Meghan Nickason of Elrose just won the prestigious Prime Minister's Award of Achievement for Early Childhood Education. This is an incredible accomplishment and very deserved recognition for her extremely hard work in contributing to the Elrose ABC Family Center getting off the ground. In talking with West Central Online Meghan stated about 8 years ago her and 6 other ladies noticed the gaping need for a child care centre for children ages 0 to 12 years. Together the ladies poured in hours of hard work to get the facility built, up and running.

After her success in getting the Elrose ABC Family center up and running, Meghan has been approached by Lucky Lake, Kyle and Dinsmore in help in getting a facility like the ABC Family center in there community. Meghan said her and her other members met every Monday for about 2 years to get the facility going.

Philosophy of Care

As the centre's former director, "Megs" cultivated a positive energy among her team and lead by example, such that all the centre's staff strived to create a learning environment where children feel supported, safe, respected and loved.

Support of Child Development

  • Designs opportunities for play and investigation to reflect the widely varying needs and developmental stages of infants, pre-schoolers and school-age children.
  • Employs music and music making as a multi-faceted way to promote development: children build motor skills, learn the meaning of words, appreciate rhythm, practice sharing and cooperation, and develop their creativity.
  • Connects to children's spiritual needs through living creatures: the centre is home to plants—indoors and out—as well as tadpoles, bugs, bunnies, butterflies and even lovebirds.

Involvement with Parents, Families and the Community

  • Researches funding opportunities for low-income families to help make high-quality child care available to all.
  • Involves the children in giving back and saying thank you: on the first anniversary of the centre, the children delivered plants they had planted to individuals and businesses that had supported the construction of the centre.
  • Recognized by parents and community stakeholders in a 360° evaluation for her efforts to involve and keep families apprised of activities at the centre, and to maintain confidentiality, which can be difficult in a small town.

For the full interview with Meghan, click below.