Leeanne: Kreative-Resources

Hi my name is Leeanne – I live in Canada - this is my story.           

As a child I was the one in the neighbourhood who wanted to play school, I pretended to be a librarian, and I made crests to present to the children who skated in my back yard, for a job well done. I loved to be in a position where I could mentor and teach other children. I guess I always had the role of a teacher deep in my soul. At age 12 I volunteered as a local Recreational Camp Councilor, which then led to becoming a developmental assistant, with special needs teens and adults. I was lucky enough to get a job as a Residential Service Worker and special needs ‘in home’ Family Councilor by the time I was 18 years old.  I went to college to get my diploma as a Developmental Service Worker, and at the same time I married my first husband and had two wonderful children.

At this time I was presented with many family challenges. Topping the list, my son was born with autism and some medical difficulties. My job became my life and the stress of a 24 hour a day job dealing with special needs took me on a different path for awhile. I created my own home business and I became a Cultural Program Developer and was lucky enough to have my program published and distributed worldwide through a prominent International Karate Association. Through this time I also volunteered with the Girl Guides of Canada as a ‘Leader in charge’ and Area Commissioner.

It seems as though my life has taken many different paths – dependant on the situation of my life at the time. I had to make another job choice after nursing my parents for a few years until their passing.

I decided I wanted to have a job where I could feel happy on a daily basis – hence my decision to go into Early Childhood Education. I supervised a before and after school program in a local public school, at the same time I worked full time in a Preschool classroom. It was a long day, but enjoyable. I loved using my creativity and interacting with the children and their families. Then the government decided they would change all the rules for anyone working in childcare – we all have to have our ECE diploma and register with the newly created, ‘College of Early Childhood Education’. Despite my more than 30 years of working with children and their families, and my ‘Developmental Service Worker’ diploma, I had to go back to school and get that ECE diploma. I worked full time in a preschool and toddler room, while going to college each night for 3 years. My social life was put on a backburner, but I got that diploma – with honours! During this time I got remarried to a wonderfully supportive man with strong convictions and a level head – he kept me steadfast on my path to success.

I now work as a Lead Toddler Teacher in a Montessori school, where I implement both Montessori and emergent ECE curriculum. I have been able to use my creativity, developmental skills, experience and my ECE expertise. I am more than happy there and I hope to stay a long time.

Here's my recent post on creating an "Eye-Spy" jar for winter exploration..... created from an excursion to the dollar store. Click here to see the whole article.


Here's another of my DIY (do-it-yourself) projects. Click here to see how I created this project and how much the kiddos loved it!

Here's one more invitation to look over my shoulder. Click here to see my DIY for color recognition and color matching, which doubles as a fine motor exercise.

You can find me by clicking here to go to my blogat Kreative Activities http://kreativeactivities.blogspot.com/ and on Facebook my fanpage is Kreative-Resources and look here for my Pinterest collection.