the ELF hear early learning experts talk about early childhood development, view videos and photos from various early learning and care settings, and get ideas about how to put the principles into practice. Cliquez ici pour le site Web en français.

Click the link below for information regarding the transfer of child care from the Ministry of Children and Youth Services (MCYS) to the Ministry of Education (MEDU) on January 1, 2012. Update on child care licensing transfer to the Ministry of Education Cliquez sur le lien ci-dessous pour trouver des informations sur le transfert des responsabilités pour les soins des enfants du ministère des enfants et des Services de la jeunesse (MSEJ) du ministère de l'éducation (MEDU), le 1er janvier 2012. Le point...

The ECCDC Board of Directors and Staff Team are absolutely thrilled and very proud to announce that our Executive Director, Tammy McCormick Ferguson, was the 2011 Recipient of the Canadian Child Care Federation’s Award for Excellence in Child Care! Click here to read more!

The ECCDC is pleased to announce that we are now completely settled and at full operation in our new location! Come visit us at 3340 Schmon Parkway in Thorold. We are now more centrally located and an easier commute for members located in Niagara Falls, Welland, Port Colborne, Pelham and Thorold. Check us out on Google “street view” at: http://maps.google.ca/maps?hl=EN&q=3340%20Schmon%20Pkwy,%20Thorold,%20ON%20Canada Thank you to all our valued partners and guests who helped us make our Open House and Grand Re-opening such a success! We are...

Mentoring Pairs for Child Care program evaluation tools and data have been gaining some international recognition! Martha Friendly's Childcare Resource and Referral Unit highlighted the MPCC Final Outcome Report in its latest email update to subscribers...click here to read more. The MPCC program also agreed to allow the Institute for Child Development Research & Social Change in Arizona, USA to use our Occupational Standards, Mentoring Attitudes & Predispositions and Professional Development questionnaires and embedded measurement scales in the evaluation of their own...

Mentoring is a hot topic at national and international gatherings this past May.... Mentoring Pairs for Child Care Project Manager, Glory Ressler, presented in Saint John, New Brunswick at the national child care conference Valuing Children: A Canadian Conversation hosted by Early Childhood Care and Education New Brunswick and the Canadian Child Care Federation. Topic: "Mentoring Pairs for Child Care: Building Knowledge, Skills, Reflective Practice, Positive Relationships & Learning Environments in Ontario" Additionally, at the request of the World Forum Foundation, Ms. Ressler and MPCC Advisory Committee member...

Visit our Resources and Publications section to find out more about our Occupational Standards Checklists and the Mentoring Toolkits, DVD, and T-shirts! Occupational Standards Checklists - these self‐assessment checklist booklets are intended to be used to identify areas of strength and need according to the tasks and rating scales outlined in the Occupational Standards for Child Care Administrators and the Occupational Standards for Early Childhood Educators created by the CCHRSC. Available in both English and French. Mentoring Toolkits - a unique, easy-to-use, and...

Choose from a variety of learning centre activities that support all areas of the curriculum. They’re inexpensive, quick to implement and appeal to many age groups. For further information click Grab and Go Learning Projects.

The Family Supports Institute of Ontario highlights the ECCDC’s Play-Based Learning Kits and Grab and Go Projects in their latest issue of  “Ontario Connections”!  Click here to view the ad and the full publication.

The ECCDC is pleased to present a new tool to support your curriculum planning, observation and documentation efforts - our Curriculum Planning, Observation and Reflection Tool – 8.5x11” pad of planning charts! For more detailed information, visit our new Curriculum Planning page on our Professional Library Resources: Resources for Sale tab.

The ECCDC recently introduced two exciting new products: the Strengthening Child Care Communities - Network Facilitation Manual and the Strengthening Child Care Communities - Orientation Manual. Please follow the link to our Network Manuals page for more detailed information and how to order.

AWARDS PRESENTED TO NIAGARA-BASED EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATORS (December 1, 2010) The Early Childhood Community Development Centre (ECCDC) in partnership with the Association of Early Childhood Educators of Ontario, Niagara Branch presented professional recognition awards to approximately fifty Early Childhood Educators (ECEs), staff and volunteers of early learning and child care programs across Niagara, at a special ceremony on Thursday November 25 at the Quality Parkway Hotel and Convention Centre in St. Catharines, Ontario.  Awards were presented in a variety of categories,...

Please see the link below for the article published in the St. Catharines Standard on June 29, 2010. The article highlights the Niagara Numeracy Project :  The Early Childhood Community Development Centre in partnership with the Kiwanis Clubs of Niagara received a Trillium Foundation grant to provide all licensed child care centres in Niagara with a numeracy resource kit containing over $1,000 of educational resource materials. http://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?archive=true&e=2645109

Here are various articles and documents related to Full Day Learning May 19, 2010 - Day Nurseries Act Notification  (english) (french) April 27, 2010 - Ontario Passes Full-Day Learning Act April 15, 2010 - Full Day Kindergarten curriculum draft February 23, 2010 - Jim Grieve, Ministry of Education: letter introducing Bill 242 (english) (french) February 17, 2010 - Premier McGuinty: Implementing Full-Day Learning For Four- and Fire-Year Olds February 17, 2010 - Premier McGuinty: Ontario's Next Step For Full-Day Early Learning January 19, 2010 - Niagara Region: Invitation to Information Session January...

NEW KIWANIS PROJECT WILL HELP CHILD CARE CENTRES BOOST CHILDREN'S MATH SKILLS St. Catharines: The Early Childhood Community Development Centre (ECCDC) and the Kiwanis Clubs of Niagara are pleased to announce the launch of a new project designed to enhance children’s numeracy skills. The project, which is funded by the Trillium Foundation, will provide 150 of Niagara's licensed child care programs with classroom resources related to math and numeracy skills instruction. Additionally, over 1000 Early Childhood Educators will be specially trained...

ECCDC APPLAUDS NEW PROVINCIAL POLICY ON FULL-DAY LEARNING FOR YOUNG CHILDREN St. Catharines: The Early Childhood Community Development Centre (ECCDC) is pleased to welcome the Honourable Laurel Broten as the new Minister of Children and Youth Services and looks forward to working with other Niagara stakeholders to implement the new Provincial child care policies announced earlier today. “The announcement is a first step toward implementation of the broadly supported recommendations made last spring in a report by the Premier's early learning advisor Dr. Charles Pascal,”...