 It can be difficult for a childcare professional to see a young child hurt or abused by an adult or someone they know and love. You may experience a time when a suspected case of abuse or neglect will need to be documented and reported. Although this may be difficult to do, it is essential in order to protect a child in your care. Below are some questions and answers that may help you as a childcare professional when it comes to handling suspected child abuse cases. Question: What can I do to help a child that has been abused? Answer: As a child care provider, it is your responsibility to create a safe, welcoming, and inclusive environment for all of the children in your care. Children who have experienced abuse are no different in their need for this type of environment. Maintaining a program where children are safe, nurtured, and supported by trusting adults will help children who have been victims of abuse a great deal. In addition to maintaining these standards in your program you should be well aware of mandated reporting laws and procedures as were covered in this course. As a mandated reporter, it is your responsibility to report abuse, but not to attempt to investigate the claims. When working with children who were victims of abuse it is important to keep this in mind as well. Question: Do I need to take further action if it has been determined that abuse has occurred and how do we keep the child from being moved from foster home to foster home? Answer: As a licensed child care provider, or a staff member of a child care program, it is not your responsibility to take any further action other than to report the suspected abuse and to document. If CPS determines that there is sufficient reason to investigate the reported abuse, or if the abuse is determined to have occurred, then CPS is in charge of determining what happens next. You should follow whatever instructions you are given by CPS or DEL regarding the matter. Once the child becomes a ward of the state, and enters foster care, unfortunately you cannot control them being moved between foster homes. Question: What do I do if I have been reported for suspected child abuse in the center where I work? Answer: Here is more detailed information straight from Washington State DSHS: https://www.dshs.wa.gov/ca/child-safety-and-protection/what-happens-once-abuse-neglect-reported Please consult your director or licensor for more information if you are unsure. For more information on Child Abuse and Mandated Reporting in WA State, register for our two hour course: https://www.cdastars.com/store/p383/Child_Abuse_and_Mandated_Reporting_for_Child_Care_Professionals_in_Washington_.html Have information to share? Please use the comments section below...
 How do you communicate with the children in your care? Are you calm and consistent or loud and unpredictable? The way you communicate with your young students can have a profound impact on how they react and interact in the classroom. Caregivers must be able to interact with children in a nurturing, respectful, supportive, and responsive ways; guiding children to learn positive communication techniques. Below are some questions and answers in regards to communicating with children effectively. Question: How do you communicate with toddlers, especially ones that refuse to participate in the more necessary things? Answer: It is most helpful to get to the root of the child’s reason for not participating in necessary things. Some children struggle with executive function, sensory processing challenges, or hearing and communication obstacles. These types of challenges mean that the child will often need specific instruction given in several different ways. It is important to know the child and what will work best for them. Good communication with toddlers often includes patience, persistence, and understanding. Toddlers have limited language that is rapidly developing as well. It’s important to communicate with toddlers on an appropriate level and to be flexible as well. Question: How do you communicate with a child that completely ignores you and covers his ears when you talk to him? Answer: There are several things that you can do to help. First, speak with any other teachers who have worked with him. Perhaps they have tips or ideas to help. Next, consider your approach. Is there something about the way that you’re communicating that could be bothering him? Last, don’t be afraid to work with his family to communicate your concerns and find some strategies for moving forward. Question: What if a child still does not listen to you? Answer: Effective communication takes time and effort from both parties. Be patient, be persistent, and be positive. For more information on Communicating Effectively with Children, register for our one hour course: https://www.cdastars.com/store/p238/Communicating_Effectively_with_Children.html Have information to share? Please use the comments section below...
