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Friday Freebie – Starting a Child Care Program
Happy Friday! Are you still in school? Do you work year round? For those of you who are enjoying summer break, I hope that you’re having a great time. For those of you who don’t get a summer break, I feel your pain – but there is something about summer weekends that makes them even better than weekends the rest of the year, so enjoy them! Today’s freebie is a little bit different than what I usually share on Fridays. This business workbook is for those of you who have ever considered starting a child care program of your own. The pages in this workbook will walk you through the…
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Starting a Child Care Center – Location Location Location
On Tuesday I shared business information that you’ll need to consider is you want to start a childcare program, today is a little more fun, it’s all about selecting a location. First and foremost, you’ll have to decide how large your program is going to be. If you are the only teacher for 7 or 8 children, then you might choose to run your program out of your home. On the other hand, if you’ll have a staff of 6 teachers and 50 students, then you’ll need a much larger space. Licensing regulations define the amount of square footage required per child, as well as the teacher to child…
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Starting a Child Care Center – Business Aspects
In 2013 I had the opportunity to start a child care program with some talented teachers. Our center has been open for a little over a year (it took us about 6 months to get licensed and running) and I’m at the point where I feel like I finally have things figured out! When we first got started we were all familiar with childcare and licensing, but the business piece was all new. I taught myself most of what I needed to know, and I still learn something new everyday. I’ve had a number of people ask my advice on starting their own child care programs, so I thought I’d…
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Free Resources
Activities, lesson plans and tools for preschool teachers!
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1,000!
Without even realizing it I crossed the 1,000 post mark! Wow, that’s crazy to me. This blog has been a labor of love. It is an absolute joy that I get to share some of my favorite ideas with you. I started Preschool Ponderings back in July of 2011 when I was transitioning from teaching toddlers to teaching preschoolers. A lot has changed since then and I am so grateful to have a record of my own growth as an educator. For those of you who have been following along for some time, I so appreciate that you spend your precious time reading my blog. For those of you who…
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I have some great things in store!
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Making teacher tasks easier and more efficient
It feels kind of laughable to share efficiency tips at the moment because I’m definitely still trying to get back in the swing of things after an extended holiday break – I feel anything but organized and efficient! That being said, there are definitely some tools that I use to help make life easier even when I’m not feeling like I’ve got it all together. I consider myself to be a very organized person, so these resources are things that I’ve created to make my planning process a little more streamlined and to help save time. These are all available in my TPT store, so make sure to click the…
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Back to school, back to a routine!
We had a whirlwind week at our county fair last week, all work and routines were thrown out the window! Now we’re home, getting all of the laundry done and SO READY to get back into a routine as we prep to head back to school. We still have a month before my daughter’s first day, but it’s never to early to start easing into those daily rituals that are part of the school year. If you’re teaching, helping a group of preschoolers ease into the school year, or preparing your own children for this schedule shift, here are some tips to make this transition a little easier! We’re personally…
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Using chores to build responsibility
Starting a chore routine comes with so many questions – What chores are appropriate? Should I offer a reward for completing them? If so, what? It’s a little overwhelming, because we all want to get it right. Truthfully, it’ll take a bit to figure out, and there will be constant adjusting as your child ages. Here’s a list that I’ve shared previously about some chores that are developmentally appropriate for preschoolers: At home– Gathering dirty laundry– Folding t-shirts and towels– Matching clean socks– Feeding pets– Dusting– Cleaning up play spaces– Cleaning up small messes with a handheld vacuum– Use a damp mop or Swiffer on the floors– Making their own…
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Free books for the classroom
I am so excited about the series of posts that I have planned for this week, they are all about ways to save money or find inexpensive resources for preschool and child care programs – who doesn’t love that! Let’s start with how you can get free books for your classroom – yup, free! Books are a necessity in any preschool room, a great way to share new information, encourage classroom communities, and instill a love of reading at a very early age. But books aren’t always the most durable items in a classroom. So whether you need some more to replace your favorite worn out copies, or you’re just…
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A little reflection
I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, I know I’m taking some much needed time to relax (and do lots of shopping)! The end of the year is the perfect time to think about what went well this year, and goals that we have going forward. If you’re thinking about the rest of the year in your classroom and what it might look like I want to share some inspiration that might be helpful. Here are the top five posts from Preschool Ponderings this year: 1. Make your lesson plans work for you – This post has quickly become one of my most popular of all time because it includes…
