Emmanuel at Brighton Child Care Centre

Parents and caregivers, we need to hear from you!
The Region of Waterloo Children’s Services is currently developing the Early Years and Child Care System Plan (2027–2031), which will shape how licensed child care and early years programs are delivered in the years ahead.
Your voice will help build a more accessible, equitable and high-quality system. Please take 15 minutes to complete the survey and share your experiences. At the end of the survey, you can choose to be entered into a draw for a chance to win 1 of 5 $100 e-gift cards!
Survey Link:

2026 Waterloo Region Parent Survey Children’s Services at the Region of Waterloo is inviting you to participate in a survey about child care and early years services. We need your help to identify what is important to families. Your input is highly valued.

June is Pride Month and together we celebrated Pride as we raised the Pride Flag. At Emmanuel all children, families and educators are welcome. We celebrate diversity and honour and respect the uniqueness of each family and individual in a community where everyone belongs. 

It was a wonderful day at Woodside National Historic Site, Parks Canada filled with sunshine and a cool breeze that filled the air with the fragrant scent of lilac. We worked in our garden pulling the weeds and planted our Three Sister’s Garden. This type of garden is an Indigenous companion planting method that grows corn, beans and squash. The corn supports the beans, the beans bring nitrogen to the soil, and the squash acts as a mulch with its big leaves keeping the weeds down. The Three Sister’s Garden teaches us that if we work together, focusing on our strengths, we can accomplish great things. We also enjoyed an early spring harvest from the garden as we stewed some rhubarb on the fire. In order for our garden to provide us with more gifts, we provided the garden with water in order for it to grow. We look forward to caring for our garden and observing the changes that will happen each week over the summer. Thank-you Angie for continuing to share your culture with us.

We recommend checking your children for ticks every day. This is a severe year for ticks in Ontario.

Happy Earth Day! Remember to reflect on each action you take and think about the future of our Earth and the wellbeing of the Next Generation.

Our Annual Professional Learning Day on April 6 was a magical day of learning and team building for the Emmanuel Early Learning and Care team.

Our educators and leadership team explored so many inspiring and impactful learning experiences — from learning about early years mental health, to an incredible workshop with Katie Kay (thewitchdoctor.ca) on understanding stress and regulation, as well as taking steps towards ReconciliACTION with Clarence Cachagee from Crow Shield Lodge.
Being together gave us the chance to share ideas, spend time learning outdoors, and reflect on our work with children. These kinds of days help us grow our understanding of child development, strengthen how we respond to and support children, and create more inclusive, caring environments. They also remind us how important it is to keep learning and leaning on each other as a team.

A heartfelt thank you to the YMCA Outdoor Centre for welcoming us into such a beautiful space and for an amazing meal.

Welcoming Spring at Woodside National Historic Site, Parks Canada

With the wonderful snow melting into Spring, inspiring new opportunities for learning emerged. The Cedars explored Nature's gifts that have been hiding under the snow. The community focused on using the newly available loose materials for shelter building. The children collaborated on finding materials, on designs, and on sizes of the structures. Nature provided multitudes of opportunities to explore math, social, collaborative, creative and risk taking projects. We are looking forward to systemic, hands-on learning throughout the seasons. What inspired you after the snow melted?

Holi Hai!
Celebrate with the Emmanuel at Brighton Community!

It has been a tradition at Emmanuel at Brighton ELC to celebrate the Hindu festival heralding the start of Spring, which is the season of hope and new beginnings. The children worked hand in hand with the educators and created hypoallergenic colours to welcome Holi. Celebrations emerged in all the classrooms and our student teachers were delighted to be part of the preparations for this beautiful festival. The children enjoyed the outdoor festivities on a sunny day. Please, join us and celebrate, share your dreams and hopes for the new season.

Call for Board of Directors Nominations

Emmanuel Early Learning and Care is looking for passionate community members to join our volunteer Board of Directors for starting April 2026. If you believe in the importance of quality nature focused child care and early learning and want to help guide a values-driven non-profit, we’d love to hear from you!

We’re especially seeking individuals with experience or interest in finance, accounting, legal, or human resources, with a particular need on our Finance Committee. Parents (past and present) from our Brighton and Sandhills centres, as well as community members, are encouraged to apply.

🗓 Application deadline: Monday, March 23, 2026
📧 Submit applications or questions to: Carly Greco at [email protected]

🔗 Learn more about the opportunity and a link to the application form

News — Welcome to Emmanuel Early Learning and Care 2026-2027 Call for Board Nominations February 04, 2026 Emmanuel Early Learning and Care provides quality child care and early learning through forest-based education, embracing the whole child, nurturing a connection to nature, and inspiring a love of lifelong learning.  Emmanuel Early Learning an...