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Re-engaged for success.

Five days a week, Nicole Chowanetz gives her time and talents to Chicken Little Day Home. After she had her fifth child, Nicole decided she wanted a career change. “It was important for me to be with my children,” she says. “So I opened a day home.”
It wasn’t just any day home Nicole wanted to run. She was determined to provide a nurturing and educational environment where kids could gain the early literacy skills they need to be prepared for school and reach their potential.
“We always talk about the importance of reading and literacy,” shares Nicole. “I wanted a program that actually sets the stage for literacy, exposing kids to new words and ideas and making learning a fun, imaginative experience.”
Nicole didn’t have any training and knew without education she was nothing more than babysitter. While working with a local community agency, Nicole learned about the Bowness/Montgomery Early Literacy Scholarship Project, a project supported by United Way that offers scholarships that help child-care providers attain an early childhood education certificate or diploma from Mount Royal University or Bow Valley College.
“United Way really set me in the right direction,” notes Nicole. “There was no way I could afford an education, but I knew how valuable and important it would be to participate in a university program and see diverse perspectives, learn new literacy activities and build a network.”

At first the experience was challenging. Nicole was studying everyday, while working part-time and bearing two children. In the end, however, the journey and struggles were more than worth it. “It’s been a very rewarding experience,” says Nicole. “There was so much I didn’t know. Without the scholarship, none of this would have been possible.”

Nicole says encouraging children to develop a love of reading at an early age lays the foundation for strong literacy skills, which are crucial for future success. “What happens in children’s earliest days and years has an enormous influence on their lives, their personal relationships, their ability to work with others and their academic success,” Nicole adds.

After six years, Nicole received her diploma and now has a flourishing career. “I have confidence in myself and what I am teaching kids,” she says. She is excited to share the knowledge and skills she has gained with others and mentor them the way she was mentored.
“It’s such a wonderful experience to have a career and feel that you are contributing to the success of our future leaders,” conveys Nicole. “It really brings us as parents and as a community together.”

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