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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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Questions to ask potential child care providers
Here are some great questions to ask potential child care providers: What is your philosophy about how young children learn? What is your favorite thing about working with children? What is your least favorite thing about working with children? How do you decide which activities to do with the children? Do you use any type of curriculum or assessment? How long have you been working with children and have you completed any education related to child development? How many children do you typically care for at one time? What is your typical daily schedule like? How do you handle temper tantrums and behavior challenges? What kinds of communication can I…
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Things to look for in quality child care
Yesterday I shared all of the things that I personally looked for when choosing child care for my own child. Today I wanted to give you some additional tips from the experts. When I need a great resource for anything related to Early Childhood Education the first place I look is always NAEYC. For this particular topic, NAEYC for Families does not disappoint. Below are the infographics, you can follow the links to read additional in-depth information. A Caring Place for your Infant A Caring Place for your Toddler A Good Preschool for your Child This information is perfect for sharing with parents who come to visit your program (so…
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A Blog Post about Blog Posts
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What I Looked for when Choosing Child Care
We just recently had to choose a child care center for our new baby girl to attend when I go back to work, and let me tell you it was hard! I have worked in child care for my entire career, at three very different programs, and I currently help programs apply for our quality rating system, so it’s safe to say that I have far more knowledge about child care than the average new parent. I’m convinced that my training in licensing, curriculum and assessment, quality improvement, and best practice made this particular parenting task infinitely more difficult, especially considering our budget! I thought it might be valuable to…
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Friday Freebie – Phone Number and Address Practice
Happy Friday! It’s really starting to feel like summer around here! Today’s freebie goes right along with this week’s theme of Kindergarten readiness prep! This phone number and address set was designed to help children practice their phone number and address in a way that is a ton of fun; with their own personalized ID card, mailbox, and play phone. Download your copy and enjoy your weekend!
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Household Tasks that promote Kindergarten Readiness Skills
When parents ask me for things that they can work on with their children at home, I know that they expect me to encourage them to practice number and letter recognition, and writing their names. So it often comes as a surprise when I encourage them to work on things like responsibility, independence, and self help skills. These are all important kindergarten readiness skills, and can easily be practiced at home by encouraging children to help with simple tasks, like the following: Making their bed Setting the table Helping pack lunches Cleaning their room Picking out clothes for the next day Dusting Feeding pets Watering plants Putting away clean laundry…
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Using chores to build responsibility
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Making Kindergarten Prep Fun
When parents ask me for ideas to help them prepare their children for Kindergarten, I’m sure they are expecting me to tell them to practice letters and numbers, and help their children learn how to tie their shoes. There are ways to practice Kindergarten readiness skills that can be fun for the entire family, so often I suggest activities like; Going to the Zoo: Practice staying close to family members while waiting your turn to see your favorite animals, and introduce new vocabulary as you learn what animals eat, and where they are from. Visiting the Science Museum: Explore hands on science concepts while interacting with other children. Attending a…
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Kindergarten Readiness Checklist
There are so many different Kindergarten Readiness Checklist out there (seriously, I just did a Google search and it returned 517,000 results) and some are certainly more developmentally appropriate than others. My all-time favorite list, the one that I consistently shared with my preschool parents is the checklist that was developed by my state’s Department of Education. I love this list because it focuses on health, safety, and social emotional skills. I’m including the images below, but you can also view the list here. Parents are always surprised by the things that aren’t on the list; it doesn’t say anything about knowing their letters, numbers, or shapes. It also doesn’t…
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Skills to practice before kindergarten
The most popular question that I used to get asked as a preschool teacher was “How can I make sure that my child is ready for kindergarten?” Of course there is not one thing that parents can work on with their preschooler, but they usually ask me this question when they don’t actually have time for a long conversation. So I created this workbook to share with parents. It includes simple activities that are easy for families to do and don’t require a ton of materials. This set includes 10 weeks worth of daily activities, one activity for each week day, which can be completed during the weeks between the…
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Friday Freebie – Branches of the Armed Forces
Happy Friday! I know that many of you are looking forward to the holiday weekend, so here’s a freebie that you can stick away for next year. These Branches of the Armed Services Posters from the Not So Wimpy Teacher are a great way to introduce some new vocabulary words while celebrating our servicemen and women! Download your set and have a wonderful weekend!
