Kootenay Boundary Early Years Conference

COME GROW WITH US!

Welcome to the 2026 Kootenay Boundary Early Years Conference. We look forward to hosting you for two days of learning and connecting. The theme of this year’s conference is Nurturing Those Who Nurture, because we believe educators are the heart of early years education. There will be sessions to support centering joy and refueling your heart, opportunities for self-care, and time to connect.

Please review the breakout session descriptions and select one morning and one afternoon session you most look forward to attending. You will be prompted to reserve your space in these sessions at checkout. Download our full conference program guide here 2026 Conference Program or view session details below in Eventbrite.

DAY ONE - FRIDAY MAY 22, 2026

8:00 AM - 9:00 AM - REGISTRATION AND BREAKFAST

9:00 AM - 9:45 AM - OPENING REMARKS

10:00 AM - 12:00 PM - MORNING BREAKOUT SESSIONS

12:00 PM - 1:30 PM - LUNCH AND “THE NURTURES” COMMUNITY HEALING CIRCLE

1:30 PM - 3:30 PM - AFTERNOON BREAKOUT SESSIONS

6:30 PM - 9:30 PM - EVENING BANQUET

DAY TWO - SATURDAY MAY 23, 2026

8:00 AM - 9:00 AM - REGISTRATION AND BREAKFAST

9:00 AM - 9:45 AM - OPENING REMARKS

10:00 AM - 12:00 PM - KEYNOTE ADDRESS DR. VANESSA LAPOINTE

12:00 PM - 1:30 PM - LUNCH AND SOUND BATH SESSION

1:30 PM - 3:30 PM - KEYNOTE ADDRESS DR. VANESSA LAPOINTE

Are you traveling more than 50km (one way) toattend the Early Years Conference in Cranbrook?

When you complete your purchase to register for the event, you will be screened for the travel bursary. If you are eligible we will follow up with you to process your qualifying bursary payment. The amount is based on distance travelled. If you are traveling:

• 50 - 100km - $50 mileage and $100 hotel (one night)
• 100 - 200km - $50 mileage and $200 hotel (two nights)
• Over 200km - $50 mileage and $300 hotel (three nights)

Please note, carpooling is encouraged and mileage bursaries may be limited per organization.

Info: This topic explores the importance of designing nurturing, safe, and engaging environments that foster learning, comfort, and community for both children and educators. As educators often spend more time in their working environments than in their own homes, creating spaces that are warm, inclusive, and supportive is essential not only for children’s development but also for educators’ well-being. By emphasizing thoughtful and intentional design, these spaces can serve as a haven that encourages exploration, emotional safety, and meaningful relationships. Ultimately, developing such environments supports a positive educational experience and helps build a sense of belonging, making the classroom truly a home away from home. To help jump start your journey to a home away from home there will be a small project that you will get to work on in the workshop to take back with you.

Info: As ECE’s we are no stranger to advocating for and supporting children, families, communities, but what about ourselves? This workshop focuses in on the heart of ECE…YOU! We will dive into discussion around burnout, knowing our rights in the workplace, what we want to see as the future of ECE, and how we can advocate for ourselves as educators.

Info: A strong team starts with strong relationships. When communication and connection are
present, work feels lighter, more positive, and more collaborative. This interactive workshop helps educators create a warm, supportive team culture where everyone feels valued and energized. When relationships thrive, teams thrive — leading to greater well-being for educators and better outcomes for children. Participants explore the key factors that strengthen trust, deepen understanding, and foster meaningful collaboration. Educators will learn to build positive connections and a welcoming team climate, recognize what brings people closer together (or creates distance), strengthen communication, trust, and collaboration, foster a sense of belonging, shared energy, and mutual support.

Info: BYO yoga mat! This interactive workshop explores simple, playful ways to bring mindfulness and movement into the early years. Together, we will explore activities that help children engage their five senses, practice fun and accessible breathing techniques and enjoy easy movement breaks that support focus, self-regulation and overall well-being. Participants will leave with practical ideas and tools that can be easily incorporated into everyday childcare or classroom routines to help young children feel calm, connected, and ready to learn. Please wear comfortable clothing, as we will be moving and participating in activities together.

Info: A safe and compliant workplace is essential not only for productivity but also for employee well-being. All workers have the right to work in environments that follow BC Employment Standards, uphold Human Rights protections, and prevent workplace bullying and harassment. Unfortunately, unsafe or disrespectful behaviour can happen to anyone, in any industry, creating stress, anxiety, and emotional strain. This interactive workshop equips participants to recognize unsafe or inappropriate workplace behaviour, understand their legal rights, and respond confidently. Attendees will learn practical strategies to foster a respectful and supportive workplace that aligns with BC workplace regulations and promotes mental wellness.

Info: This session invites educators to step into a dynamic, full-sensory environment to
experience the connection between process art and child development. Beyond the
high-energy and unconventional tools, we will deconstruct cognitive science and
learning schemas and address the barriers to implementation. We will explore how
trading control for child-led curiosity can transform classroom behavior and unlock deep
creative autonomy.

Info: Through guided reflection, structured journaling, and collaborative dialogue, participants will reconnect with their professional “why,” explore the impact of emotional labor, and identify realistic, sustainable strategies for renewal. This session focuses on practical, in-the-moment practices that can be integrated into the rhythm of the workday. Participants will revisit formative experiences that shaped their professional identity, recognize personal indicators of burnout, and develop a personalized “Refuel Menu” to support emotional, physical, social, and creative well-being. Educators will leave with renewed clarity, strengthened professional purpose, and tangible strategies to sustain themselves in meaningful work.

