New day program for Yellowknife children begins in October

A new day program for children aged six to 12, offering land-based learning, will open in Yellowknife next month.

Starting October 1, Chickadee Nest – “nest” being an acronym for nurture, engage, support, thrive – will offer specialized support for neurodivergent children and those who may benefit from an alternative learning environment.

Brianna Krekoski, who founded the program with her sister, Caitlin Krekoski, an educational assistant and mother to neurodivergent kids, said the two had long been thinking about designing children’s programming.

When changes to Jordan’s Principle earlier this year resulted in layoffs for educational assistants, Brianna said it gave the sisters the opportunity to design ideal jobs for themselves – and an ideal environment for neurodiverse children.

In her previous role, Caitlin would see some children with special needs struggle to regulate themselves even if they had support, Brianna said.

“Sometimes it just is the location or the amount of people around,” said Brianna.

Chickadee Nest will run from Monday to Thursday and be made up of a morning segment held indoors and an afternoon segment held outdoors.

“One of the things we had initially identified as a barrier,” said Brianna, “is if we’re going to do this on the land, then what about those kids who really crave routine and predictability and kind-of that cozy, calm, sensory environment?”

Those children, she said, would likely benefit from the morning programming, which will offer learning around emotional regulation, communication and community integration.

“We’re trying to use as many community partners as we possibly can so that these kids, as they grow up and move through the program, they are very, very familiar with how to access mental health supports, how to access physical health supports, how to make a police report, how to do healthy grocery shopping, all of those kinds of things,” said Brianna.

The afternoons will be focused on land-based skills and building a connection with nature.

“We’re hoping to bring in people from various cultures to teach the kids how they interact with the land, but always coming back to kind-of the teachings of the Denendeh Elders that we’ve partnered with,” Brianna said.

The program is being offered in six-week increments where families can choose the number of days and indoor and outdoor sessions.

While costs associated with the program begin at $324 for one half-day per week for six weeks, Brianna said she welcomes donations and sponsorships from community partners that would help defray costs to families.

“I really think that this should be as free as possible for families,” said Brianna.