WTCentrenews

Vancouver Wondertree Centre News
April 26th 2007

EPIC
This year, for the first time, Wondertree participated in an Expo called EPIC which stands for Ethical Progressive Intelligent Consumer (for more information, go to www.epicvancouver.com). Over 12.000 people came to visit this sustainable living fair held at Canada Place over the course of 3 days to see what companies in many different sectors were doing to reduce humans' ecological footprint. Wondertree felt that it was important to be there and represent a form of education that preserves a love of learning by putting the child in the driver's seat and, by extension, creating individuals who care about themselves, those around them, and the world they live in. There was a lot of interest in what our organization does and has been doing for close to 25 years. Parents, learners, and Learning Consultants all came out to work our booth and answer questions. We had teachers, new parents, parents to be, parents of adults, aunties, and grandparents come and talk to us; many of them expressed concern about the present (and past) education choices for children and shared their hopes and dreams with us. They also asked a lot of questions about what we do, how we do it, and why it works!

Open House
Our work at EPIC made for a very packed and successful Open House on March 30. Thank you to everyone who came out to help and prepare for this. Thank you also to all who expressed interest. Brent and Verena gave a power point presentation every hour and facilitated discussions with prospective parents and learners. Learning Consultants, Wondertree Parents, and Wondertree Learners were also on hand to answer questions and engage in discussions. Maren and Owen (Wondertree Mentors) did a fantastic job of facilitating activities for kids while their parents chatted with us. Many prospective parents commented on how comfortable they and their children felt in our space. Some even expressed surprise at the ease with which their children left their side to play with others, explore the space, and engage in activities! We hope to work with some of these children and their families in the future.

Prime Minister's Award for Teaching Excellence
Congratulations to Brent, Kathleen, and Michael and everyone who created SelfDesign and Wondertree over the years! Although we don't do what we do for recognition, it is encouraging to know that our provincial and federal governments know what we are doing and support us. We hope that this award will help us to continue offering programs for more and more children and families in the spirit of choice in education. Please click here to read an article for more details.

Some Favourite Moments from Wondertree's Winter Celebration