 Learning a second language has proven to be very beneficial for children. As a childcare professional, you can provide opportunities for children to expand their cultural awareness and improve their cognitive development by teaching them another language. Whether through song, dance, counting, etc; no matter which method you choose, you will be creating an environment that encourages children to explore diversity. Below are some questions and answers that may be helpful for you as a childcare professional to implement Spanish in the Early Childhood Classroom. Question: Is it true that bilingual children begin speaking later than children that speak one language? Answer: This is an interesting observation and I hope I can help to answer your question. I cannot say definitively whether this is common or just a coincidence. I think it’s important to consider language acquisition and the speaker’s native language versus second language. Think about the time and effort needed to feel confident enough to speak your native language to others who don’t also speak it. Also, consider how it might feel to speak a new language when you are not confident quite yet. Children are very social and will communicate in many ways, even with a language barrier, but children learning a second language could possibly take a bit longer for several reasons. This also isn’t considered typical or atypical. Consider the individual and document your observations and communicate with parents as well. Question: How can I get parents involved in learning a second language? Answer: You can send home a newsletter or worksheets stating the words that you are working on. Depending upon the ages of your students I would also consider doing something more involved. Ask them to go home and teach one family member a new word in Spanish. Ask children to interview parents or other family members about their foreign language abilities. There are many options that can extend this even further. Question: How and when is a good time to start integrating Spanish into our curriculum? Answer: Many Early Childhood Educators begin introducing Spanish to young children during calendar time or circle time. They often combine Spanish and English and continue to build on known words throughout the school year. Another option is to begin with greetings or departures. Use the same phrase in Spanish to greet the children each day either when they come to the center or join circle time. In addition to these suggestions you may find that songs in Spanish are a great tool for teaching the language. For example singing the Spanish version of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star is a fun version of the song that gets children learning new words in a new language! The important thing to remember when introducing a new language to young children is to keep building more and more, and to stay consistent in practicing acquired words and adding new ones to your lessons. For more information on Spanish in the Early Childhood Classroom, register for our one hour course: https://www.cdastars.com/store/p254/Spanish_in_the_Early_Childhood_Classroom.html Have information to share? Please use the comments section below...
 Most people want to feel supported and valued in their place of employment. Being in an environment that is positive and respectful motivates employees to do well in their job and to stick around. If you have high employee turnover, it may be that your employees are not motivated to stay. You may need to evaluate what is important to each employee and help support them in a way that makes them feel encouraged and appreciated. This could range from thank you’s that show appreciation to simple stress-less techniques that allow employees to cope with their frustrations. Having these things in place may help increase employee longevity in your program. Below are some questions and answers that may help you as a childcare professional, whether you are the director of a program or a teacher in a program. Question: I don’t feel supported at work, what would you recommend to help me stay motivated? Answer: It is important to be able to advocate for yourself as an educator and childcare professional. If you feel that you are not getting the support that you need you will want to professionally bring this up with your director and offer some ideas for further support. Keep in mind that education is a stressful and greedy career that demands a lot from people. There will be many things that you can do personally to lighten your stress and there are possibly things that your center or director can help with as well. Some suggestions that I often give professionals are to find ways to simplify their daily tasks and ways to destress. For some people that means relying on support staff for more help. Other times it means cutting out the smaller things that are truly unimportant or getting your students involved in some tasks to simplify your day to day routines. Question: Is it a good idea to have a “teacher of the month”? Answer: Teacher of the month may be beneficial to motivate some teachers and may do the opposite for others. It is important to know your staff before making these decisions. Some programs will actually have students vote for teacher of the month and that seems to have a very positive influence on morale. After all, children are the reason we teach! Question: I am the only person running my in-home daycare, what resources would you recommend so that I don’t burnout? Answer: Since you are not going to have any staff to mentor and support I would recommend researching some self-care and burnout prevention resources. It is important that you take care of yourself so that you can run at optimum level and not feel overwhelmed or overworked. Here are some resources that you may enjoy: Question: I am a highly sensitive person and tend to be more empathetic, which I believe causes me to feel more exhausted after work than the typical person. Do you have any suggestions that will help me from getting burned out? Answer: Working with children and having those extra perceptual tendencies as you do can definitely take a toll on your energy level at the end of the day. If you are like most child care providers you have an absolute passion for the wellbeing and success of all children. This often means that you put their wellbeing before your own. My first piece of advice is to find the balance in this. It is challenging to do initially, but if you are able to balance your needs with your work demands you will find that you are a better educator. Take deep breaths and short breaks if things get overwhelming. Ask for help and delegate tasks if you need to. Next, consider a low impact activity after work each day such as yoga or meditation. These may not be your preference but something that requires little energy on your part and a relaxing environment may be extremely beneficial. Make this your transition routine from work to home life and see if that helps you to feel less drained. My last piece of advice is to accept that you cannot take on the entire world and fix it, though I guarantee that you wish you could. Try not to get wrapped up in the negativity of things around you and instead see the positive and try to be a part of that. For more information on Mindful Leadership, register for our three hour course: https://www.cdastars.com/store/p451/Mindful_Leadership.html For more information on Motivating Morale: Keeping Staff Around, register for our two hour course: https://www.cdastars.com/store/p591/Motivating_Morale%3A_Keeping_Staff_Around.html For more information on Preventing Teacher Burnout, register for our one hour course: https://www.cdastars.com/store/p251/Preventing_Teacher_Burnout.html Have information to share? Please use the comments section below...
