Top 20 Supplies for Art Exploration

1. Crayons
2. Charcoal 
3. Oil pastels
4. Watercolors
5. Playdough
6. Clay
7. Wire
8. Paper Mache
9. Construction paper
10. Scissors
11. Pipe cleaners
12. Acrylic paint
13. Sharpies
14. Transparencies
15. Light projector
16. Fabrics
17. Glue
18. Markers
19. Paint chips (samples)
20. Ribbon

Routines for Children Ages 0-100

I depend on a smooth morning routine to make the rest of the day manageable.  This means waking up on time (possibly before my alarm), having time to plan an outfit (let's face it, I'm no fashionista), time for coffee, and a cushion of travel time so that I arrive to the center refreshed and excited.

Find me on a morning when I forgot to set the coffee maker the night before...
I'll be locked in my office sulking.

Find me on a morning when my alarm didn't go off because I set it for PM instead of AM...
I'll be locked in my office with wet hair & probably a scowl, particularly if it's winter or if I have a meeting that day.

Thankfully, I'm an adult.  I am responsible for my own destiny with regards to morning routines and can take steps to ensure I transition well in the morning.  I make coffee the night before, immediately after walking in the door.  I practically triple-check the coffee maker to ensure I've done this correctly.  I may have an issue with caffeine. 

Children do not have this same luxury.  Children are subject to the routines (or lack thereof) adults provide.  When children can predict the happenings of their day, they are better equipped to handle the day.  It's important that children be in school every day.  Two things there, yes, I call it school because all though we are providing child care, we're also teaching -- and yes, I know that sometimes parents have the urge to keep their children home because they have a day off or they want to spend time with their children.  That's cool.  All I ask is that parents give their child some semblance of a normal day.  Come to school in the morning, maybe stay for lunch, possibly for rest time, and then go about your adventures.

This is particularly true in the first months after a transition.  We're working to ensure that children trust the routines of their day.  If parents keep children home every other day, it creates an uneasy vibe.  Children didn't expect to come to school and as a result, drop off time sucked for the parents, teachers, and especially for the child.  We strive for consistency.  We're also working to support attachments within our center.  When children know what to expect, they are more confident and better able to focus on learning new things as they feel safe and secure in their environment and schedule.  This is true for all ages, up to and including adults.

That being said, let me give a quick word about when routines must be broken or changed.  Listen, we're busy people and things happen and somethings, we have to take the bus instead of drive or we have to shower at night instead of the morning.  The best way to prepare young children (and yourselves) for this type of situation is to talk about it.  Acknowledge that it's difficult and something unusual or new.  Let children know what's coming next, especially if it's something out of the norm.

Please respect the routines of children ... and recognize the routines that you depend on as adults and how you feel when someone or something goofs up your daily routines.  Does your day seem to take a turn?  Do you feel stressed?

Mentors

The early childhood field is one that can quickly chew you up and spit you out if you aren't on your game.  Turnover rates and the rate at which teachers leave the field of education all together are incredibly high.  We need to better nurture our teams to ensure they have the skills as well as the mindset to not only survive, but also to thrive.  It is not enough to simply pass the days in survival mode, hoping for days with low attendance.  That is not the culture I wish to cultivate and I believe our children deserve a high quality experience in their first three years.   We're laying an important foundation and I work to ensure my team realizes how important their work is in the lives of children and their families.

Education is not the be all, end all.  I think it's important.  You do need to know the foundations, the theories, the story of early childhood education.  You also need to be able to put that knowledge into practice.  If you have a masters degree and no hands-on experience  I'm wary.  People who spend a lot of time collecting degrees without the actual classroom experience can sometimes have an idealized vision of what the classroom "should be."  And when the classroom doesn't measure up to those expectations, that group tends to point to the children as the problem, particularly in programs serving children from low-income homes.  Conversely, it's not enough to only have been in the classroom.  While you may have spent the past 30 years doing what you do, you haven't learned anything new.  Things change and I need teachers with a spirit for learning and a desire to be aware of the trends in early childhood and be able to respond to them thoughtfully.

The title of this post is mentoring; when that word gets thrown around, I tend to think of the first year teacher, fresh out of college, paired with someone who knows the ropes and can be a kind of guide for the newbie.  Why?  Why do we only offer this type of support to new people?

I recently (today!) paired two teachers together to better support Teacher A.  Teacher A is someone who has been in the field of early childhood longer than I've been alive, though she has recently entered into the world of toddler/twos and seems a little uncomfortable with the age group and their milestones.  Teacher B has been working with twos for a few years and her classroom smoothly transitions between activities and the teaching taking place in that classroom seems to be at a higher level.  I've asked Teacher A to spend the day in the classroom with Teacher B to observe and be an active participant in the day.  I quickly realized that just being there wasn't going to be enough.  I then asked Teacher A and Teacher B to meet during rest time to address questions and reflections that Teacher A might have after the first half of the day.  Again, realizing how well I know my teachers, I put together a brief form with some questions to facilitate reflection.

What stood out to you as you spent time in the classroom? 

What surprised you about how this classroom operates?

What questions do you have about the classroom and its routines/systems? 

I'm eager to see how this partnership grows in the days, weeks, and months to come; when I peeked in to share the form with Teacher A, her first words to me were "Thank you so much Danielle, I'm already learning a lot."  Truth:  it could be lip service.  But maybe when I meet with her and ask her to share her reflections, I'll get a better idea of what she's learned and how I can better support her.  I fully intend to foster this mentorship (is that a word?) as long as possible.  It's kind of a pilot project for me so I'll be learning as I go as well.  There's no doubt that this will impact me as a director and I'm excited to see how it impacts Teacher A as a toddler/two teacher as well.

