The AECEO is thrilled to share our latest project with the ECE community: our new podcast! Circle time with the AECEO is a podcast made for ECEs, by ECEs and we want to hear what YOU think! Connect with the AECEO on Facebook, Instagram & TikTok and let us know your thoughts!
Listen to Circle Time with the AECEO, the podcast on Spotify and Youtube!
If you enjoy our podcast and want to hear more in the future, please consider becoming an AECEO member! AECEO membership directly supports and funds our policy, advocacy & community work, including the Circle Time podcast. AECEO members will have exclusive access to extra podcast content, future bonus episodes, and more! You can also support this project by sharing it with your peers, subscribing to the AECEO YouTube Channel, following us on Spotify and engaging with us on social media.
Learn more: What is a podcast and how does it work?
Episode 1 - Welcome
The Association of Early Childhood Educators Ontario (AECEO) is thrilled to welcome you to our podcast. On this episode, Rachel, Jess, and Patrícia share what to expect from the podcast and welcome you to join us for future discussions!
Episode 2 - Alana leads the AECEO with Care, Part I
On this episode, Rachel welcomes AECEO Executive Director Alana Powell to talk about the history of the AECEO, her own story as an advocate, her insights about non-profit organizing and policy work, how the AECEO is striving to make transformative change for Ontario’s ECEs and child care workers, and much more!
Episode 3 - Alana leads the AECEO with Care, Part II
Learn about YOUR professional association! In this episode, Rachel welcomes back Alana Powell, Executive Director at the AECEO, to answer questions from the ECE community. Listen to learn about how the organization functions, what it means to represent ECEs, the ways the AECEO serves the community, what we do to advocate for positive change for ECEs and more!
Valentine's Day Special: A Love Letter to ECEs (episode 4)
Tune in to our Valentine's Day Special: A love letter to ECEs and child care workers. In this mini episode, the AECEO team shares stories of joy & love from their experiences with educators, families, and children in the ECE sector. Happy Valentine’s Day to all the people who make this important work possible.
Episode 5 - AECEO CARE Collectives
On this episode, our Community Organizer Jess Tomas is joined by special guests Lyndsay MacKay, Tonja Armstrong-McInnis, Tracy Saarikoski & Shelly Mehta to discuss their experiences working with and in AECEO CARE Collectives. This recording led to rich discussion with important insight into relationships and community building in the ECE community.
Listening to Circle Time with the AECEO episodes can help towards your Continuous Professional Learning program goals. The AECEO team created reflection questions to support our listeners document their learning for their CPL portfolio. Download the reflection questions here!
Episode 6 - Unionization: The AECEO staff is unionizing!
On this episode of Circle Time with the AECEO, Rachel is joined by fellow AECEO team members Jess and Amber to discuss their experience unionizing the AECEO! Listen to this episode to learn about why unionizing was important to the AECEO team and how our organization navigated this process. We also prepared an accompanying Unions 101 document to share helpful information with members of the ECE community who are interested in learning more about unionization.
Curious about the bread and roses in this episode's graphics? Learn more about the history behind Bread and Roses here!
Episode 7 - Unionization: Supervisor Perspective
On this episode, we continue to discuss the topic of unionization. Rachel is joined by Alana Powell to discuss her experience with the unionization process as the Executive Director of the AECEO.
The AECEO has created a number of resources to support our members and the ECE community learn about unionization, which include a three-part podcast series on the topic and a PDF document containing essential information about labour unions, workers' rights to unionize and why unions matter to the early learning and child care sector. Click here to learn more!
Episode 8 - Unionization: Talking with the Experts
What are unions? Why are they relevant to ECEs and child care workers? On this episode of Circle Time with the AECEO, we wrap up our mini-series on Unionization by talking to the experts! Rachel is joined by special guest Christina Gilligan, Coordinator for Child Care at CUPE, to explore these questions and more!
This episode is part of a number of resources created by the AECEO to bring information about unionization to the ECE community. In addition to the three-part podcast series on the topic, our team also created Unions 101, a document containing important information and links to resources. Click here to learn more!
Episode 9 - The AECEO Summer Challenge: Care Counts, Wages Matter
Summer is here and the AECEO is launching a new campaign! On this episode Community Organizer Erin Filby talks about the AECEO Summer Challenge: Care Counts, Wages Matter. Join us this summer for fun activities, easy advocacy actions and tons of giveaways!
Good vibes, fun games, new friends and prizes: join us on Monday, July 14th, at the AECEO Summer Challenge (virtual) launch party! At this event, you’ll get a sneak peek at the challenge, and find out how you can win the whole summer long by doing one easy thing each week to make change - and get the chance to bag awesome prizes. Click here to register!
Episode 10 - Tackling Issues with the Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care
On this episode we hear from Carolyn Ferns, the Public Policy & Government relations Coordinator at the OCBCC. Carolyn shares her insights into the Ontario early learning & child care sector, and discusses how the AECEO and the OCBCC work together towards systemic change that will increase access to high quality ELCC services for Ontario families, and support ELCC workers with better working conditions and professional pay.
Episode 11 - Meet the AECEO Guiding Committee on Truth & Reconciliation
In this episode, we invite you to get to know the AECEO Guiding Committee on Truth and Reconciliation. Rachel chats with special guests (and committee founding members) Sherry Lickers, Lyndsay MacKay and Lori Huston about the work they do with the committee, why it matters to them and what is coming up next.
Episode 12 - Fall 2025 Updates
On this episode we catch you up with fall updates, including the second edition of the Roadmap, the report from the Auditor General, and introducing our new Executive Director Amber Straker! Join us to hear more about our plans for the next few months and stay up to date on all things ECE.
Episode 13 - The AECEO's 75th Anniversary
It's OUR BIRTHDAY! On this episode we celebrate the 75th anniversary of the AECEO! Dive into our history, milestones, and impact, as we cover 75 years of community and advocacy. Stay tuned as we release never before seen photos from the AECEO archives on our website. We are stronger together… Here’s to the next 75 years!
- Sign our birthday card!
- Click here to access episode 13 on Spotify
- Click here to access episode 13 on YouTube
Ways to support Circle Time with The AECEO
- Join or renew your AECEO membership
- Subscribe to the AECEO YouTube Channel
- Follow the podcast on Spotify
- Share it with your ECE friends on Instagram!