Early Childhood education celebrates a decade in the community and new location

A new chapter was unveiled for early childhood learning in Quesnel on Thursday, August 27.

The Whole Child Early Learning Centre celebrated a decade of service with a small ceremony at its location on Maple Drive.

“I sometimes have to sit back and say, ‘Is it?’ because it honestly doesn’t feel that it’s been that long,” says Judy Sutton, founder of the Whole Child Early Learning Centre.

“I chalk it down to we just love what we do, so it doesn’t feel like there has been or there is a timeline.”

During the ceremony, Sutton made several major announcements for the future of her centre and team.

There will be a new second location at the new Carson Elementary School, called The Alevin Stream at Carson Elementary. Sutton’s daughters, Erica and Emmi Vahaaho, will also be taking over parts of the now-family business.

Erica, who followed in her mother’s footsteps, has been working alongside Sutton since 2019 and will be managing the new Alevin Stream location.

“I’m very excited. I think, like, my role has definitely changed over the years as I’ve gained more experience, and it’s been, it’s been a lot of fun kind of taking on new challenges,” says Erica Vahaaho. “I am excited for this next chapter, and to see where it all goes because we’ve got lots of ideas and lots of things that we’re figuring out and planning, and I think seeing it all unfold will be a lot of fun.”

Sutton says that both locations will remain closely tied to one another.

“They’ll both sort of follow the same philosophy, same programming, and sort of the routines that we do and everything. The biggest difference will be the the outside spaces. Here we’ve got an outdoor classroom, and we’ve got 20,000 square feet with all kinds of things. [At Alevin] it’s a more school, so we’ll be more creative.

The Whole Child Centre is having a rebrand to be called The Swallow’s Nest, and will still be located at the 2192 Maple Drive address.

The Swallow’s Nest is licensed for 42, and the Alevin Stream at Carson Elementary will have 61 spots available.

Registration for both locations is open on The Whole Child’s website.