Why work as an Early Childhood Educator – Meet Jess

A career that is both rewarding, challenging, and inspiring – being an Early Childhood Educator for 10 years.

Jessica (more commonly known as Jess) Hoffman has been an Early Childhood Educator at Hope’s Home for 10 years. Year after year she welcomes new faces to Hope’s home, watches them as they grow and see the world with complete fascination and curiosity, and then has been there as they say goodbye to daycare. She’s truly witnessed it all. So we took a moment to look back on her career and get her perspective on the changes within the organization.

1. How long have you been at Hope’s Home? What positions have you all held here? Give a little explanation about each one.

I have been at Hope’s Home for 10 years. In those years I have worked with all age groups as an Early Childhood Educator. The age I enjoy most is Preschool and School-age children. I love the way they discover and explore new experiences each day. The last two years I had the opportunity to be the Early Learning and Childcare Manager at the JPII Daycare location. Currently, I am an Early Childhood Educator for Preschool/School-age children as well as the Relief Manager at the Regina South location. My favorite thing to do with the children is science and arts!

2. What is the main factor that’s made you stay at Hope’s Home this long?

The main reasons I’ve worked for Hope’s Home for so many years is the children and our inclusive programs. Our programs support every child and are set up to include everyone no matter your ability. The best part of this is watching the children reach milestones and build relationships with each other. Nothing is more gratifying than watching a child succeed and concur challenges all while having fun with their peers. The amazing staff are the other reason I have worked for Hope’s Home so long. It’s like a family here and everyone is here for the same reason, to support the kiddos. Working in this field is challenging at times but is also the most inspiring and rewarding job I’ve ever had.

3. How have you seen the organization change from when you started to how it is now?

I first started at our College Ave location with around 25 children and a few staff. Fast forward years later, we have more locations throughout the province that support children and their families. With these locations came new programs and more supports for the children. In 10 years I have seen a lot of successful change that has helped this organization grow immensely. Through all the changes in the past few years we have kept our Vison, Mission and Values, of loving, supporting and accepting every individual equally, while creating an enhanced environment for all children. I am proud to be a part of Hope’s Home and to see our community and families come together to support and teach these young humans. It’s pretty incredible and really highlights the hard work and advocacy of our staff and families at Hope’s Home.

4. How have you seen Hope’s Home impact the community you live and work in?

When I first started not a lot of people knew about Hope’s Home or very little at that. Now a large amount of people in our community know about Hope’s Home and I always get the response of, “Wow what incredible work you do! What an amazing place to work.” And I couldn’t agree more! Throughout the years I have seen the community come together and support our Early Learning programs and daycare services by inviting us to their businesses to tour with our classrooms, by visiting us to see how our programs run, making donations, volunteering, the list goes on.

5. What is your favourite Hope’s Home memory or moment?

It’s impossible to have one favorite memory! But I would say that each year we have an award for the “Child of The Year” and we highlight that child and all their milestones, success and hurdles they have overcome. Being in that moment of listening to the stories, telling the stories of that child, how hard they have worked to overcome challenges, and to see the relationships and acceptance that each child has is truly the best memory I can ask for. I am the lucky one who gets to experience this each day and be a part of such an amazing organization.

Have any questions for Jess about her career with Hope’s Home? Or just want to tell her she’s amazing? Let us know in the comments!