Does your program have a mentoring system?  If so, how long does it last?  Do people find it helpful?  What would you change about it?

Picture Credit:  http://www.teachingwithsoul.com/new-teacher-mentoring-project

The Gap

There's a gap in early childhood that we work diligently to close.  Children who come to us from lower income homes are often at a disadvantage and programs like Head Start and Early Head Start strive to ensure that those children are offered a high quality preschool experience in an effort to close that gap.

But like any gap, there are children falling through the cracks.  The system, at times, seems designed not only to keep families from succeeding but to keep them at the status quo, at least until their youngest enter the public school system and are being educated for 8 hours of the day at no cost.  It's heartbreaking as a child care provider to see families working hard to be successful and attempt to break through what can really only be described as a glass ceiling...

Here's a quick example for ya --
I work with some amazing parents.  This particular family has 2 children and they are a family of 4.  They qualify for child care assistance and Early Head Start.  While their co-payment is manageable, it's still pretty high. This mother works hard and was recently offered a promotion.  Sadly, instead of quickly saying yes, she had to deliberate as to whether she could afford it.  What?  Afford a promotion you ask?  Indeed, because if she accepts the promotion, her child care co-payment will go up and she won't be able to afford the new cost child care & would likely, in the end, have to resign or reduce her hours to stay home with the girls.

The cost of child care isn't going down.  Sadly, many children will be forced out of the high-quality programs and into private programming (where there are no standards of quality unless they are aware of and actively involved in early childhood organizations) or staying at home with grandmas and grandpas.  Not to say there aren't great home providers, though they tend to be the exception rather than the rule. I'm left wondering and worrying about the children who may no longer qualify for child care and are left in the gap.

How do we reach into the gap and ensure that ALL children have a high quality preschool experience so they are ready for kindergarten?  With all of this focus on "school readiness," we need to ensure that our tiny humans in the gap aren't forgotten.  But how?  And who will support this mission?

Watching Children Age

In my line of work, I have the privilege of watching many young infants grow and change and eventually move on from our center.  It's hard when they leave and we think back on our time together and how we've essentially been a part of that child's family from the beginning.  That's our baby too!

Then today I started to think about my life as a teacher, when I would work with preschoolers and then send them on their way to kindergarten (big kid school).  Occasionally, some of those littles return and enjoy making me feel older than old as they share their stories from third grade.  Ummm, didn't you just learn to write your name?  And here you are, looking all grown up, no baby fat....... where did my baby go?!

Truth:  I am not a parent and have not yet had to go through this with a child of my own flesh and blood but I have to imagine that going through it once or twice within your family is different than sending batches of children who are like your own off each year.

Which is worse?  Watching your baby grow a little each day or sending them away and having them knock at your door years later with stories of their big kid life?

Jury is still out on that one.

Leading a team

Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just stand there.

-Will Rogers

I accepted the position of director because I wanted to guide the team through a difficult time as they transitioned from serving the spectrum of early childhood to focusing on infants, toddlers, and two's.  They emerged victorious.

Some times I wonder if this is really my calling.  And then I have this glorious moment with a teacher where I get to share my view on professional development and how much I want to improve the center environment as well as the people in it and we connect and I'm on top of the world.  And there's this less than glorious moment when someone approaches me, ever so cautiously, to hand me a letter of resignation.  

After a brief moment of taking it personally (seriously, who wouldn't want to work with me?), reality sets in.  Just like I wouldn't hold a teacher back from a promotion, I simply cannot be upset that someone wants to do what's best for them.  It takes a lot of self-reflection to know what you want next and perhaps I'm jealous that someone has had that "next" realization, but I am not upset.  Life is short.  We have to do what makes us happy, even if it means moving on.  I'm a huge believer in life-long learning and hope to somehow impart that on my colleagues.

I only want the best for the tiny humans we serve, within the agency and throughout the city, so that they might grow up to feel that same wonder of learning.

When we stop learning, we stop growing.

Baby

There is no such thing as a baby.

There is a baby and there is someone.

-D. Winnicott

I read a lot.  I've always been that kid, reading everything I could get my hands on.  I read the cereal box like it was the morning paper every day.  When my mom used the Tupperware containers, I started to bring reading materials to the table.  I have a mountain of books next to my bed as the bookshelves in our home are full.  In the years since my 2-hour leisurely breakfasts, I continue to read but my choices have shifted from Babysitters Club (OMG Stacey was my favorite) and Boxcar Children to professional development books.  But let's be serious for a moment, bookworms cannot live on non-fiction alone.  I love me some Jodi Picoult, Emily Giffin, and Jen Lancaster.  When you're reading the last chapters as slowly as possible because you're already mourning the end of the book, it's a sign you're perhaps a little too invested in the plot and characters.

I'm invested in the plot and characters at my center.  My teachers and I are writing a very significant chapter in the lives of the children and families we serve.  Each time we walk into the center, we are making (conscious or not) a decision to serve.  To inspire.  To teach.  We work with children but we are also supporting their families as well; it's an important connection when a parent realizes her son is a person, complete with feelings and emotions.

It's important to remember that children are people and just like adults, they each bring a unique array of previous experiences and preferences into the classroom.  That's the beauty of our work; we are teachers and learners in our interactions with children and families.  There's something new to be learned each day and not all of our learning comes from books.

What did you learn today?