Enriching Children’s Lives.
Enhancing Family Life.
Founded in Hamilton, Ontario in 1982, we’re committed to providing support to families from diverse cultural, social and economic backgrounds in Hamilton, Halton and Haldimand Norfolk.
With the vision provided by our forward-thinking Board of Directors and the leadership of the management team, our dedicated and hard-working staff has continued to make Today’s Family a leader in early learning and child care.
Our Vision
That every child experience the joy of learning through play.
Our Mission
Working together to enrich families; we want what’s best for children.
It’s about well-being. We believe that every child is developing a sense of self, health and well-being. Our programs nurture children’s healthy development and support their growing sense of self.
It’s about expression. Every child is a capable communicator who expresses themselves in many ways. We foster communication and expression in all forms.
It’s about engagement. We value engagement in all forms. Our programs provide environments and experiences to engage children in active, creative and meaningful exploration, play and inquiry.
Our Values
Caring
We care. It is the essence of who we are. We care for the children who take part in our programs, for their families, for our staff and providers, and for our environment.
Collaboration
Accountability
Innovation
Inclusion
Today’s Family is…
Supportive
Today’s Family provides the in-depth support that today’s families need. Scientific studies prove that the most important years for the developing brain are the early years – before kindergarten. The better the development, the better the outcomes in learning, behaviour and growth. Today’s Family programs are professionally designed to support healthy development. Our goal is to give children the best possible start for school – and for life. Our early learning programs offer plenty of fun – and having fun is key to learning.
Connected
Today’s Family is linked with other community programs in your neighbourhood. We work closely with schools, libraries, public health services, recreation centres and other support services in individual neighbourhoods. Our vision – an integrated system where community programs work together to ensure families have the support they need, including licensed home early learning and child care.
Helpful
Our people love to help and know how to help. It’s a long, long way from early childhood to age 12, with remarkable changes (and challenges) every year, every month… every day! All our staff are passionately committed to the healthy, full-spectrum development of children. We’d be delighted to outline in detail how our programs can help you and your child. You can drop by any of our locations or contact us for more information.
Our Philosophy
Every child comes to Today’s Family filled with possibilities. Their interests, inclination, feelings and perceptions grow and change on a daily basis. This is part of being a unique individual and a crucial part of growing up. We respect that, and we do our very best to foster and encourage this individuality within every child.
In the early years, children’s interests change freely. One day, a child may see a butterfly outside the window and begin to ask questions, “How do they fly? What do they eat?” the next, they may begin to make a tower of blocks and wonder why a larger block can’t sit securely on top of a smaller one. Our care providers see these changes and create learning moments with each child that are based on these naturally occurring curiosities.
Our curriculum is called The Emergent Curriculum for exactly these reasons – the curriculum emerges as our staff interact with the children, and the children with each other. It reveals itself every day and so we strive to remain flexible, and to continue to encourage a style of learning that is not forced, regimented or disciplined but is open, creative, supportive and natural.
Today’s Family is…
We care. It is the essence of who we are. We care for the children who take part in our programs, for their families, for our staff and providers, and for our environment.
We are proud to share and elevate the gifts of diversity that exist within our community. We are accountable to ensuring that diversity is embraced at Today’s Family in thoughtful and inclusive ways.
We know that every child and family has a special story to tell. We hold ourselves accountable to the listening and learning needed to allow space for everyone to have the opportunity to share their own story.
We acknowledge we will always have more learning, more discussion and more work to do for everyone to belong.
Our Senior Leadership and Board
We are poised to grow. We are committed to ensuring quality and growth of our innovative programs to best serve children and their families. Our Senior Leadership Team and volunteer Board of Directors work collaboratively with our community to steer Today’s Family in new directions.
In January of 2022, our Board of Directors launched our 2022-2025 Strategic Plan. These priorities were set in consultation with our community to reflect the current needs of children and their families.
Together, we will:
- Focus on financial strength and stability
- Invest in our people
- Embrace and embed a commitment to Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in our culture and practices
- Promote Today’s Family’s collaborative model to lead early learning and child care system development
Further, in March of 2022, Ontario signed onto the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Plan. Working together with our communities, we are committed to building child care for families in their neighbourhoods.
Interested in collaborating with us? Please connect with a member of our team.
Embracing the Future, we’re recruiting community leaders to join our volunteer Board of Directors
Today’s Family has openings for board members with diverse skills, talents, and expertise. If you’re as passionate about the well-being of children and families as we are, if you’re interested in governing an organization that truly makes a difference, and if you’re ready to help steer Today’s Family toward a future that is bright and even more impactful, we want to hear from you!
Click here for more information on how to join our Board of Directors
Senior Leadership Team
Brenda Ferguson
Chief Executive Officer
Leah Barclay
Chief Operating Officer
Alex Webb
Director of Finance
Brian Shangrow
Chief Financial Officer
Dan Wise
Director of Programs
Board of Directors
Andrew Welland, Chair/President
Victoria Long, Vice Chair
Fatema Bhabrawala
Don Jaffray
Daniel Lilko
Jay Llewellyn
Jon Mason
April Morganti
Daniel Panza
Medora Uppal
Jason Vandenbogaard