Westcoast Child Care Resource Centre

Inspiring & Promoting Excellence in Child Care & Early Learning

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eResources

Links to websites that hold free publications and resources for child care professionals, students, parents and caregivers.

Free Ebooks

Unite for Literacy A collection of free digital books with read-aloud option. 

Literacy Cloud  Free picture books to read online. Some categories require a login to access.

TeachingBooks An engaging collection of resources that brings books to life.

Child Care Resources

Child Care Canada Resources A resource bank of links, articles, websites and more for Early Childhood Education research across Canada.

Time for Child Care Links to research papers, documents and factsheets from the Child Care Advocacy Association of Canada.

Child Care Policy Publications Research by economists about early childhood education and policy.

BC Association of Family Resource Programs resource section for families and practitioners.

Canadian Child Care Federation A resource library of  early learning and child care knowledge.

Child Care Human Resources Sector Council A HR toolkit for early childhood educators.

Running a Child Care Program or Day Care Goverment guidelines on running a daycare or preschool in BC.

Early Childhood in Focus Research and resources from the Bernard Van Leer Foundation.

Early Years Research

Zero to Three A database of articles and guides for parents, ECE professionals and policymakers.

Early Childhood Development Intercultural Partnerships A community and University early childhood development research collaboration from the University of Victoria.

The International Journal of Child, Youth and Family Studies (IJCYFS) - An open access journal providing scholarly research about and services for children, youth, families and their communities.

Vanier Institute Online resources and publications from the Vanier Institute for the Family. 

Centre of Excellence for Early Childhood Development Documents from the Centre of Excellence for Early Childhood Development. 

Society for Children and Youth of BC Resources to help a variety of audiences learn more about children's rights and how to uphold them. 

International Journal of Child Care and Education Policy The International Journal of Child Care and Education Policy (IJCCEP) is an open-access peer-reviewed journal about child care and education. 

Education Development Centre A database of hundreds of education resources from professional development materials for teachers to research reports for policymakers.

Early Childhood Education Report Released every three years to evaluate the quality of provincial/territorial early years services in Canada.

What Is Early Childhood Development? A Guide to the Science.

The Human Early Learning Partnership (HELP) a collaborative, interdisciplinary research network based at UBC.

Health and Well-being

Health Link BC Medically approved, non-emergency health information.

Canadian 24-hour Movement Guidelines Canadian 24-hour movement guide for the early years (ages 0-4).

Science of Early Child Development Free access to current research on the impact of early experience on lifelong health and wellbeing.

Child Encyclopedia An encyclopedia of early childhood development.

Heart-Mind Online Social-emotional wellbeing resources for anyone caring for children.

Caring for Kids Information for parents from Canada's paediatricians.

Don't Shake Resources for families and professionals to learn more about shaken baby syndrome.

Center on the Social & Emotional Foundations for Early Learning a five-year project designed to improve the social and emotional outcomes of young children.

CDC's Developmental Milestones Track your child’s development.

Sneezes & Diseases Resource guide for parents and caregivers

BC Healthy Child Development Alliance Supporting the healthy development of children in BC.

Reaching In, Reaching Out Promoting resilience in adults & young children.

The Canadian Institute of Child Health The CICH Profile evaluates and summarizes data on the health and well-being of Canadian children and youth.

Outdoor Play and Learning

Outdoor Playbook An interactive guide for designing outdoor spaces, based on leading research from UBC.

Evergreen Outdoor Classroom Ideas Design ideas for the outdoor classroom.

StoryPark Youtube Quick and fun activities for children

Outdoor Council of Canada resources to promote and enable outdoor education and activity

Take Me Outside A resource database showcasing Canadian organisations that encourage children to spend more time outside.

Playful Transformation e-zines a digital magazine promoting the benefits of play through the use of Loose Parts. 

Outdoor Play Canada evidence-informed tools to support outdoor play in your community.

Wild About Vancouver free Vancouver specific outdoor lessons 

Play Library play-related books, articles, and videos

Diversity & Multiculturalism

Welcome Here  Resources, information and links for immigrant families and those who work with them.

Care for Newcomer Children Canada’s leading organization that focuses on caring for immigrant and refugee children.

Children's Community School Resources for teaching children about social justice issues.

Mama Lisa's World Songs and rhymes from around the world in many languages.

Canada Beyond 150 designed to bring together Canadians from all backgrounds to engage in discussions about the elimination of racism and discrimination, with a special focus on young people.

Learning for Justice Classroom resources for educators.

LGBTQEarlyYears Resources to promote inclusivity of LGBTQIA+ within all Early Years settings.

SOGI 123 Resources for educators to support students of all sexual orientations and gender identities.

Anti-Defamation League Anti-bias resources for parents, families and caregivers.

Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math (STEAM)

STEAM Resources and Ideas STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) ideas based on popular children's books.

Pre-K Math Early math resources for early years teachers and teacher educators.

Let's Talk Science Free educational resources.

DREME TE Early math resources for educators from the University of Stanford.

Big Science for Little Hands Science World’s professional-development workshop series for Early Childhood Educators.

Indigenous Resources

Kids' Stop Activities, games and stories for youth and educators about Indigenous peoples' culture, history and languages.

Indigenous Storywork website to help educators learn about Indigenous cultures and ways of knowing

Aboriginal Peoples' TV Network Commercial-free, authentic Indigenous programming your child can grow with.

BCACCS Research Publications from the British Columbia Aboriginal Child Care Society.

Musqueam Teaching Kit Audio story book collection from the Musqueam Language and Culture Department at UBC's Museum of Anthropology.

The Journal of Indigenous Wellbeing a peer-reviewed, open-access, scholarly online journal that shares multi-disciplinary indigenous knowledge and research.

Indigenous Storybooks This project aims to make the text, images, and audio of stories available in Indigenous languages as well as English, French, and the most widely spoken immigrant and refugee languages of Canada.

NCCIE Digital Forums National Centre for Collaboration on Indigenous Education teaching resources.

First People's Principles of Learning Site to help educators in British Columbia understand how they might incorporate the First Peoples Principles of Learning (FPPL) into their classrooms and schools.

Indigenous Perspectives on Early Childhood working group and resources from the World Forum Foundation.

Reggio

Reggio Alliance A listing of articles recommended by Lella Gandini, Reggio Children liaison in the U.S., for dissemination of the Reggio Emilia approach.

Child Care Management Resources

Child Care Human Resources Sector Council  Extensive HR resources, including tools and templates, and a job interview guide, reference check questions

BCACCS Leadership and Management Resources  A range of leadership and management resources from the BC Aboriginal Child Care Society’s library. 

ECEBC - Best Choices: The Ethical Journey Ethics resources from the Early Childhood Educators of BC.

Aboriginal Head Start Training Professional development resources from AHSABC.

HR Toolkit for the Early Childhood Education Sector from the Childcare Human Resources Sector Council

BC Child Care Licensing Regulations 

Developmentally Appropriate Practice In Early Childhood Programs, National Association of Education for Young Children. 

The Vantage Point Resources for managers of non-profit organizations.

*for more resources for administration and management in child care, see our professional development offerings.

Early Literacy

Early Literacy Resources A resource bank from the Canadian Paeditric Society.

Early Literacy Videos and information from Zero to Three.

Baby Sign Language Dictionary A comprehensive website which also includes video tutorials on learning baby sign language.