Children are natural observers and have an innate sense of curiosity. From watching a caterpillar crawl along the ground to making mud with water and dirt, children are naturally interested in watching the world around them at work. As a childcare professional, you should provide safe, fun, and age appropriate science activities and opportunities for the children in your care. Below are some questions and answers that may help you incorporate scientific type activities to the children in your program. Question: Can you provide science activities that I can do with a classroom of 18-24 month olds? Answer: It is important to keep in mind that mostly what children in that age range do naturally is scientific exploration. You can simply provide the opportunities for children to do the explorations. Here is a link to our resource website for specific lesson plan ideas: http://www.lessons4learners.com/toddler.html Question: What kind of science materials would you recommend for a toddler class? Answer: There are tons of objects and materials that you can use for toddlers. As with all things in child care please be sure to exercise caution with your choice of materials and make sure that none provide a choking hazard and that proper supervision is always given. Consider existing materials paired with new materials for scientific exploration. For example, blocks and some natural materials are a new way to explore. Sensory bins and other sensory materials are a common material in many programs and is a wonderful scientific exploration! Consider rotating the sensory materials to fit current curriculum and focusing on scientific concepts such as curiosity and discovery. Here are some links to ideas about toddler science materials. Please be sure to use care in considering these materials and provide proper safety standards at all times. Question: Can you provide more resources for infant and toddler science project ideas? Answer: We provide a resource website with tons of lesson plans that you can access and use in your classroom. Here are two links that may be helpful: http://www.lessons4learners.com/young-infants.html http://www.lessons4learners.com/mobile-infants.html In addition to the information found above we recommend taking our training course Simple Science for Infants and Toddlers which also provides Lesson Plans throughout the training. Here is the link if you are interested in registering for the class Simple Science for Infants and Toddlers: http://www.cdastars.com/store/p453/Simple_Science_for_Infants_and_Toddlers.html Question: How do I make science fun for all ages? Answer: A very simple way to make science fun for every age is to pay attention to what interests your group and make it student-led. For infants and toddlers there are some limitations especially where safety is concerned but if you plan the lessons carefully you can ensure safety and fun where science is concerned. Here are some resources that you may find helpful: For more information on Simple Science for Infants and Toddlers, register for our three hour course: http://www.cdastars.com/store/p453/Simple_Science_for_Infants_and_Toddlers.html Have information to share? Please use the comments section below...
 Biting can be frustrating for parents, teachers, and the children themselves. Even though it is a phase that a child usually works his or her way out of, having a solution on hand can help to alleviate the potential stress it can cause. As a childcare professional, it is essential for you to learn the acceptable ways to handle these situations. Below are some questions and answers that may help you deal with biting in your classroom. Question: How do I deal with a child that bites the same child each day? Answer: If the child that is biting is a toddler, that is an age that it is developmentally anticipated behavior. It is your responsibility as the caregiver to anticipate the behavior, and find solutions to reduce the frequency of it occurring until the child grows out of the phase. If the biter is biting the same child, then one solution would be to take steps to keep the two children separated. Place your own body between the two of them, and use distraction and redirection techniques. When you have a child that is biting, always stay close to them, and watch them continuously. One technique I used is the surprise-redirection. If we were outside and I saw a child about to bite or hit, instead of saying “Charlie don’t bite!” Instead, I would say in my loudest most excited animated voice “OH, look, there’s a plane!” while pointing at the sky, “Charlie, can you be an airplane?” (and I would start making airplane sounds with my arms out to my side) this would distract Charlie from biting. While in the classroom, I would change this to “OH Look a spider!” and I would point up at the ceiling and say “Charlie, do you see the spider? Who can walk like a spider?”. Take the time to observe the child that is doing the biting, watch for clues to when the biting is occurring. Is it during transition time? Is it when he/she is hungry? Look for ways to change the environment or the routine to eliminate the situations that are triggering the biting behavior. Remember that this is just a phase, and all children do outgrow the biting behavior. The phase will pass much quicker if you are able to help them through it in a positive way that allows all children to establish a sense of security. Question: What can I do if parents become upset about their child biting other children or being bitten by other children?  Answer: It is important for child care professionals to document biting behaviors and the behavior that comes before the incident as well as the action taken by the professional. Keep record of the incidents and when parents are upset or confrontational about biting you can refer to your data and explain the preventative measures taken by staff as well as the specific circumstances, and how the behavior was handled. Above all, biting behavior is completely normal for toddlers and maintaining a quality program that responds to these behaviors is the best thing you can possibly do. Parents will know and understand this as well, and you can build a partnership moving forward. Question: How do I get a child to just stop biting? Answer: There is no magic wand solution to infant and toddler biting. If there were, it would have been the first sentence of the first page in our Ouch! Infant and Toddler Biting course! The bottom line is that biting is developmentally typical for infants and toddlers. It is going to happen and it is important to be aware of what causes it and the things you can do to help curb it. For more information on Ouch! Infant and Toddler Biting, register for our one hour course: https://www.cdastars.com/store/p250/Ouch_Infant_and_Toddler_Biting.html Have information to share? Please use the comments section below...
 Although you may not sit down and teach math to young children as a structured activity, they are constantly exposed to math concepts in their environment. From stacking blocks to sorting colors, these different activities allow them opportunities to expand their minds in order to learn new concepts. Allowing time for these activities is essential for a child's growth and development. Below are some questions and answers that may help you as a childcare professional in regards to exploring math in the classroom. Question: Will labeling an infant’s surroundings help them develop math skills? Answer: Yes, this can support a language and text rich environment for infants, and as they grow and become more aware of these words and labels they will absorb them more and more. The other important thing to realize about math is that there are many vocabulary words that labels and print rich environments can help with. The more you can expose children to the language of math, the better situated they will be for developing those number skills. Question: How do you encourage math exploration when the children do not seem interested? Answer: It is important to realize that math exploration is included in almost every activity that an infant or toddler participates in. The block building area is a prime example, even if the children are not counting or sorting the blocks, they are still experimenting with spatial awareness and concepts of size and position. Try adding colored blocks to the block area or different types of blocks to add more math concepts. Another suggestion is to add more math concepts to activities that your group really likes. Do they love singing and music? The rhythm in the songs has a pattern and repetition to it that supports math concepts. Try a fast or a slower song. Let them listen to the beat and help them clap along.  Question: What are some good resources to help toddlers learn to count? Answer: Toddlers differ in their amount of fine motor control, so objects that can be sorted, classified, and manipulated easily are great places to start with counting. Some resources that you may find useful are: Question: How are colors connected to learning math skills and concepts? Answer: We provide several categories of mathematical concepts that can include colors in our course Math Exploration for Infants and Toddlers. Though this is not an exhaustive list by any means it gives you an idea of some of the ways color is represented through math. If you are interested in enrolling in the course, please use this link to register: http://www.cdastars.com/store/p450/Math_Exploration_for_Infants_and_Toddlers.html For more information on The Math Learning Center, register for our one hour course: http://www.cdastars.com/store/p552/The_Math_Learning_Center.html For more information on Math Exploration for Infants and Toddlers, register for our three hour course: http://www.cdastars.com/store/p450/Math_Exploration_for_Infants_and_Toddlers.html Have information to share? Please use the comments section below...
A childcare director has many responsibilities, not only to the parents and children in their program, but also to the employees that work for them. One of those responsibilities is to assess or evaluate employees. These assessments or evaluations can provide a great opportunity to find strengths and weaknesses in the employees, as well as within the program itself. The results can then be used to help build on the program in a positive way. Although some people or centers may think evaluations are stressful and unnecessary, they can ultimately be a valuable tool for most programs. Below are some questions and answers regarding evaluations for childcare professionals.  Question: How do you suggest we implement changes after we have completed an evaluation on a positive note? Can you provide examples of evaluation forms for childcare professionals? Answer: Ending your evaluations on a positive note is a great goal to keep in mind. In general, the plan of action piece comes at the end of the conversation so it does pose quite a challenge. I would recommend stating the plan of action or correction and then asking the staff member what you or your center can do to support them in making those changes or reaching those goals. A director should be realistically supportive in working with their staff to meet their goals or implement necessary changes. Another option may be to recommend a mentor teacher or further source of support and information. In addition to this, create a realistic timeline to check in with the staff member and see how these changes are going. As for evaluation form examples, evaluations differ so much from each center and even type of staff member, thus I would recommend that if you are not currently using one that benefits you, perhaps you can create your own in a Word Document. Another resource may be a paid curriculum site such as TeachersPayTeachers or similar. Question: How do you complete staff evaluations when you are short staffed? Answer: That is a great question and a common concern for many directors. Since each center is unique I can’t speak to specifics for your situation but I would be happy to give some suggestions to try to help.
I strongly urge you to continue doing evaluations and not to perceive them as a burden as they are extremely important tools for goal setting and improvement. Question: My staff do not like to be evaluated and get rather upset. How do I help them feel more comfortable during evaluations? Answer: It is important to understand that evaluations are stressful for teachers. They don’t enjoy being observed and often are worried about the outcome. It is your job to help alleviate this. In addition to this they put a great deal of preparation into the evaluated activities and really want to perform well. I suggest that you get authentic feedback from them regarding what would make them feel more comfortable and capable during evaluations. These concerns are also addressed throughout the training we offer, A Director’s Guide to Evaluations. If you are interested in registering for this one hour course, please use this link: https://www.cdastars.com/store/p598/Directors-Guide Question: I am the new director for a center and want to begin evaluating the environment as well as staff. What would be a good starting point and method for this? Answer: It sounds like you are on a fantastic path to making your staff feel comfortable with evaluations and protocol in your center. There are multiple things that need to be considered when implementing new evaluation systems and I think the best place to begin is in taking inventory of your staff’s needs and your center’s goals. Try providing a survey to your staff about their needs, habits, education, training, and more. You will be surprised at how much you learn based upon that simple survey! In addition to this you need to examine what your center’s goals are and what type of program you are providing to families. If your center is a Montessori-based center then your evaluations of both environment and staff must focus on Montessori elements. If your center caters to military families and their unique needs then that is where the evaluations should focus. Your center may also be part of a network of centers that provides evaluation resources and methods that must be followed. After you know the direction in which you are going with evaluation goals then you can start to develop a method that works best for you and your staff. For more information on A Director's Guide to Evaluations, register for our one hour course: https://www.cdastars.com/store/p598/Directors-Guide Have information to share? Please use the comments section below...
