Walden Child Care - Calgary

Walden Child Care is dedicated to becoming a national leader of innovation and advocacy in the field of early learning. We believe children have the right to warm, welcoming environments where they are respected as capable, resourceful, and creative learners. 

We recognize early childhood educators as teaching professionals with specialized knowledge of pedagogical practices and theoretical perspectives pertaining to the early years. As such, we are committed to exceeding the provincial requirements for educator qualifications and prioritize ongoing professional development, maintaining an awareness of national and international advances in the field. 

Walden Child Care strives to honour the multitude of ways that children learn about their world and express themselves. We are inspired by the ways in which the schools of Reggio Emilia co-construct curriculum, engaging in long term project work developed in collaboration with children. Educators at Walden Child Care act as “co-researchers”, working alongside children to facilitate immersive and meaningful learning experiences. As such, we do not have predetermined themes or workbooks—these restrain children’s intrinsic curiosity of the world, disregard their capacity for complex thinking, and are narrowly situated in euro-western perspectives; thus excluding Indigenous worldviews and other ways of being and knowing, despite the current reality of cultural diversity and reconciliation in Canada. 

Our centre strives for continuous growth, and we challenge ourselves to reimagine common views of children and child care spaces that limit the rich possibilities of early learning. How we enact our practice can either perpetuate these limits or transform early learning centres into community spaces—sites of social justice and environmental stewardship where all children are honoured as local and global citizens. 

The spaces we design, the materials we provide, and the ways in which we interact with children all convey messages about the image of the child we hold. In everything we do, we endeavour to communicate to children “you belong here, you are respected, and your perspectives are valued”.