Info: SoulCollage® is a method that uses everyday images to create a collection of small, unique
collages. This fun and easy process offers a light-hearted way to explore the self while inviting
meaningful introspection. This may be a one-time endeavour, or an activity you may choose to
return to in the future.  Over time, one card at a time, practitioners who continue with
SoulCollage® build a deck of their own personal oracle cards.  In this introductory level workshop, the SoulCollage® method will be explained and demonstrated. Participants will have the opportunity to create a card of their own after a brief guided visualization and will be supported to explore the insights that may emerge through the process. No prior experience or artistic ability necessary, and experienced SoulCollagers are also welcome!

Info: Participate in this activity-based workshop to learn songs, games and musical activities that can enrich your preschool classes and bring joy to your day! The singing, listening and movement games presented are geared mainly for students aged 3 - 5 years but can be adapted and used with other age groups. Games and Activities will involve the following areas of concentration: Listening and Movement, Cognition, Elements of Music (beat, rhythm, melody, timbre, dynamics), Social Development (singing games), Creativity (improvising sounds and movement). A handout with a description of the games and activities will be provided for each participant.

Info: Children’s behaviours are messages. When their fundamental needs aren’t met, it can lead to
imbalance, big emotions, and challenging behaviours. In this workshop, educators explore the 8 core human needs and learn how unmet needs influence behaviour. Participants gain practical and compassionate strategies to better understand children, respond effectively, and reduce challenging situations. Participants will learn to: identify the needs behind children’s challenging behaviours, respond using the guiding and nurturing approach with clear, respectful, and effective strategies, create supportive environments that help children feel secure, regulated, and able to thrive. These tools help children feel understood, develop self-regulation, and build stronger social skills, while supporting educators both professionally and personally.

Info: This interactive breakout session will provide participants with ideas and practical tools to help them succeed in building and leading a team. The session will take participants through a journey of discovery - considering what it means to lead with purpose and clarity, how to hire the right people for the right jobs at the right time, and to position staff well with defined job descriptions. The intention is to help participants breathe easier with the skills to delegate effectively and manage within transparent boundaries. During this session there will be opportunities to explore personal leadership strengths and challenges, and test the benefits of applying useful tools and skills to create the work environment staff can thrive in. If your team is growing, you have expanded your operation or you have trouble finding and keeping the right people, this session is for you.

Info: What might shift if we paid closer attention to the moments in our work that sustain us — the ones that slow us down, invite curiosity, and remind us why we are here? Rather than centring narratives of strain or scarcity, this session turns toward the possibilities that emerge in our everyday encounters with children, colleagues, land, and more-than-human others. Drawing from ongoing place-based and sensory work with a group of children, we explore how pedagogical commitments can help us stay connected to meaning, relation, and purpose. These commitments offer gentle grounding: they help us notice what matters, move at a livable pace, and attend to the conditions that make our work feel possible. Together, we will consider how the textures of our everyday practices — listening, noticing, lingering with children and place — can offer steadying forms of connection. Rather than focusing on what is missing, this session invites us to think with what is already present, already holding us.

Info: Dr. Vanessa Lapointe is a mom, parenting educator, best-selling author, international speaker, and a regularly invited media guest. She holds a doctoral degree in psychology, and practiced as a psychologist for nearly 20 years, before devoting her full-time energy to connecting with parents and other “big people” around the globe in 2023. Founder of The North Star Developmental Clinic, Dr. Vanessa has long been supporting families and children in her
developmental clinic alongside her team, and has previous experience in community mental
health and the school system.

Dr. Vanessa is known for bringing a sense of nurturing understanding and humanity to all of her work. Her passion is in walking alongside parents, teachers, care providers, and other big people to really see the world through the child’s eyes. She believes that if we can do this, we are beautifully positioned to grow up our children in the best possible way.

Info: Smudge, knowledge sharing, group sharing circle, letting go ceremony and drumming. This Ceremony is Crafted to let go of stress, grief, trauma and issues with boundaries. All of these carried wounds are a lot for our poor spirits, weighing us down but… we are waking up. We are coming back to our culture, to our communities and to ourselves. When we learn to do this work independently and within our nation it benefits everyone around us, in our life and workplace. These wounds can be healed with traditional knowledge. These wounds can be healed in ceremony…a way to find peace setting in to its rightful place - in our bones. Participants will leave feeling rejuvenated, lighter, relaxed, connected, closer to ancestor and with a stronger understanding of themselves.

Info: BYO yoga mat! An immersive meditative experience where participants are bathed in sound waves from various instruments and sound healing tools. The vibrations facilitate shifts in brain states from a more active state to a relaxed or even dreamlike state through a process called brain entrainment. The parasympathetic nervous system is signaled, allowing the body to rest. The experience evokes a sense of deep listening, while allowing release and restoration to occur, leaving a sense of calm and invigoration. Modern science is now confirming the transformational effects of this ancient practice and it’s ability to rekindle harmony to mind, body and spirit. This is an experience to be FELT in real life.

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Host or Publisher Kootenay Boundary Early Years Conference Committee