ECC Academy/First Impressions Matter: Family Relationships for New Educators

First Impressions Matter: Family Relationships for New Educators

New to the field or ready to level up your parent communication skills? This session is designed to help early childhood educators feel more confident, prepared, and authentic when working with families. Whether it’s the first hello at drop-off or navigating tough conversations, relationships with parents are one of the most important (and sometimes intimidating) parts of the job.

We’ll explore:

  • How to create a warm, welcoming environment for families

  • Communication tips that build trust, not tension

  • What to say (and what not to say) during tricky moments

  • Ways to include families in their child’s learning journey

  • Professional boundaries and how to hold space with care

This session is perfect for educators who want real-world tips, reflective tools, and a little encouragement to turn every family connection into a strong, supportive partnership. Because when educators and families work together, everyone wins— especially the children.

About Our Coach, Nathalie James

ECE Coach & Facilitator, Parent & Family Relationships Specialist

With over a decade of experience in early childhood education, Nathalie has worn many hats. She has grown from educator to director, across both nonprofit and for-profit programs.

She’s led teams of 30+, supported families and children through the early years, and now oversees six (6) family support locations in Mississauga South.

At The ECC, Nathalie brings her calm leadership and deep care to every workshop and conversation, helping educators strengthen relationships, navigate challenges and conflict resolution, and rediscover the joy in what they do.


  • $15

First Impressions Matter: Family Relationships for New Educators

  • Course
  • 3 Lessons

ON-DEMAND LEARNING: Join Nathalie James for an empowering session designed to help early childhood educators build confident, authentic, and effective relationships with families. From your very first hello at drop-off to navigating challenging conversations, discover practical strategies for creating trust, connection, and collaboration with parents.

Meet "Your Early Childhood Coach" Anisha Angella

Anisha Angella is an Early Childhood Education (ECE) Specialist who has been in the industry for over 13+ years. With a degree in Early Childhood Education Studies, Anisha has held many roles over the years. She has led childcare programs, taught college programs, and worked as a senior manager overseeing 45+ childcare locations. She is also the CEO and Founder of The Early Childhood Coach — a powerhouse for all things childcare consulting, coaching, and training. Her success has allowed her to gain exposure through Authority Magazine and The Today Show. Anisha wants to see other members of the ECE community succeed and loves to share her wealth of knowledge through speaking at a variety of events. Anisha’s speaking engagements focus on diversity in ECE, leadership, mental health and burnout in ECE, and effective communication with parents and staff. She has spoken at over 50 events worldwide and is always looking forward to her next engagement.

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Hear from others about Anisha and ECC Academy

Anisha is such a pleasure to work with. She is incredibly well-versed in the field of early childhood education and always levelling up her knowledge and skills when it comes to trends in the education space. Anisha has collaborated with us by presenting her own material and hosting a panel at our conference. She is incredibly organized and is always prepared and truly a joy to work with. We love having Anisha part of our community

Lillio

We have worked with Anisha over the last few months in a variety of ways. So it began with Anisha coming for a meet and greet she literally dissected our thoughts and our brains at that short timeframe and came up with this master plan on how we are going to better our team and our business and for lack of better words "level up and that is exactly what we did with Anisha. She performs a series of learning and development with our team and they have been a complete success and everyone always looks forward to them"

Melor

Contents

Additional Checklist Resource - First Impressions Matter.pdf
First Impressions Matter - Workbook Resource
First Impressions Matter - Family Relationships for New Educators - Full Recording.mp4