Indigenous-Led Learning Circles

Come, learn together with us!

We have an exciting line-up of 5 Learning Circles with local Indigenous educators:

Jan Sherman, Anishinaabe Knowledge Keeper, ECE
Suzie Miller, Mohawk Educator, OCT
Angie Coture, Métis Educator, ECE

Have you wondered about how to appropriately and respectfully promote and centre Indigenous pedagogies and teachings in your practice? These teachers are amazing people for you to learn from, ask questions, and find ways to take steps along your teaching journey.

Learning Circles are $48 each, or all 5 for $225. To receive this discount ($15.00 off), use the coupon code "circle2023" at the checkout. ALSO, when you register for all 5, you'll receive a large Beam Paints Travel Card ($12.00 value and super fun!) of watercolour paints. Beam Paints is an Indigenous-run family business in Manitoulin Island who make paints from natural materials harvested from the LaCloche mountain range.

1. Reciprocity and Gratitude: Learning from the Land

Join Jan Sherman, Anishinaabe Knowledge Keeper and ECE, in a circle sharing workshop about fostering reciprocal relationships to the Land by asking permission and expressing gratitude.

In this workshop, you will:

Explore how the practice of reciprocity can empower you to cultivate meaningful and lasting relationships with others and the natural world.
Learn about the profound significance of seeking permission of the Land. Understand how this practice honours the interconnectedness of all beings.
Discover respectful ways to integrate Indigenous wisdom into your relationships and community engagement. Embrace reciprocity, permission seeking, and gratitude as essential tools for fostering holistic and sustainable connections.
Come away with songs and activity ideas for your setting related to reciprocity and gratitude.

Saturday, October 28, 2:00-4:00pm
Huron Natural Area, Kitchener ON
$48

2. THRIVE: Diversity in the Land and Each Other

Jan Sherman, Anishinaabe Knowledge Keeper, and Rebecca Seiling OCT will give an overview of ideas and activities from the curriculum that they co-wrote called Thrive: Celebrating Diversity in the Land and Each Other. This collection is written in a Two-Eyed Seeing and multi-curricular approach to the topic of diversity and includes Ontario curriculum connections for grades 4-8. Activities can easily be adapted to younger grade levels and help to build connection within a learning community and with the Land around them.
Curriculum expectations (grades 4-8) include:

Visual art
Drama
Physical and Health Education
Science

Attending this workshop will give you access to a 45 page pdf curriculum document that is not for sale unless you spend time learning from and with Jan. In this way, we honour Jan’s Indigenous teachings that are included in this document.
Saturday, November 11, 2:00-4:00pm
Huron Natural Area, Kitchener ON
$48

3. Storying the Land: Oral Storytelling and Indigenous Children's Literature

Winter is a season of storytelling! Jan Sherman, Anishinaabe Knowledge Keeper, will lead us through ways to bring oral storytelling into your facilitation. In this session, we’ll look at:

Examples of honouring Indigenous teachings as non-Indigenous educators
Using oral storytelling as a teaching tool
Ways to extend and build on the telling of one story
Indigenous books and resources to use in your setting

This session will include a list of recommended resources, and we will have plenty of book titles available for you to peruse!

Saturday, December 2, 2:00-4:00pm
Huron Natural Area, Kitchener ON
$48

4. Re-Mind: Thanksgiving Address, Wampum Teachings, and Land Acknowledgements

What does it mean to re-mind ourselves and the learners in our care? About who they are, and about their connection to the Land and each other? How can the Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address be a powerful source of that re-minder?
Join Suzie Miller, Mohawk Educator with the Grand Erie School Board, to explore re-minding, the Thanksgiving Address, Wampum teachings and Land Acknowledgements. Come away with practical ideas for offering daily gratitude practices and creating personal land acknowledgements in your setting.

Saturday, January 20, 2:00-4:00pm
Huron Natural Area, Kitchener ON
$48

5. Using the Métis Early Learning and Child Care Education Kit

Are you interested in learning more about Métis culture and history to bring to your educational setting?
Join Angie Coture, ECE, as she shares her excitement and passion for her Métis heritage. Learn about ways to use the Métis Early Learning and Child Care Education Kit in your educational setting. Kits can be ordered online through the Métis Nation of Ontario (not included in this workshop). The interactive kit includes stories, two dolls, a Métis sash, wooden percussive spoons, and more!

Saturday, February 24, 2:00-4:00pm
Huron Natural Area, Kitchener ON
$48

We love this land where we play and learn: the sun that warms us, the trees that give us shade, beauty and places to climb. The plants that give us food. The creatures who teach us about how to live in a good way. Thank you to the bugs and turtles, the great blue herons and the tadpoles. To the fairy shrimp, the tree swallows, the pond snails, the newts. To the Jack-in-the-pulpits, the trout lilies, the goldenrod, the asters - all of you are so beautiful and teach us so much. To the water, which is life - the ponds, creeks and the Grand River watershed.
We are honoured to walk, learn, and play on the traditional territories of the Haudenosaunee, Anishinaabe, and Chonnonton Nations, treaty lands of the Haudenosaunee. Grateful for the ongoing care, stewardship, and teachings from Indigenous Peoples that help us walk gently on this earth. We are committed to the ongoing process of decolonization through partnering with local Indigenous educators in our facilitation, learning about the past and about good ways forward together, and respecting the land as our First Teacher.