Cinnamon, chocolate, gingerbread -- when you walk into Chris Stusek's classroom, the yummy smell is one of the first things you will notice.
“One of my favourite things to do with the children is bake,” she says. Her creations are legendary amongst the preschoolers -- and their parents, who often find warm treats awaiting them at pick-up time.
She makes sure to keep everything from molasses to chocolate chips on hand in order to accommodate little whims and has been known to sweep aside a planned art activity in response to requests to bake instead.
“I like it when I'm the resource person and they have an idea and come to me and I can help them,” she says. In fact, she describes her role in the classroom as a facilitator. “I like to put something out for them and see where it goes, as opposed to me planning it all out,” she says.
In practice, that philosophy creates a classroom Chris describes as having a “relaxed atmosphere that's also creative and busy” with a variety of child-focused, age-appropriate activities from which to choose. “Some days a child needs to sit quietly and look at books, and other days they want to get everything out of the dramatic play area and create fun with their friends.”
It can also mean Chris finds herself in some unexpected situations – parents have returned to find her with curlers and clips in her hair after a “beauty shop session,” or slightly out-of-breath after an impromptu dance session. Paint smudges on the nose are a common accessory. “It's the best thing to come to work and play,” she says, smiling.
Chris was hired by Goldstream in 2007, immediately after she obtained her Early Childhood Education license in part because of her long involvement with co-operative pre-school. She spent six years as a co-op parent – two years with each of her three children. She was the paint and playdough parent, and also served on the executive as a fundraiser and treasurer.
“It was my experience as a co-op parent that lead me to become an E.C.E.,” she says, noting that both she and her children, Nicole, Colleen, and Marcus, now adults, still have friends from those days. “There is such a good sense of community in co-op.”
Before becoming an E.C.E., Chris operated her own licenced home daycare while caring for her children as a stay-at-home mom. She has also been a home care worker, worked in retail and licenced day care centres. She has experience with children with special needs, learning disabilities and developmental delays.
She spends her free time with her husband Glen, to whom she has been married since 1980, and their menagerie of cats and dogs. She loves gardening, cooking, art and sewing and has volunteered numerous hours making costumes for local theatre companies.
There are two ways to meet our Early Childhood Educator (ECE). You can either come to our weekly drop-in program, or call the school at 250-474-3011 to arrange a time for a visit.