About the Team

 The notion of respect is embedded in the ethic of care."

-Mary Gordon, Founder/President, Roots of Empathy

Seeds of Empathy relies on a team of people to deliver the program in an Early Childhood setting.

SEEDS OF EMPATHY FAMILY

The chief criterion that identifies a Seeds of Empathy Family is that they have a baby who will be 2-4 months old at the beginning of the program. Families commit to visiting the Centre once every three weeks during the program year. They should be reliable, so they don't let the children down.

We seek families who live in the community, so that they reflect the cultural, racial and linguistic tone of the neighbourhood. This helps create a bond between the children in the Centre and the Seeds of Empathy Family, which is reinforced when the children see the parent(s) and baby in the street and rush over to ask how 'their baby' is doing.

It's important that the adult in the Seeds of Empathy Family be a parent. Mothers and/or fathers are equally welcome to participate, since we focus on the parent-infant bond. Other adults (caregivers, grandparents, elders, etc.) may not substitute for the parent but are welcome to observe a Family Visit.

LITERACY COACHES

Seeds of Empathy trains at least two staff who work with 3-5-year-olds to become Literacy Coaches. Literacy Coaches read to the children during Literacy Circles and attend Family Visits. Literacy Coaches in Seeds of Empathy are powerful models of literacy for the children, and help them develop positive attitudes toward and competencies in early literacy.

FAMILY GUIDES

The Family Guide coaches the children to observe, comment on, and draw conclusions about the baby's development during a Family Visit. The Family Guide also gives the children a vocabulary for labelling the baby's feelings. This vocabulary helps them to understand and talk about their own feelings and the feelings of others, thus giving pre-schoolers a basis for developing a "literacy of feelings". This role is supported by a Curriculum Manual with lesson plans for each Family Visit.

ADMINISTRATOR

The Administrator is the liaison between the Seeds of Empathy Provincial Coordinator and the Centre. She or he is responsible for ensuring that the schedule of Literacy Circles and Family Visits is maintained and that the Literacy Coaches and Family Guides fulfil their roles. The Administrator attends the Family Visit and when possible participates as a Literacy Coach.