Alumni Spotlight: Kelsey Hall

When Kelsey Hall was a student completing her education and practicum in Early Childhood Education, she was looking forward to what she would do following her graduation. A little more than a year and a half later, Kelsey is using the skills she gained to help raise the next generation of kind, educated children.

From a young age, Kelsey knew she wanted to work with kids. After high school, she started working at an early learning centre in Virden and gained valuable experience, which she credits for helping her choose this career path.

“The staff, families and children all helped shape me into who I am today and motivated me truly to pursue the career as an ECE,” said Hall.

She transitioned from learning at Assiniboine to working at the Assiniboine Early Learning Centre (AELC) for her practicum, and upon graduation, earned herself a full-time role as an Early Childhood Educator at the Centre. She is thankful to have kept this connection to the college and looks forward to mentoring future students, who like her, will come through the doors of the AELC for their practicums.

She takes her role as a mentor and role model to the children she educates seriously.

“I help raise the future generation, which is a very busy but important role,” she said. “I feel that not only do I have the important role of working with children, but I have the privilege of working closely with students in the Early Childhood Education program by modeling our abilities, and mentoring them to be their best,” she concluded.

Through her time as a student, Kelsey also learned the importance of process art, learning domains and how to design and arrange a classroom to indirectly guide children’s behaviours.

“We believe that children learn best through play. During play, we expand on teachable moments, ask open-ended questions, help children learn to problem solve, guide behaviours (directly and indirectly), facilitate healthy social interactions, and assist them in risky play.”

Kelsey continually finds herself reflecting back to classroom discussions to help her problem solve, recognizing that no two children learn the same. The emergent lesson plans that were taught in the program provided activities to support children’s individual physical, cognitive, social, language and emotional development while supporting/expanding on learning experiences through their current interests. These lessons have proven to be very valuable tools for her daily toolbox.

“I had incredible instructors that made learning fun and memorable for me; they taught me in such a way that reflecting back is easy and puts a smile on my face. I also know if I was to need further guidance or if I had questions with real-life situations today, they would respond or find a way to give me the tools and advice I need, which is a wonderful feeling.”

In consistent pursuit of upskilling her learning, Kelsey seeks out courses through the Institute of Child Psychology and other courses and workshops offered in her field.

She hopes to continue this pursuit and enrol in the Early Childhood Program Management advanced diploma at Assiniboine in the future.

When asked what advice she had for anyone interested in pursuing a career in Early Childhood Education, she said this:

“It’s important to have an open mind about all that you learn, have patience and overall have passion for what you do. It’s so much more than just playing with children all day. This career is a huge and busy responsibility. It is also a very rewarding and heartwarming job because of the children, knowing that we are playing a part in shaping our future generation, raising kind and educated children.”