10. Learning Across Cultures Through Play

What I find most beautiful is what is shared across cultures.

So no matter where I have walked, I have seen children use play to make sense of their own world with what is present in that particular environment.

We're happy to have Amaka Amadike here with us today.

Amaka is an early childhood education professional with a deep passion for supporting young children, families, and educators.

With over 21 years of experience in early learning field, she has worked as both a frontline educator and a leader, bringing a wealth of practical and leadership experience to her work.

Amaka is currently a faculty member at Bow Valley College in Calgary, where she teaches early childhood education and development.

She has also taught Indigenous early childhood education at Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technologies, helping prepare future educators to use culturally responsive and inclusive teaching practices.

In another role, Amaka is the executive director of Between Cultures Foundation, a non-for-profit organization.

She is committed to supporting immigrant families as they navigate the childcare system and advocate for their children's rights within early learning environments.

She's a strong advocate for equity, inclusion, and amplifying the voices of immigrant families in education and community spaces.

Welcome, Amaka, and thank you so much for joining us today.

You've been involved with Spark since the beginning, so listeners, they might recognize you from your great stories in the Spark Guide.

We're just really excited to have you today and to hear more as you talk about the topic of culture and play.

Awesome.

Thank you very much, Matt.

And thank you to your team as well.

You're really doing a great work and I appreciate all that you do through this podcast series to bring attention to such important topics in our field.

It's been wonderful to see these conversations are creating spaces for reflection and dialogue.

and many topics.

So thank you for everything, but also thank you for that generous introduction.

I think you covered really everything about myself right now.

First, I want to start with acknowledging that I speak from Calgary in Treaty 7, the traditional and ancestral territory of Blackfoot Confederacy, the Kenai, the Pikani, Siksika, as well as the Tsitsina and Stony Dakota First Nations.

So yeah, it was a pleasure.

I know you mentioned about some listeners recognizing me from the SPAC Guide.

And yes, you're right.