Welcome to the Forgotten ECE, the show where before and after school educators, summer
camp and PD staff and CYWs have a place where they are seen, heard and valued.
I'm your host, Jamie Wakeler, and I'm so excited you're here.
Hello everyone.
Welcome to the first episode of the Forgotten ECE.
I am so excited that it's finally here.
I've been working on this for a while and the goal behind this is strictly for before
and after school educators, recreational staff, those of us who work with school age children
have a place to go, have a community to call our own.
I'm Jamie Wagler.
I've worked as an RECE for 13 years now.
Majority of those were with before and after school care kids because it's my favorite
group.
I absolutely adore how they think, I wouldn't say my favorite is how they talk back, but
you know, it can be positive sometimes.
Strong leaders in our hands.
The last three years I've worked as a supervisor.
When I'm not supervising, I'm actually teaching courses post-secondary at a couple colleges
and I own my own consulting business, Miss Jamie Consulting.
Follow me on Instagram and Facebook.
Don't mind the shameless self plug.
My heart will always belong to the school-agers.
The whole point of this podcast is to bring our before and after school educators together.
The forgotten ECEs, the ones that when we go to trainings and we go to full day PD and
when we have offerings of professional development, we're the last ones that actually have relevant
information and when we do, it's all about challenging behavior.
There is so much more to before and after school care than challenging behavior.
It's not that challenging.
What it is, is there's something underneath needing to get out and the educators, the
before and after heroes are the ones that solve that each and every day, allowing children
to come in their classroom with a smile, forgetting what happened the day or night before, forgetting
what happened in class and letting them be themselves.
And I guess overall, that's what I want here is I want each of you to feel like you can
be yourself.
I want your passion as a before and after school educator to shine.
I want your thoughts as a recreation student or teacher running a summer camp program or
a camp program for PD days or March break.
And I want you to feel confident and comfortable in your abilities.
I want you to own this passion and this calling because it is important.
Just because it's not infant, toddler or preschool doesn't mean you're not important and it
shouldn't be seen as a stepping stone in our community.
It should be seen as what it really is, a necessity, a powerhouse for children, a place
to build confidence, to grow socially, to be active and to not sit at a desk.
When I was explaining the show idea to a really good friend and past colleague of mine, she
came up with the best way to describe it.
We're still here because kids don't stop growing when they turn six.
Let that resonate with you for a second.
When did society decide kids need less when they're six and over?
Look at the government just did it with Seawelk.
Families are getting subsidized prices until their child is or children are six.
And then what?
All of a sudden they're less important or they don't require as much care.
So it's okay.
You don't get subsidized spaces.
You can afford to pay hundreds of dollars a month for before and after school care.
And I guess that's what this podcast is about.
This podcast is about fighting for before and after school education and the importance
of it.
And it's about providing a community of educators who are like-minded so we don't have to fight
each other so that we can come together as a community and raise these children in situations
and in schools, in these programs and in summer camp to just continue being a kid, to play
and laugh and imagine and learn through their play.
Get as much passion and caring as other educators do in their programs because these children
deserve it.
Because we as educators who are pouring our heart into this program deserve it.
My hope is for you to walk away today and think, wow, this is what I need.
Or I know someone who is in a before and after school program, who teaches summer camp, who
teaches PD days and March bake programs, who teaches recreation programs and tell them,
hey, I found your home.
I found a spot for you.
You belong here.
And then join me in two weeks for the next episode.
The Forgotten ECE Plays every two weeks, episodes released on Sundays.
And I hope to see you there.
If there's something that you want to hear, if there's something that you want to talk
about, reach out and let me know.
I would love, love, love to hear from you.
You can reach me on Facebook at Miss Jamie Consulting or you can reach me on Instagram,
miss Jamie, all lowercase underscore R E C E. That's M I S S J A M I E underscore R E
C E.
I can't wait to hear from you and I'll see you next week.
Thank you.
Amazing listeners for your support.
Don't forget to follow me on Instagram at Miss Jamie underscore R E C E. Give a star
rating and leave a review.
Is there something you want to hear about in relation to before and after school programs
or full day summer camp?
DM me or comment.
Again, thank you so much and happy learning.