 Sign language can be a very useful tool to incorporate into your classroom. Teaching young children simple sign for words such as "more" and "please" is a great way to start exposing them to a form of communication that helps them to express what they want, especially when they have not yet developed their words. Below are some questions and answers that may help you integrate sign language into your everyday activities. Question: Can you provide more resources for basic signs with pictures and some common songs or videos? Answer: There are many options for picture books and posters and other resources regarding ASL. Here are some of my favorites:
Question: What are some other resources that have slower signing and more explanations so that I can practice and understand more? Answer: Here is a link to one of our resource websites that includes the videos from the training: You can access the videos in the future to keep up with your Sign Language practice. The videos were designed to go at a very slow pace for beginners to follow and pause and rewind if needed. You can also make the videos full screen by clicking the full screen icon on the bottom right corner of the video window. This is an option within the training course as well. Sign language is usually learned by actively mimicking and repeating the motions as they are seen. As it is a visual language it is more appropriate to show the signs and give participants the opportunity to repeat them. You may find some success with finding YouTube videos that explain the hand and finger placement a bit further. I haven’t been able to find any quality videos from trusted sources in my search for resources. You may also prefer a sign language book instead of videos.  Question: Can I use cards to teach sign language to toddlers? Answer: There are many sign language curriculum products that are sold online and in many stores. I have not personally used any so I cannot recommend them, but a Google search yields a lot of results. In my experience, children learn sign language better and faster when seeing a person actually use sign language. If a teacher can do the signs for them it is infinitely easier to understand than a card with an abstract picture of hands. You see, sign language is about more than just what the hands do and just showing a picture of a movement leaves so much out of the equation. Actual human contact with sign language is always preferred, even if it is a video from a baby sign language curriculum company. For more information on Basic Sign Language in the Classroom, register for our ten hour course package: http://www.cdastars.com/store/p489/Basic_Sign_Language_in_the_Classroom.html For more information on Basic Signs for Babies and Toddlers, register for our one hour course: http://www.cdastars.com/store/p236/Basic_Signs_for_Babies_and_Toddlers.html Have information to share? Please use the comments section below...
 Tummy time provides a great opportunity for infants to develop and exercise their large motor skills. Although some infants do not like being put on their tummies, it is important to have this time available, even if in small increments throughout the day. Below are some common questions and answers that may help you as a childcare professional with tummy time. Question: How do I help an infant that cries every time she is put down on her tummy? Answer: Not all babies naturally like tummy time. As you may already know, tummy time is important because the skills learned while on the tummy are essential for later development. Most of the big milestones in the first year of life involve the prone position in one form or another (such as lifting and turning the head, rolling, pushing the chest off the ground, getting up to hands and knees, scooting, crawling). Tummy time also gives the back of baby’s head a break in an effort to prevent flat spots from forming. Tummy time also contributes to the strength and skills needed in the upper body and hands for school-age tasks such as handwriting. By about 3 months of age, babies should get at least 90 minutes a day of tummy time. Research has shown that, at four months of age, babies who spend at least 80 minutes per day playing on their tummy while awake are able to more successfully reach motor milestones. Here are some ideas to help get tummy time started:
Question: We understand the importance of tummy time in our center so the infants in our care spend lots of time on their tummies, but how do we help parents understand the importance of tummy time? Answer: That’s wonderful that you are mindful of making sure that infants get plenty of tummy time while they are in your care. The best approach with parents is to just leave resources out in the parent sign in area that support tummy time and then leave it to them to make their own choices. You might include an article in the parent newsletter too, about the importance of tummy time. If you use positive communication about tummy time when talking about baby’s day, that will help the parent see it as a positive experience also. For example, on the child’s daily report you could make a note that says “Alex smiled at me while doing tummy time today. He is getting so strong and is starting to lift up on his arms a bit. He even reached for a toy!” Question: At what age can we introduce tummy time to an infant? Answer: The key to tummy time is to do it in a safe and pleasing way for the infant no matter what age. The training course also has multiple suggestions for supporting tummy time in many different ways. Here is a link to purchase the training if you are not already enrolled: http://www.cdastars.com/store/p589/Developing_Minds_and_Bodies_Tummy_Time_for_Infants_%E2%80%8B.html Question: What would be the best sensory toys for tummy time? Answer: You can use a variety of sensory toys for tummy time, from sensory bottles to black and white contrast cards. Here are links to some of our favorites: 1. http://www.lessons4learners.com/fall-leaves-sensory-bag.html 2. http://www.lessons4learners.com/babys-first-sensory-board.html 3. http://www.lessons4learners.com/water-play-for-infants.html Pinterest is also a wonderful resource for finding new ideas as well. For more information on Developing Minds and Bodies: Tummy Time for Infants, register for our one hour course: http://www.cdastars.com/store/p589/Developing_Minds_and_Bodies_Tummy_Time_for_Infants_%E2%80%8B.html
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Successful Solutions Training in Child Development
Address: PO Box 727, Burley, WA 98322-0727 * www.mycdaclass.com
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