Mother of three young girls, proud wife, passionate arts advocate and lifelong learner.
And I am on a mission to help parents and educators embrace a play-based, experiential education that honours children's many ways of knowing.
An education that includes children's natural curiosities, creative exploration and joyful learning.
An education that views children as the brilliant, capable human beings they are, and recognizes teachers for their dedication, passion, commitment and creativity.
"Alana is a leading educator in Manitoba and an advocate for creating authentic learning experiences for young children. She designs hands-on learning environments for children and engages them through the arts, play and exploration of the natural world. Her contributions to the education system in Manitoba have been innumerable as well as her presentations at National and International Education Conferences. She truly believes in the development of the whole child in a kind and caring manner."
Matt Adkins
Principal
"Alana is a passionate educator, full of creative ideas and knowledge to move children's learning forward. She creates inviting and inspiring spaces for children, where they are free to explore and discover, and encouraged to think critically and creatively. "
Anne McMurdo
Kindergarten Teacher
"Alana is a caring and nurturing educator, with an ability to engage all children in learning and new discoveries. Her artful approach to teaching makes learning truly joyful. Her students make huge strides in literacy, numeracy and social development, and through her creative instruction, students truly love learning alongside her. Her extensive knowledge in educational research and best practice make her a leader in the field."
Pat Furman
Executive Director, Robertson Early Enrichment Program
"Alana is a wonderfully caring and inspiring teacher. Her creative and exciting lessons draw out the joy of learning and exploration from her students. Alana sees the potential and talents of each child and designs learning experiences that suit and engage the learners. Her knowledge and application of Reggio teaching approaches make her classrooms a hit with both students and their parents."
Val Noseworthy
Consultant, Department of Education
"Alana has a gift in anchoring students' learning through hands-on, artful experiences, affording them with many opportunities to express themselves. She engages her students so deeply, academic achievement flourishes. Alana’s passion for empowering children through play-based, experiential discovery coupled with her gentle guidance and prompting to deepen their inquiry, is truly inspiring. I highly recommend Alana to any teacher or school district looking for a inspiring, quality professional development. "
Kimberly Adair-Gagnon
Instructional Support Teacher
During my career as a public school teacher, I worked with students, fellow teachers, undergraduate students, consultants, educational assistants and administrators to bring learning to life.
I believe children are incredibly brilliant and capable human beings, and helping them realize their full potential - through an engaging, hands-on approach to learning - is my life's calling and purpose.
Highlights of my career as an educator so far, include earning a Masters in Education, applying Action Research to effect teacher change, writing the provincial Arts curriculum, facilitating interactive workshops and classes for educators, parents and administrators locally and internationally, and designing and teaching a course for pre-service teachers at the University of Manitoba.
Although I retired from the public school system, I offer my own Early Years program, called Brillante Beginnings.
I continue to work as an Education Consultant where I collaborate with teachers to design inspiring experiences and environments for children.
BOOK A WORKSHOP or SPEAKING ENGAGEMENT
Teresa Hampton, Principal, Parc La Salle School
"I have had the privilege of working with Alana to transform spaces in our school and through professional learning opportunities. Her dedication to creating spaces that inspire learning comes from her view of children as creative, capable and inquiring. Alana’s experience as a classroom teacher, knowledge of developmentally appropriate practices combined with her ability to create beautiful spaces inspires and teaches all who she has worked with at our school. After every session with Alana the teachers at our school have adjusted their environments to create spaces that inspire engaged learning. We couldn't have done it without her!"
Want to bring learning to life and reconnect with the joy of teaching?
I would love to collaborate with you!
WORKSHOP MENU
Artful Teaching, Joyful Learning
How do we reach multi-level learners, and sustain student engagement across varying ability levels?
How do we awaken our practice, and re-ignite our joy in teaching?
How do we move toward a Reggio-Inspired, inquiry-based practice?
How do we use loose parts in play and learning?
Inspiring lifelong learning.
Bookmaking to Inspire Young Authors
How do we get our kids excited about PUBLISHING their writing?
How do we help struggling kids see and celebrate themselves as readers and writers?
How do we share and celebrate, with parents and peers, the amazing work our students are doing?
The Art of Bookmaking.
Inspir{Ed} Learning Environments
How do we create a responsive learning environment for optimal student engagement?
How do we apply design principles to beautify our classrooms {on a budget}?
How does a re-imagined classroom move us toward inquiry-based teaching?
Transformed Classrooms. Transformed Teacher Practice.
Reluctant writers? Need ideas for publishing and celebrating student writing? Want to WOW parents with amazing, "keeper" books?
