Lexie Biegun
Owner/Pedagogical leader of Lexie’s Little Bears
A letter to the parents:
Hello!
My name is Lexie LeGrand-Biegun and I am the owner/ Pedagogical leader of this nature–based, Reggio Inspired childcare facility. We are located on the beautiful west coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada.
I opened Lexie’s Little Bears in 2008 as a licensed childcare facility for families who wanted a centre that mirrored their own personal philosophies for outdoor play, holistic living and learning in the natural forest environment. Our four–acre treed campus allows the children freedom to play in nature without the four walls and plastic toys many typical early learning classrooms provide.
These days, I wear many hats including mentoring early childhood educators that I employ in my programs, working as a pedagogist (lead educator/role model), advocating for childcare across the province, hosting workshops, writing/publishing articles, touring students from neighboring colleges, and travelling around the world to observe, document and experience the Reggio-Emilia philosophy. It is such a treat to be able to jump on the floor and work directly with the educators and your children. Not a day goes by that I am not incredibly thankful for this work that I feel so privileged to be a part of.
Inspired by a familiar childhood:
Lexie’s Little Bears is very much like the childhood environment I grew up in. It was so important to me to raise my own children in this kind of lifestyle where they could feel alive, free and close to nature in their everyday life.
“I believe that being outdoors in the natural elements helps children become more resistant to adverse weather and more resilient to changes in their everyday world.”
Removing the four walls of a classroom and taking the clock off the wall allows our children to experience a day without physical boundaries that typically stop us from being our complete and authentic selves.
I am always growing as an educator and challenging myself to do better; to be a better employer, educator and mentor. With the help of vision boards, I have seen many of my dreams become a reality, including the incredible honour of winning the 2019 Prime Ministers Award of Excellence in early childhood education.
Nothing is ever “completely done” around our 4-acre campus. I am always questioning my values and my beliefs around quality. Little Bears features outdoor classrooms and outdoor sleeping opportunities which have been a natural progression for the past two years, and it is something not typically seen across Canada. I am working with my colleagues and my own mentors using pedagogical narration and documentation to chronical this NEW outdoor-living pedagogy. Very exciting times ahead!
An Uncertain Tale: Alternative Conceptualizations of Pedagogical Leadership
This article draws on the experiences of two educators to reimagine traditional framings of pedagogical leadership. In the field of early childhood education, pedagogical leadership carries conflicting conceptualizations and is often associated with an “expert” who will dictate indicators of quality, suggesting certainty and fixed ways of practicing … Through sharing our stories, we offer a mode of thinking about pedagogical leadership that embraces relationality and uncertainty and invites a culture of dialogue.
