About Us
Who We Are
Tamarack Common Daycare & OSC (TCD) is a child care facility located in the Tamarack Common area (intersection of 26 Ave and 12 Street NW) in the City of Edmonton.
We provide professional care to infants (from 12 months to under 19 months old), toddlers and pre-schoolers (19 months to 6 years old) and out of school care children (6 years to 12 years old). The toddlers and pre-schoolers are cared under the new mixed-age group category recently approved by the Alberta Early Learning and Child Care Regulation.
Our Philosophy
The importance of Early Learning and Child Care lies on the fact that whatever the children experience, such as any newly developed interests and interactions with peers, teachers and parents, during this period of time will lay the groundwork for their future education and stay with them throughout their lives.
Recognizing this importance in our child-centered practices, our child care philosophy is based on the Flight – Alberta’s Early Learning and Care Framework and is highly connected to the Principles and Matters to Be Considered in the Alberta Early Learning and Child Care Act.
Our philosophy is to deliver a stimulating, secured, safe and responsive environment to our children of diverse backgrounds to support and preserve the well-being and development of the child in the physical, social, intellectual, creative and emotional aspects. We work under the holistic play-based goals of well-being, play and playfulness, communication and literacies, and diversity and social responsibilities.
We respect the unique experiences and individual feeling of each child. With flexibility in child care supports choice and accessibility for families, we focus on building each child’s sense of self-esteem and confidence by using positive reinforcement in close consultation with child’s parents or guardians.
We recognize the values and importance of partnering with parents, guardians and community members to ensure the success of our program. Ideas and inputs from parents, guardians and community members are always welcome and needed to enhance our care quality and to support the child’s optimal development.
Our Staff
Our staff members are well-trained and certified childcare practitioners who are dedicated to the core values of early childhood education by providing affectionate care appropriate to the child’s mental, emotional, spiritual and physical needs and stage of development with the highest level of professionalism.
Our staff plan a variety of activities to meet the children's physical, social, intellectual, creative, and emotional development. Art activities, music, dance, dramatic play, math and science activities, water fun, gross and fine motor activities, reading fun, learning through playing, etc. always keep your children busy and learning through fun activities.
We strive to be a leader within the childcare sector by responding effectively and respectfully to the diversity in children background and circumstances as well as the ever-changing needs of families including those who may be experiencing social or economic vulnerability. Especially, to accommodate children with a variety of needs, we have age-appropriate materials, equipment and care to meet the diversity due to gender, religion, ethnicity and child’s ability.
Our Operation
We recognize children as mighty learners and citizens. As citizens, children are encouraged to make choices in their daily experiences that support their learning. As mighty learners, children, full of curiosities, learn by watching, listening and doing. Children co-construct their knowledge through exploring environment, investigating problems, experimenting with solutions and manipulating objects when playing. The combination of care and play at the program creates joyful experiences to the children and allows them be creative, stimulated and curious so that they can grow and develop to their maximum potential.
We understand a child’s cultural, social, linguistic and spiritual heritage is of extreme importance and is central to the child’s safety, well-being and development. Therefore, we embrace multiculturalism and belief that we are all different but the same! We are committed to working collaboratively and cooperatively with local communities and levels of government to provide the best possible multicultural child care service.
Healthy food helps children learn, grow and develop. We serve meals and snacks that are healthy and nutritious in accordance with Canada’s Food Guide to ensure our children will have balanced nutrition to meet their nutrient requirements. Even though we have regular daily meals prepared according to the Canada’s Food Guide, parents are welcome to provide lunches and snacks to their children. Some children may be allergic to certain type of food such as nuts. Therefore, we do not serve any foods with nut contents.
Our policies are to care children with appropriate guidance strategies and are preventative in nature such that children are protected from all forms of physical punishment, physical and verbal abuse, and emotional deprivation.
We operate the daycare and OSC programs according to the requirements of the Alberta Early Learning and Child Care Act and Alberta Early Learning and Child Care Regulation. Our day to day operations are monitored by Alberta’s Early Childhood Services Division. In addition, we encourage participation of parents, guardians and community members in our police making process and their involvement supports accountability of our child care operations.
