Learner Kiley Kaye
LearnerForum Replies Created
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When my lead and I started creating the daily schedule for our classroom, we first observed the children at the beginning of care and found that the time range where we could most likely get all of them to sit to eat, all of them to nap, and all of them to engage in outdoor play. We are in the NIDO classroom so it is not always exact, but the children have gotten into the routine now and know to an extent things like; to be quiet when half the classroom is dark, as that means one of their peers is asleep.
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I think one of the most important components is a child-centered environment, where everything is their appropriate size. This allows them the greatest amount of independence; they can sweep up after themselves, or use a proportional chair to sit at a table that’s just their size, or pour water from one pitcher to another.
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Good ways to speak with parents about these difficult subjects is to get input from another coworker before approaching them to come up with a sort of script to minimize any upset that might be caused. Good documentation of your own observations regarding the child will be paramount for backing up your input, but also for informing the parents and a medical doctor with as much information as possible to come up with a plan of action. It is best to have a list of local resources to connect the parents to the next steps for treatment. Everything is to be kept confidential, and only necessary parties may be involved in this process.
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I would begin with asking questions about the parents day, their schedule and their child care needs. I would remind them of the documents signed outlining drop-off and pick-up times. I would detail to them how important it is for things to run as smoothly as possible in child care settings, and to do so a strict schedule must be followed (still allowing for practical idealism of course). I would explain that picking up so late can influence a child’s sense of safety when in child care, which can influence their overall behavior and progression toward milestones. I would remind them of the late fee, and discuss with my admin about the need for possibly increasing this fee for repeat offenders.
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1. The WAC’s that address diversity and collaboration with families are 110-300-0080, 110-300-0085, and 110-300-0160.
2. The messages the WAC’s give regarding diversity and collaboration are that child care professionals must be inclusive and there must be plenty of communication and efforts to create a good working relationship with the child’s family. All of this is to ensure that the child care professional can provide culturally sensitive and relevant activities for the children, such as dolls, books, pictures and music that all display different cultures in an appropriate manner.
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1. I discovered just how succinctly they outline every little nuance of day to day child care. There is an answer to every single question relating to this profession that I have ever had, all outlined neatly in the WAC.
2. I was quite surprised that any/all restraint needs to be reported. I had worked in previous facilities and this was not implemented, which I thought was odd but didn’t have the knowledge to back up the feeling. Having this training prior would have given me much more insight and would have allowed me to do my job more effectively for the children.
3. It is vey easy to see how the WAC’s will influence my day to day caring of the children. As I mentioned previously, the WAC outlines every nuance in perfect detail. It is concise and clear regarding our responsibilities as child care professionals and I am grateful to have had the chance to familiarize myself in such an in-depth manner. The WAC leaves no excuse to be ignorant of all-important requirements and leaves no room for arguments regarding how best to care for children.
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Observation and documentation helps early learning providers interact with the children in developmentally and age appropriate ways to continue their journey of learning and development. Each child is vastly different on this continuum of development, so having knowledge of their place along the continuum is paramount to creating an environment and providing materials conducive to their learning.
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I believe screen time is best left for the parents to utilize at home, especially when it comes to younger groups of children. Child care settings should be reserved for social/emotional development through interaction and play with their care givers and with the other children. They may teach shapes and colors on a youtube video, but who is to say that they are not “zoned out” and passively watching? They would do best through physical or 2D representations on paper that they create.
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I believe that circle time can be the greatest chance to create a serve and return environment in a classroom setting with several children. Not only can this be done between the care giver and the children, but between the children themselves.
