Betty Exelby networks and mentors with early childhood educators who are interested in implementing organizational changes within their centers. She hosts workshops related to the design/redesign of indoor and outdoor spaces.
After fifteen years, as a teacher and supervisor of childcare and parent co-operative programs, Betty accepted a position as a professor of early childhood education at Thunder Bay’s Confederation College. This was followed by a move to Loyalist College (Belleville, Ontario), where she and her on-campus daycare colleagues studied and explored the Reggio Emilia approach. This initiative, along with many conferences and workshops, brought the approach to the attention of educators throughout Ontario and attracted attendees from across Canada.
In 1998, after a thirty-year professorship, she retired for a brief time and then accepted an executive director post with GeoKids, located on the USGS campus in Menlo Park, California. Upon returning to Canada, Betty joined Project OutReach and continues to assist educators with their professional development goals. In addition, Betty is a consultant with Gadeki and Associates and is the coordinator of ECE projects.
Betty Exelby lives in Mill Bay, British Columbia, Canada.
Introduction to Early Learning Environments that Work
Meeting Child's Needs in the Classroom
"This welcome book summarizes everything we have known about designing environments for young children and adds newer inspiration from Reggio Emilia classrooms. Everything we are learning from brain research and child development study underscores the importance of an environment with which children can interact, and the importance of teachers in designing that environment. This will be one of the essential books on the early educator's bookshelf."
--Gwen Morgan, Center for Career Development, Wheelock College
"Early Learning Environments that Work is a great addition to the resources currently available to teachers and directors trying to put together quality environments that support children' s development. Filled with practical ideas and pictures and grounded in an understanding of emergent curriculum, this is book that will be put to use right away."
--Jim Greenman, author
"Wonderful ideas and images that encourage children and teachers to watch, wait and wonder! Early Learning Environments that Work! incorporates the best of all the environmental adaptations available in our field."
--Diane Umstead, program manager, Child Care Aware