Learner Autumn Canfield
LearnerForum Replies Created
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I think my biggest worry about keeping children healthy and safe is accidentally doing something slightly different then how the parents want it done, and having them complain about it to my boss and then me getting in trouble. I would never intentionally do something to prevent the children from being healthy and safe, but we do have cameras in our classroom, so sometimes I do think a situation looks worse on the camera then it actually is.
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I think having good, open and honest communication with caregivers and parents as the childcare provider helps maintain a good partnership. If you have any questions or concerns, you should feel comfortable to go to the guardian and express those thoughts, in a carefully worded conversation. Same goes the other way around, the parents should feel comfortable enough to talk to you about any questions or concerns. I think having a good partnership with the parents/caregivers is partially built on trust, and that trust can be earned when they see that you love and care for the wellbeing of their child.
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If I was the parent of a young child, the three things I would want from my child’s provider are: for them to love my child, for them to want my child to learn, and for them to want to keep my child safe.
The three fears I would have leaving my child in someone else’s care are: Something bad happening to my child, the person taking care of my child not being able to get a hold of me, and my child not actively being watched by the person taking care of them.
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Ways to get children to engage in active, meaningful learning can be: Singing a song, dancing, playing with toys with the kids, providing learning activities at the table, playing instruments, being active with the kids while being outside.
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My tips for maintaining/creating a daily schedule for children are suggestions on what you should put in the schedule: breakfast/lunch/snack, nap time, free play, project time, bathroom/diapers, outside time. It’s important to schedule a few free play times in your schedule in between activities so the children don’t lose interest in what they are suppose to be doing.
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Components of a good learning environment are:
-Teachers that love and want to help the students grow and learn
-Calm atmosphere
-Activities/curriculum that interest all the children
-Resources that make the kids think
-Classroom space that allows for space for learning, moving around, eating and etc.
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At my learning center, the lead teachers have to fill out developmental milestone papers each month for each child. This would be a great way to start the conversation with a parent about the developmental screening of their child. You could bring the sheet with you can say “Hey, I just wanted to show you your child’s developmental milestones, and I noticed they don’t seem as confident in this one aspect. Is this something they do or say at home?” And if the parent says no, usually they elaborate on it and will mention if it is a concern to them if their child needs to get screened. I believe our school director sees these papers, so if something was really concerning, a teacher could talk to the director, and the director could talk to the parents about it.
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Learning providers can observe and document a child’s development by using that information and understanding how the child think’s and learns. They can then take that observation and plan an activity for that specific child in order to help with the child’s learning. That provider becomes a great teacher for understanding what those specific children need, and implementing a plan to help everyone learn.
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I think screen time for children in childcare should be avoided in total, or even used as little as possible. It’s important for the kids to be learning from their teachers and getting that real life experience, verses learning subjects off of a screen. I also do believe there are moments when a screen is used to help with education purposes, and sometimes for fun like brain breaks. Other then those two examples, I don’t think children should have access to screens in a daycare setting.
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Early learning providers can create a serve and return environment in their classrooms by how they play with the children, and even in the learning projects. You can play with the children with a toy by showing how it works, and practice sharing the toy with all the kids so they learn how to play and learn with others. You can so the same with learning projects by showing the kids how to do the activity, and then having them try by themselves. Serve and return has a lot to do with reputation, so its important that adults work with the children so the children can understand the reputation and start to implement it themselves.
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Because I’m a closer at the early learning center I work at, I see this happen all the time. If a parent is more then 5 minutes late to pick up their child after closing, I have to go step in for the other teacher, and stay with the child until they get picked up. The parent then gets charged extra by the school. Luckily the parents are pretty good about picking their children up before closing, but I do believe the system we have at my work is a fair system.
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The WAC that addresses diversity and collaboration with families is WAC -110-300-0030. The WACS state that early learning programs cannot discriminate based on race, color national origin, sex etc, they have to comply with the requirements of the WLAD, and they have to have a written nondiscrimination policy addressing at least the factors listed in subsection 1 of the WAC. WAC 110-300-0085 talks about family partnerships and communication. This WAC states the early learning provider must communicate with families to identify individual children’s developmental goals.
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Something I learned about the WACs is a license is required when an individual provides child care and early learning services in their home, if the child or children are not related to the licensee and for preschool age children for more then four hours a day. I am not surprised by any of the WACs since state licensing needs to be through, but it is a lot to know, so it can be a bit overwhelming. I don’t see how the WACs will influence my day to day practice for caring for children (other then being licensed), but at least once per calendar year, early learning providers must provide guardians or parents school readiness materials when it’s developmentally appropriate for those enrolled children.
