Quote Originally Posted by Serendipity View Post
Do any of you have a degree in early childhood? Just wondering if it is the norm to have a degree or not in your area.

As a parent, I would prefer my child care provider to have a secondary degree in early childhood. It isn't just about the love, supervision and play time. I think really knowing and understanding child development is just as important. Just because someone is a mom or has kids, doesn't mean they are equipped to care for kids.

Experience is defintely a huge role in being a provider but education is also important.

As a parent who has had to search for a good provider for my child, I believe it is my business whether or not the provider I choose has a secondary degree or not.
I do not have degree in early childhood education, but I have a Bachelors Degree in Education and undergraduate in Aerospace Engineering (Carleton U).

I undergone many training along the way in the last 12 years, as private nanny, as babysitter, as daycare worker, as a mom.

Even with my degree, I do not think I would be able to translate all the theory into practice if I was not truly interested in children in general. I know some daycare center staff, that are "just there"....and I do not sense they would love to continue working with children.

A provider could show you curriculum, and programming by the book [Montessori trained] and followed stimulating activities base on their developmental skills, but if she lack the special element which is love for children, everything else will go downhill. You will sense that when your child come to this provider, your own child can feel if this a home environment she wanted to be.

I'd say, some providers are born for this job and nurtured and develop that sense of holistic approach to running a business and providing early education to children through play.
Some gain the perspective through formal education, some through lifetime experience.
Whether by formal education or lifetime experience, to my eyes, they can take over my job.

Anyone who has lifetime experience in the daycare business always attend trainings and update themselves with latest tools and theory to apply at your home business. I think even agencies send their daycare providers to trainings. Most caregivers even without theoretical training have initiative to bring their kids to libraries, OEYC playgroups with RECE who supervised structured time.

Around my area, I don't know any caregiver who have RECE. Few I know have Personal Support Worker Diploma, RPN, Developmental Service Worker, mom and grandmother.

Definitely, the home daycare is not for everyone. With the upcoming changes with the DNA (if implemented), I wonder how many more hoops we will endure to be deemed qualified to be the EARLIEST childhood educators.

BTW, does anyone read the ELECT document yet? What do you think of this framework? Throw the lesson plan away and start over?