More than 30 educators from 20 early-childhood centres in British Columbia took part in the conference.

The activities in the educators’ section of the conference offered participants a unique professional development opportunity  in French, the result of a partnership between the Fédération des parents and several other organizations.

A workshop called “Le livre : un outil de francisation à exploiter” (“The Book: A Useful Tool for Francization”), developed by the Conseil scolaire francophone de la C.-B., presented educators with engaging reading strategies that use books as a tool to enrich education programming. Then, a dance workshop led by Mireille Lavoie had the educators moving about while learning simple and lively choreographies for preschoolers. A workshop on the “Petit pas” (Little Steps) francization kit allowed them to discover a tool designed in Manitoba to meet the specific needs of educators working in a Francophone minority environment.

Also, we would like to point out that the annual general meeting of the Association francophone des éducateurs et éducatrices de la petite enfance de la C.-B. was held during the conference. A record number, six educators, were elected to serve on its board of directors, demonstrating the vitality of this young association. The Fédération des parents congratulates the AFEEPECB and looks forward to a continuing collaboration on various projects.

In addition to the organizations already mentioned, we thank Collège Éducacentre and the Consortium national de formation en santé for their contribution to the educators’ section of the conference; the educators who participated went home inspired and equipped to continue their work with Francophone preschoolers.