About Us

This is simply a dream come true for me!

Hello-! My name is Lexie LeGrand-Biegun and I am the owner/ Pedagogical leader of this nature–based, Reggio Inspired childcare facility. We are located on the beautiful west coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. 

I opened Lexie’s Little Bears in 2008 as a licensed childcare facility for families who wanted a centre that mirrored their own personal philosophies for outdoor play, holistic living and learning in the natural forest environment. Our four–acre treed campus allows the children freedom to play in nature without the four walls and plastic toys many typical early learning classrooms provide. 

Using the environment as the third teacher, our children spend upwards of 80% of their day outside whether the season or the climate. “Theres’s no such thing as bad weather just bad clothing“… our children are layered and dressed for all seasons! In the summer months, the children are outdoors almost 100% of the time. 

We are currently licensed for 57 spaces between our 4 buildings and side by side properties. 

There is a HUGE demand for childcare spaces in Victoria BC, and we cannot possibly add every family to our waitlist. 

We will announce it on this website and our facebook page when our waitlist opens up.

"Everything about this daycare has been lovingly created and built with the intention of the child in mind."

I have been in practice since 1997 and I have been fortunate to travel to Reggio Emilia, Italy three times now to participate in their comprehensive work studies. I also have had the privilege /of touring New Zealand childcare facilities who also practice the reggio philosophy. In Reggio, the purpose–built buildings reflect the child as a learner and as a co–creator. The educators who work along side of the children assist in collecting data through pedagogical narration while leaving forever traces of their work for everyone to see. As educators, it is our privilege to document their work and collect these traces to spark memory and to build on existing knowledge.

My additional (West Coast) spin on this philosophy adds nature and the elements found in British Columbia on the land that we occupy. 

The addition of nature-based play and learning from our own forest gives our facility a rare and unique twist. In addition to our often-extreme climate, there are additional environmental factors such as wild animals, hazardous terrain, and thick foliage. We are in the District of Highlands and we are deep in the forest.

Lexie’s Little Bears is very much like the childhood environment I grew up in as a child. It was so important to me to raise my own children in this kind of lifestyle where they could feel alive, free and close to nature in their everyday life. 

“I believe that being outdoors in the natural elements helps children become more resistant to adverse weather and more resilient to changes in their everyday world.” 

Removing the four walls of a classroom and taking the clock off the wall allows our children to experience a day without physical boundaries that typically stop us from being our complete and authentic selves. 

“Nature–therapy “is a real practice and our children get to experience the calm of the forest from the age of 12 months to 5 years old when they head off to kindergarten. Isn’t this why they call it a “for- rest?” Our children also get to sleep in our purpose built Slumber Lodge, where they fall asleep outdoors all year round. 

As a mother, I wanted to create a daycare that you could feel safe leaving your child at every day. 

 

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I want you to go to work and relax knowing your child is in one of the most beautiful, serene, magical and sought–after childcare facility in Victoria. They will be submerged in nature and breathing fresh clean air all day while surrounded with their peers and loving educators who have chosen this kind of environment to work in . 

It is an honor and a privilege to work with your family and to watch your child grow before our very eyes! 



With gratitude, 

Lexie 

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