Children & Friends

Our Learning & Teaching Team

Early Childhood Educator & Founder
Emelia Prayogo (Sp.Dipl, M.A.)

Hello! My name is Emelia and I would like to introduce you to Children & Friends. As a mother and a licensed Early Childhood Educator (ECE), I understand that finding a right place for your child could be a challenging task at times. I hope I could offer you some insights by welcoming you to my program.

I started my career as an early childhood educator in March 2008 in Singapore. Over the period of 11 years, I have been appointed to various leadership roles such as Pre-School Director and Director of Pedagogy. In my role as a Director of Pedagogy, I conduct professional training, curriculum design, and provide advisory for new pre-schools set up.

I graduated with a Master of Arts in Education (Early Childhood) from the Roehampton University (UK) and am instrumental in sealing a strategic alliance between EtonHouse and the Reggio Children Network in Feb 2013. My dedication also earned me the MCYS Outstanding Early Childhood Leader Award in 2012. In September 2016, I moved to British Columbia. Continuing with my teaching profession as a preschool teacher in a junior kindergarten in South Surrey has certainly reminisced my best years of childhood. My mother, as my role model, naturally shapes my understandings of how learning in early years could be so experiential yet fun!

I believe that every child has the right to be listened to and respected. Therefore, in my ways of working with children, I always remind myself to be sensitive and responsive to their verbal and non-verbal expressions. I firmly believe reciprocal relationships empower children to be confident and competent of their ideas, thinking, voices, and feelings. I also believe that children learn from examples within their context. When children live with respect, they learn to be respectful. When they live with integrity, they learn to be responsible and caring for other

There are more to share with you which is why I would like to invite you to visit Children & Friends Day Care.

- Emelia Prayogo

Hello! My name is Hannah Descalzo, and I am a passionate Early Childhood Educator.
With a deep love for nurturing young minds, I have dedicated my career to creating engaging, safe, and supportive learning environments for children.
Growing up in the Philippines, I developed a strong appreciation for the importance of early education in shaping a child’s future.

My cultural background has given me a unique perspective on fostering diversity and inclusivity in the classroom. I am committed to celebrating each child’s individuality and promoting a sense of belonging.

I believe that every child deserves a loving and stimulating environment where they can explore, learn, and grow. We view the environment as an integral part of the learning process,
helping to inspire curiosity and creativity in children
-Hannah Descalzo

Curriculum Framework
Emotional Quotient & Intelligent Quotient

How do young children learn?
Research has informed us that children bring to any learning encounter, an existing body of knowledge constructed from their experiences and interactions with the world. This knowledge forms the foundation for our on-going learning experiences.

How do we plan our curriculum?
At Children & Friends, our curriculum is organised according to the four areas outlined in British Columbia Early Learning Framework: well-being and belonging exploration and creativity languages and literacies social responsibility and diversity.

How do we ‘see’ children?
With inspiration from Reggio Emilia of the image of child, Children & Friends incorporates the values and beliefs we hold about children, children’s learning through play and the role of the educator within the process. At Children & Friends, the image of child that we hold is a competent, creative, expressive, and full of potentials being.

Our image of child influences
How we define ‘learning’ for a child i.e. the type of learning through play experiences that we value and provide for children; How we construct the expectations that we hold about how, what, and when children should learn through play; How we design our indoor and outdoor environments to best support children’s learning; How we assess children’s development and progress of learning.

The types of learning environments that we design to best support learning
We believe that children learn best when the learning experience is meaningful to them. Play is acknowledged as a vehicle for the child’s learning and we see play as the integrative device which supports children in making meaning eg. a cooking experience offers children opportunities to observe, use mathematical and scientific understandings as well as participate in a social group.

How we assess children’s development and learning
Through our ongoing observation of children’s interactions with peers, materials and adults, we are able to assess your child’s current level of skill, knowledge and interest. In developing a profile of each child’s learning style and their existing knowledge base, our educators plan subsequent learning experiences designed to extend and challenge children’s thinking.

Environment as the Third Teacher in Children & Friends

We believe that children learn best when their learning spaces are designed
to their best abilities and interests in making meaning to self and others.