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Organizing all that paperwork!
If you’ve spent any time in a licensed child care program, you’ve seen all the required paperwork – lesson plans, daily communication sheets, medication forms, permission slips, pick-up lists, the forms are never ending. If you’ve ever been a program administrator then you’ve felt the crush of the paperwork avalanche – add all those licensing forms to invoices, bills, staff forms, and all that mail! If you’re like me you’re probably feeling your blood pressure rise just thinking about it, but I’ve got a few tips to help you handle all that paperwork. Whether you’re a classroom teacher or an administrator, I hope that some of these tips will be…
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Evaluating your child care business
This week I’m focusing on tips for child care business. Yesterday I shared some of my favorite online resources, and today is about taking a minute to step back and evaluate. Looking critically at your own program can be a difficult thing to do, you either see the hopes and dreams that you have for the program or you see everything that is going wrong. That’s what happens when we’re too close to a situation. Luckily there are some research-based tools that can help you see exactly where you are so that you can create clear action plans towards your goals. The Program Administration Scale is designed to be used…
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Resources for Child Care Businesses
When I first started thinking about running a child care program I knew that there was a lot I would have to learn, but I had to idea how difficult it would be to find the answers I needed. There are all kinds of resources available if you want to learn more about child development, and even more ideas for planning lessons for preschoolers, toddlers, and infants, but helpful resources for the ins and outs of running the business – not so much. A big part of my job right now is working with administrators, I help them navigate our state’s quality rating system, but I also offer a ton…
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Friday Freebie – Pumpkin Spice Gift Set
Happy Friday! I have something a little different for you this week. This freebie is designed to spread the autumn love and it’s a blog exclusive so you can only get it right here! Brighten someone’s day with this sweet little pumpkin spice set. Whether you send your favorite teacher a Halloween surprise, get a co-worker a little autumn pick-me-up, or share a latte with a good friend, this set is the perfect way to celebrate a love for pumpkin spice! It includes the orange tag card, the lattice pumpkin coffee sleeve, and some additional little circles that you can use as stickers or sprinkle around like confetti. Cut out…
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Halloween Treat Bag Ideas
I try to be the teacher who is prepared for everything, and I’ve learned over the years that a holiday cannot come and go without children having a ton of stuff to take home with them – seriously, even if you don’t even have a party parents will still send treats. So whenever I plan for holidays I always include an easy container to take all the stuff home in. I’ve gathered some treat bag ideas for Halloween that the children can create themselves, and these won’t break the bank as far as supplies are concerned! Ghost bags from All Kids Network Full Moon Lunch Bags from Scrapbook Destination Duct…
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Easy Halloween Snacks
Whether you’re looking for an easy treat for your class party or something to appeal to your own children, here are some fun ideas that are super simple crowd pleasers! Candy Corn Jello from Cincy Shopper Pumpkin Patch Pudding Cups from Sprinkle Some Fun Ghost Milkshakes from Martha Stewart Peep Ghost Donuts from Pizzazzeri I’m ready for one of those ghost milkshakes right now! What are your favorite Halloween treats?
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Preschool Teacher Humor
Halloween – I love it and I hate it, and I think teachers everywhere are with me. Here’s a little list I put together for those of you who are preparing yourself to celebrate this particular holiday in the classroom. I hope you enjoy a little laugh and know that you are not alone!
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Halloween books!
Did you know that October is national book month?! I thought that i would celebrate by sharing my favorite books to read to my class this month. Most of these are Halloween books, and I love them because they make what can be a pretty frightening holiday a little less scary, and a little more whimsical. Make sure to scroll all the way to the bottom to see my all-time-favorite pick! All of the following links are Amazon affiliates. Room on the Broom is an adorable story and the perfect book for talking about rhyming words! The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything is a teeny tiny…
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Friday Freebie – Trick or Treat Sequencing
Happy Friday! I’ve given in to the Halloween chaos (even though we still have a couple of weeks) but I’m trying to stay away from the candy! Today’s freebie is a Trick or Treat Sequencing poster from Preschool Wonders. You can use it to teach preschoolers practice the steps involved in Trick or Treating, and to help them become more comfortable with the entire process. Halloween can be scary for little ones, so giving them as much information about the day can ease some of those fears. Have a wonderful weekend, and make sure to check out the rest of this week’s Halloween-themed posts for more great activities! Treats to…
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EASY Halloween Sensory Bin
I was going through my Instagram feed earlier and I came across this photo from a couple of years ago – the timing couldn’t be better so I thought I’d share it here. This is honestly the easiest sensory bin ever, I just took some Halloween colored paper and ran it through the shredder. I finished it off by turning make-up remover pads into eyeballs with markers, that’s it. This would be perfect for your spooky Halloween party!
