Welcome to our Reggio-inspired nature program.
Thank you for looking into Lexie’s Little Bears Child Care. My name is Lexie Biegun and I am the Owner and Pedagogist of this Reggio Inspired, nature program.
I am incredibly inspired by nature in my everyday world and intertwining the beauty of the Reggio philosophy has allowed me to develop a truly unique West Coast pedagogy of my own. Using the land and the forest as the third teacher, we incorporate many of the (philosophy’s) practiced by educators around the world such as the Waldorf, Montessori, Reggio-Emilia and forest school teachings. In my humble opinion, none of the philosophies offer a “perfect” pedagogy, so we take the best parts from each of them to create a super-powered collaboration of practice unique to the land we stand on. As we work towards reconciliation it is also very important to remember the First peoples who once lived on this land long before us and to honor their teachings through song, dance and language.
We currently have 4 programs on our 4 —acre campus including two infant/toddler buildings, a multi-age centre, and a pre-school age program. Ideally, we will be building more infant/toddler and pre-school spaces on the property soon.
Pedagogy is the method and practice of teaching by exploring ideas and issues and creating environments where learning and thinking can flourish (ELF 2019).
My pedagogy has changed significantly over the past two decades as my career advanced from a small basement daycare owner to an owner/employer/pedagogist of a large child care facility.
What is a pedagogy?
Global Philosophical Influence
My travels to Italy and New Zealand have allowed me to look at my program here in Canada with a fresh lens. I am becoming more and more familiar with the Te Whariki (New Zealand’s Framework that is based on 2 cultures uniting and joining as one: the Maori and NZ peoples) Being able to visit many different centres all around New Zealand allowed me to experience fist hand what their programs feel, taste, smell and breathe.
I have had the honour of travelling to Italy, to do my schooling at the Loris Malaguzzi centre in Reggio – Emilia, Italy so far in 2016, 2018 and again in 2020. The work experience I have gained from these tours has challenged my vision of what quality childcare looks like here in BC. Many of the building designs and architect here at Little Bears has been influenced by these Italian schools.
What the people are saying: