Rexdale's Cradle Rockers

The Merry-Go-Round

Boynton Beach (Florida) Mall has a wonderful carousel adjacent to a spacious indoor children’s play area. At any give time the area is bouncing with the energy of young children who are being accompanied by their shopped-out parents.

On a recent morning I observed one toddler advance to explore the unoccupied carousel. She was going to be its first customer of the day. The entry gate was too big for her to open but the thoughtful carousel tender helped her inside. Now she was free to circle the carousel at close range to examine each colorful and exotic creature. She walked slowly just ahead of her mother and looked back often to verify that her mother was still with her. When she couldn’t decide which horse to ride, her mother gently enfolded her in her arms and they sat on a bench with the toddler clinging for dear life.

The toddler held tight to her mother for assurance as the carousel began to move. I waved to her and smiled. She wanted to wave but could not bring herself to let go of her mother’s sweater. It was a very difficult decision indeed: hold fast to the safety of the known or let go to explore the new. In the end, mom’s comfort won out.

Within a couple of revolutions and several searches of mom’s face she decided she needed a little more independence so she left her mother’s lap . She chose to sit next to her mother on the bench…still able to touch her and still able to see her face…for the duration of the ride. When the ride was over she burst into a big smile. And to complete this phase of the adventure she insisted upon closing the exit gate “all by herself.”

A short time later the toddler found a safe observation place in the adjacent play area where she satisfied her curiosity by watching the carousel go round and round.

Providing safety, security and loving support for a child’s natural curiosity is one of the most important gifts parents and educators can guarantee young learners.

Advance to explore the world;

retreat to assimilate the information. Check with mom often. Repeat the experience again and again and again to verify the data. It’s a perfect toddler’s job description.

Building A Volunteer Program

Child care centers can always use good supportive volunteers to fulfill their center’s mission in the classroom, the administrative arena, and in the board room. Perhaps you remember the nursery rhyme about the Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe…She has so many children she didn’t know what to do… The sharp director knows what to do. (S)he will try to recruit valuable volunteer assistance to fill in those gaps.

In the classroom

volunteers offer those extra sets of eyes, ears and hands that can provide additional safety and extra attention to a child. A volunteer’s interest and participation in the classroom work further validates, to the children, the worth and excitement of learning. The volunteer is one more person who has the time and inclination to listen to the child who is struggling to master a new skill.

It’s often the classroom volunteer who makes the time to read the extra book and build vocabulary by talking and listening to a child. Learning language takes time and practice and that’s just what the volunteer can do to facilitate that process in the classroom.

In the administrative arena

there are many supportive roles the volunteer can assume. Of course there are the traditional filing of school records and the stuffing and mailing of informational brochures and applications. More experienced volunteers may be able to act as a receptionist or parent tour leader. Still others may be excellent at assisting with fundraising or special events.

In the board room

volunteers can bring invaluable life-experiences from their own specialties. Examples of this might be the pediatrician who can speak of immunizations or common illnesses acquired by children in group care. Or, the public school teacher who is connected to the school that will come after child care…what must the program offer for children to be properly prepared? Or the attorney who can give legal advice when necessary. Or the CPA who can review a projected budget to keep the center fiscally sound. Building a volunteer board of directors can be one of the most important and rewarding tasks a director has. These volunteers shape the future of the program and they are filled with invaluable expertise to draw upon to guide the child care center.

In the community

local businessmen are more than willing to volunteer if asked. Their support generally comes in the form of goods and services donated to the center. The local restaurant providing containers for the fundraising event or the local photocopying store providing free printing services. They appreciate the opportunity to participate because it's a good thing to do and the word-of-mouth advertising they receive is well worth their volunteering efforts.

So, if you are able and willing to build a volunteer program within your child care center you will reap unexpectedly good results. It is well worth the time and effort for all.

On A "Need To Know" Basis

One day many years ago a young man arrived at the daycare center. He was in high school, had passed the center many times, and had always wanted to volunteer at the center. At that time we had no volunteer positions available so I asked him to return in a few months when I was confident we would be able to have him volunteer. This he did and we eventually found him a volunteer position working in our two’s classroom.

Jorge was a rather robust young man, slow moving and soft spoken. To a child he must have seemed like a gentle giant. His easy-going temperament made him an ideal volunteer to work with an active group of two-year-olds. The children responded to him immediately. And, with little need for suggestion from the staff, Jorge began to play ball with the children on the playground and build blocks with the children in the classroom. He loved talking with the children and enjoyed their antics. He was always interested in circle time activities and he often brought in items he thought the teacher might be able to use in the classroom.

In addition to the infinite patience and obvious love of working with children, Jorge had one other very unique situation which he brought to the program. Although he had the use of his thumb, his left hand had been severely mangled and was now deformed. None of us knew quite what this would mean in the classroom.

Of course the children noticed; of course the children asked.

Jorge was very comfortable answering his toddlers’ questions. “Yes, I got a bad boo-boo when I was playing with firecrackers. You shouldn’t do that, you know. It doesn’t hurt now. See, do you want to touch it?”

Here was a completely honest moment between Jorge and the small children. It was filled with no embarrassment. It wasn’t scary. It was that wonderful state of total acceptance that we hope all of us achieve.

Jorge, by merely being himself, had provided an unscheduled and unexpected teaching moment. His openness satisfied the curiosity that little kids have about someone who looks different and it removed the fear that often comes from not knowing.

The next summer, after his high school graduation, Jorge asked to become an employee as an assistant in the classroom. While completing the employment application he came upon the question: Are you disabled or do you require special consideration? He stopped and asked me how he should answer that question.

I asked him, “Do you think you are disabled or need special assistance?” He quickly answered, “No”. So he answered “No” on the form.

Jorge intuitively understood the Need To Know rule as it applied to working in the classroom with young children. He had answered all their questions and put their mind at ease. He didn’t elaborate…he just gave simple, understandable answers.

The proof of his success came one day when one of the parents visited the office. She hadn’t noticed that Jorge’s hand was deformed. He son had mentioned it at the dinner table the night before. “Don’t worry mommy” he said, “it doesn’t hurt him anymore.”

　

The Low-Tech Fire Drill

Enrolling in a child care program means learning about fire drills.  While regular fire drills are mandated, we really want to hold them regularly because we are in responsible for the safe evacuation of very young children.  That can be an awesome responsibility in the event of a true emergency.

Our child care facility is high-tech with a wonderful sprinkler system and bright flashing strobe lights that go along with the piercing bells.  True enough, everyone should be able to see and hear the alarm.  The problem was the jolting affect it had on the very small children.   In some cases they were nearly immobilized with fear because of the alarm system.  One child  had  nightmares after the experiencing the alarm and her mother begged us not to have another or that she be notified so she could be with her child during the drill.   This child had the same response to the family’s home alarm system.

One day the high-tech alarm went crazy and soon the fire company was present.  After a complete evacuation of the center and inspection by the fire department it was determined that workmen in the next building  had inadvertently caused the alarm to sound.   The problem was, the system did not want to re-set itself.  The trouble signal beeped the entire afternoon.  Eventually a repairman came to take care of our problem.

In the meantime, to keep our fire drills going, we decided to go low-tech. And I do mean low-tech.  I went to the kitchen and secured a saucepan and large serving spoon.  They made a beautiful banging sound...one the kids loved.  They also loved trying the banging out for themselves.  It was a worthy cause.  After talking with the teachers and children about our new “fire alarm” we decided to hold our first drill.   The kids filed out orderly and lined up to be counted.  The entire evacuation had taken less than two minutes which was very good considering we care for children as young as two-years-old.  And the after drill assessment by the teachers proved to be very interesting.

It seems the very young children did not panic or cry like they do when the big alarm goes off.  I thought about this.  Maybe banging some pots together is a sound they are used to.  Whatever the reason, the teachers enjoyed the orderly evacuation process for their children.

Paying the Child Care Bill

Child care fees are a very hot topic of conversation.  Regardless of where parents are on the economic scale, and regardless of where families live throughout the US, there is no doubt that child care fees are a very large portion of a family’s budget.   And since so many families are two-income families there is no doubt that quality child care is a necessity in today’s world and not a luxury.

Sometimes parental frustration because of high child cares fees spills over and affects the parent-teacher-management relationship.    Everyone agrees this should not happen when caring for young children, but nevertheless everyone agrees this is an emotional topic, not a rational topic.

The bookkeeper or director may be the first to notice a financial crisis with a family.  It begins with payments arriving later and later.  It then may move into explanations of why a fee can not be paid.  Perhaps a parent lost a job, or perhaps there is a medical emergency.   Whatever the reason, the child care past due bill builds up.  The larger the bill, the more evasive the parent becomes.  During this time parents may alter their arrival and departure time to avoid seeing the administration.  They may wait to come into the center with a large group of people or pretend being on the cell phone to avoid conversation about their financial situation.

Most centers require a security deposit for each family equal to two to four weeks of child care payments.  If all goes well and the family has provided the agreed upon notification,  the security deposit is returned to the family upon their departure from the center.   Or, sometimes with proper notification, centers will allow families to use their security deposit as payment for their last weeks of service.  Notification is very important for centers because it allows the administration time to recruit new students.   Without notification, it is possible for a center to loose a significant amount of revenue until a new student replacement is found.  

It is important for center directors to create an opportunity to talk with families in financial distress and to help them create a plan.  The plan might be a face-saving exit plan if there is no realistic hope the family will be able to pay their child care bill.   Or, if the financial emergency is temporary, the plan might be a realistic payment schedule that is suitable for the parents and the center.  

It’s important to empathize with the parents’ situation and to treat all information as confidential. The trusting relationship we work so hard to build with parents is carried into the financial world of child care fees.

The Parent Volunteer

So often in child care centers we focus on promoting parent involvement.  We do this with meetings, parties, field trips, and classroom volunteer work.  For teachers it is important to feel comfortable having parents in the room at any time and for parents it is important to get a snapshot of their child’s world of friends and activities.

Generally those parents who have the time and inclination to volunteer need guidance while functioning in the classroom.  A short discussion with the director, family workers, and classroom staff can be extremely helpful in solving any bumps in the volunteer road and can avoid hurt feelings that can come.

The parent volunteer is not the new classroom teacher.  The parent volunteer is not the teacher for a day.  The parent volunteer is just that, a volunteer, someone to be supportive of classroom activities that have already been planned by the early childhood personnel.   Most parents are happy to follow the teacher’s directives and most parents leave the classroom marveling at how the teacher can “control” an entire group of young children.

Those parent volunteers who have difficulty in the classroom usually find problems in two areas.  The first areas are those parent volunteers who feel they should discipline or have the right to discipline the children.  This frequently happens if the teacher is shy about approaching the subject with the parent volunteer.   Perhaps they feel uncomfortable about placing limits on the parent volunteer.  Perhaps the parent’s personal idea of discipline comes from another culture – one that cannot legally be supported in our regulated child care system.  The center disciplinary directive guides the paid teaching staff and it is the paid teaching staff that is responsible for utilizing the disciplinary guidelines.  

The second area of difficulty for parent volunteers is “reporting to others.”  It is human nature to observe and talk to other parents in the classroom.  After all, for many volunteer parents the classroom is an exotic place so talking about it with friends is a natural.   Little thought may be given to the entire story that was seen or the challenge students may be having.  All this can create hurt feelings.

Successful parent volunteer programs happen every day and they have the ability to bring children, staff, and parents together to create strong early childhood programs.  They key to all this is pre-planning.

Organizing the Trip the Five W's Way

Almost everyone has fond memories of their school trips.  Often an adventure that included a ride in someone’s car, a yellow school bus, a city bus, the subway, or maybe even walking.  After all, what could be more fun that going to an exciting place with all the people you care about in life…your friends, your teachers, your parents.   Most times it hardly mattered where you were going because the inner anticipation and preparation was just so wonderful you thought you might explore before trip day.  That’s a kid’s point-of-view and a valuable one at that.

Teachers know that to make a trip valuable and workable, from her perspective, there will be a lot of advanced planning to do.


WHO
WHAT
WHERE
(W) HOW
WHY

WHO:   first thing to discover is the WHO. Just who will be going on this trip?  Perhaps it will be only the children in a specific class or grade level.  Perhaps it will include some or all parents.  Perhaps it is an all school event designed to spend a day in a park to get to know each other better.   The WHO who is invited will help you determine the safest and most cost-effective mode of transportation. It will help you see that there will be sufficient adult supervision to have a safe outing.  If all parents can not be invited, how will they be chosen?   Will they need to pay their own expenses?  And please determine WHO will be the point person who is responsible for making all final decisions?

WHAT:  What will be the purpose of the trip?  Will it be educational only or will it perhaps be a cultural and social event?  Trips take a lot of extra energy and money so just what does the teacher expect her class to get out of the trip?   How will the trip experience be extended in future school activities?

WHERE:  Where will be the trip destination and how long will it take to get there?  Will that leave enough time to accomplish what the teacher wanted to happen?  Is the estimated travel time reasonable for the amount of time you will be able to stay at your destination?

(W) HOW:  Has the trip been approved by the program director and parent permission slips received.  What will happen to the child whose parent does not give permission for the trip?  Does the transportation provide car seats or seat belts?   Just how is the teacher going to get the children to their trip destination?  Will she be responsible for making a bus reservation, securing the insurance company approval, and collecting admission fees?  What is the timeline on doing all these items so that on trip day there are no loose ends?

WHY:  Is there a good reason to take this trip and is this trip really age appropriate for the children?  Can the children physically make the trip without falling asleep?  It may sound strange, but often teachers want to make trips to places they have not been to just because they want to see it.

Where's The Gift in The Birthday Party

The birthday is really and exciting and important date for children and parents.  It is a time when children gets special attention in the form of good wishes, special dinners, parties, and gifts.  Who wouldn’t like that?

It’s also a time marker for both children and parents.  Perhaps you’ve heard conversations like this:  MOM:  When you’re eight you’ll be able to use just a seat belt when you ride in the car.  CHILD:  Mom, how old do I have to be to stay up until 9 PM?   Getting older has its privileges and its responsibilities.  And birthdays make us take note of this.

When children celebrate their birthdays in school with all their friends the focus should really be on the child and not on the function.  A highly scheduled party can quickly become routine among the classmates until there is little joy left.  You know, it’s the same old thing:   go to the gym party where you play on the gym equipment, sit down and have pizza, and then the required birthday cake and ice cream.  The presents may or may not be opened.  Then it’s time to go home.  There’s no lingering and it’s almost always the same.

That’s where having a birthday celebration at school can be a real winner.  Teachers can incorporate the birthday celebration into the day’s curriculum.  The children can help plan and set up the party.  The menu can be limited as well as the store-bought decorations.   The humdrum of the cookie cutter party is tossed out the door as the children begin to personalize their celebration of their friend’s birthday.

It’s a wonderful experience for parents as well.  It isn’t necessary to fill every minute of time for each child at the party.  Every portion of the party doesn’t have to be scheduled.  By allowing children to use their own ideas of creating a fun event the children are learning how to organize, plan, and work together on a project for another human being.

The Power of Language

Early childhood educators learn in their academic training that language development is critical to normal development. It’s language that provides us with mental organizational tools.  It’s language that allows us to express ourselves within our social network.   Any teacher who has worked in a classroom with a child deficient in language abilities quickly learns how that child’s frustration overflows into aggressive behavior.

Because language development is critical, it is extremely important that parents and educators take full advantage of the many opportunities we can use to introduce language into our daily experiences.  Teachers can play a vital role in helping young parents understand just how important it is to use language with their children.   This may seem like a no-brainer, but in today’s age with cell phones glued to our ears, there are many children who are never spoken to – only spoken at.  Many children have tech-babysitters.  The language goes in as they watch cartoons but there is never a chance for the language to come back out of the child.   As an adult, imagine going to your office and your boss only yells a command at you.  You never have an opportunity to respond verbally and you never know when the next command is coming.  That might make you a little anxious.  That’s what it’s like for many children today.

In the classroom we encourage teachers to build language into the curriculum so subtly that no one will ever notice.  We don’t want to have a special language program but one seamless approach to exposing children to good language.

One way teachers do that is to engage children at the lunch table and hold a conversation.  So many things happen at that community table.  There the teacher has the chance for vocabulary building, the opportunity for pronunciation and grammar modeling, the practice of exchanging ideas, and the joyous experience of having others listen.   Participation in a lunch table conversation requires children to organize their thoughts in a clear and socially acceptable manner.

A second way teachers build language into the curriculum is to provide meaningful literary experiences.  The first idea that comes to mind is story time.  Story time can really provide that sparkle in children’s lives as their world is confirmed and expanded at the same time.   It provides vocabulary for areas of their lives that are important and permits them to discuss, with the new language they have acquired, important feelings with others.  

The really good teacher doesn’t just read a book.  The really good teacher creates a new world through use of drama.  The book’s characters take on different voices, and the story unfolds through pictures and costumes.  All this modeled behavior is recreated by children in their dramatic play area.   Word games crop up as the teacher makes a list of alternate words a character might use.  Only the teacher’s and children’s imagination and time limit their possibilities.  

And the teacher is pleased to share this excitement with parents.  What’s the new word of the day?  How many rhyming words did the class find?  Sharing language discoveries and anecdotes with parents is critical to helping them understand that language development goes on every moment of every day.

The next time you visit a classroom check out the verbal interaction between teachers and children.  If the teachers are talking over the kids’ heads then you might want to seriously consider if this is the program for you.

The Big Transition

Child care services that operate on a year-round schedule need to make plans for moving children, and their parents, to the next classroom.  The more organized and planned for the easier it will be for children, parents, and staff members.

If the center moves children once a year, for example at the beginning of the traditional public school year – September – the process is already anticipated by parents and staff.  And, usually an entire class of children will be moved together.   For parents this alleviates the anxiety that their child will face this unknown classroom alone.  The "buddy system" can really make transitions much easier.

Imagine you going to a strange place and having no one to share your sadness or happiness with!  It’s like that for children, but perhaps a little more difficult because their social skills have not yet fully developed.

However many child care centers, daycare centers, and Head Start programs move children at a prearranged time convenient for the program rather than the child’s particular needs.  Examples of this are when the administration may use the child’s birthday as a moving date or the date when the public funding will no longer pay for a specified age category.   These arbitrary moving dates may present real challenges for the classroom teacher and parents.

Regardless of the timing of a child’s from one class to another, it is important to include all parties involved in the decision making process.   Having a staff team meeting with the current teachers and the prospective teachers allows for a detailed information exchange specific to this child’s needs.   It allows everyone to an opportunity for each team member to voice concerns and offer suggestions to make the transition as easy as possible.   After the team meeting has taken place, and documented for the child’s file, it is a wonderful idea to invite the parents to a parent/teacher conference to discuss the move.   Get down to details here.  When will this happen?  How long will the child spend in the classroom each day?  Who will go with the child?  What is the new schedule?  What, if any, are the new rules and expectations for the parents?  

It is at this time that parents share their worries about a transition and together with the teachers are able to create a realistic transition plan.  The staff should take great pains to answer all FAQ’s at the beginning of the conference remembering that a parent may not know the questions to ask.   By carefully answering all questions the staff will create a very positive relationship during this conference.  Carefully listening to parents is a very powerful tool.  And, while teachers have gone through many transitions, it is a good idea to always remind the team that it is not unusual for the transition to be much easier for the young child than for the first time parent.  

At the conclusion of this important conference it is important to make sure the parent realizes that this transition is one of many transitions that come during the child’s school life.  It will not be the last. A loving teacher can reassure young parents that it is their child’s turn to grow…just a little.   Acknowledging the sadness and happiness that go hand in hand in growing up is a lifelong process.