Currently, I am the lead teacher for Heart Heroes Preschool. My practice is greatly influenced by my time running the former Chickadees Playschool (Parent Participation Preschool), founded in Whitehorse in the 1970s by dedicated parents. The program had been run by amazing early childhood educators that I learned so much from and greatly appreciated their sharing of resources and mentoring me. Running Chickadees and experiencing and recognizing my gaps in the Early Childhood field, inspired me to complete my M.Ed in Early Childhood Education from UBC in 2016. Through this master's program, I was able to integrate all I had learned from the long tradition of Chickadees with the Reggio Emilia Approach. I was also able to understand the power of parents' role and the importance of strong collaborative relationships with parents, extended families, and preschoolers. I was also able to formulate and explain my philosophy and approach to early childhood education: I see our children as powerful leaders, full of ideas and contributing to our classroom learning. I want to hear what the preschooler is thinking, to have a conversation to understand the concept from their perspective, this is so much more important that simply questioning and asking a preschooler to repeat facts. Currently at Heart Heroes, I am focusing on supporting my fellow ECE staff while focusing on the importance of having authentic relationships with each staff, so that we can understand  each preschooler, their context and family, and their strengths, and their phase of development so that we can all build on these strengths and be warm and supportive.