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Welcome to this month's issue of the Better Kid Care E-Newsletter - A newsletter for those caring for children.
Notable Quote: "I have never met a person whose greatest need was anything other than real, unconditional love. You can find it in a simple act of kindness toward someone who needs help. There is no mistaking love. You feel it in your heart. It is the common fiber of life, the flame of that heats our soul, energizes our spirit and supplies passion to our lives." ~ Elizabeth Kubler-Ross (The Wheel of Life)
Inspired by last month’s Tray Ideas, Carol Neal sent in her idea of Muffin Tin Fun. (This idea can be presented by you or put together by the children.)
Muffin Tin Fun
You will need:
*Be aware of choking hazards for those under the age of three
Decide what concept you want to explore in this activity, such as beginning word sounds, ending word sounds, colors, numbers, shapes, etc. Glue or place a picture in each tin section or each "muffin" that represents the concepts you want to explore. Depending on age and number of children, you can make rules for the game, or have the children decide. The children enjoy the versatility of this matching game. Have fun!
Where do you find the best ideas on caring for children? From early educators and practitioners, of course! Do you have a great tip or good thing? Send us your best tips in writing and your tip may end up in our newsletter! If your tip is chosen for the newsletter, you will receive a little something from the Better Kid Care Program. Mail tips with your return address to: Better Kid Care Program, c/o Christine Belinda, 253 Easterly Parkway, State College, PA 16801or E-mail crb16@psu.edu
by Christine Belinda
Partnering is a term that often enters our work with children. Each day we partner in many ways: with parents, children, co-workers, communities, and even ourselves. Consider the words associated with partnership and collaboration: teamwork, group effort, alliance, relationships, cooperation. These are powerful and inspiring words in early education, and for that matter, in life. What does it take to map out positive collaborations? Is partnering really that important?
As early educators, many of us are mid-year in our work; a good time for self reflection in our program, our experiences, and our goals. When we take time out of our busy days to look at our actions, our relationships, our achievements, and our challenges, we begin to gather important information to support our work; we begin to make intentional efforts and plans. It is these intentional efforts and plans that help us map out successful collaborations and partnerships.Using the list below as a guide, write down your ideas about the collaborations occurring (or not occurring) in your work as an early educator.
comfortable together, materials encouraging more than one person to use (such as blocks), experiences uniting the group (story time, group projects), display children's work, and model to children positive interactions with adults, such as parents and co-workers communicating with and helping each other.
photos, offer an open door policy.
sending a business card, brochure, post card, or artwork from the children, with a note sharing about your program.The Importance of Partnering
We supply a lot of hard work and conscious effort in creating partnerships. We plan for partnering until partnering becomes the way to be; a natural quality of our group. Partnering helps all of us understand and know each other better; to build stronger, productive relationships and programs. The path to collaboration and partnering has many roads, but through partnering, we never seem to get lost.
Enjoy the following highlights from one of the many Better Kid Care Distance Education Lessons.
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How to Get Parents on Your TeamProfessional Development Code K3C2 CDA 4 |
Think about the families of the children in your care. What do you know about these families? Are they traditional two-parent families or another family arrangement? Does the parent(s) work outside the home or go to school? How well do you think you know each child's family?
The lesson will cover three important areas: valuing parents, communication strategies, and parent conferences. Preview and register for the distance education lesson How to Get Parents on Your Team
To view a complete listing of all Distance Education Lessons and additional information and resources, visit the Better Kid Care Distance Education page.
New Distance Education Lessons
Just added this month, these five new one-hour lessons can only be completed online as web-based lessons. Preview new One-Hour lessons by selecting titles
Update Forms and Instructions -- If you have received educational materials prior to November 1, 2006, please download REQUIRED updated forms to use when submitting assignments and also check the list of discontinued lessons that are no longer accepted for professional development.Learning Through Play with Table Toys (K2C1) CDA 8
Fun Ways to Improve Behavior (K2C1) CDA 5
Kitchen Science (K2C1) CDA 2
With the holidays behind us and young children across the country back in child care, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission wants to ensure that parents have the right information in hand to ensure that the products their children encounter in their child care center are safe. The CPSC has produced a brand new child care safety poster and updated its child care safety checklist. The information provided in these two documents reflects CPSC’s research into the most significant dangers to children in this setting.
Both the NSN poster and checklist can be downloaded at the following site: http://www.cpsc.gov/nsn/childcare.pdf (Spanish version of each will be posted shortly).
Turn the Page
Reading aloud with children is a wonderful activity. Children of all ages love to be read to. Support the love of reading for children in your care by trying the following books on love:
I Love You the Purplest, by Barbara Joosse, published by Chronicle Books, ISBN-10: 0811807185, ISBN-13: 978-0811807180. Two brothers want to know: Who is the best at digging worms? Or who is the best at fishing? And who do you love the most? Read the peaceful and attentive ways this mother shares her love for her two young boys.
Mommy Loves, by Anne Gutman, published by Chronicle Books; ISBN-10: 0811846164, ISBN-13: 978-0811846165. Read a celebration of parental love with adorable little baby animals and their mother’s special love.
If You'll Be My Valentine, by Cynthia Rylant, published by HarperTrophy; ISBN-10: 0060092718, ISBN-13: 978-0060092719. Enjoy a rhyming story of a little boy who creates and presents valentines to his pets, family members, and even his teddy bear.
The Day It Rained Hearts, by Felicia Bond, published by Laura Geringer, ISBN-10: 0066238765, ISBN-13: 978-0066238760. What would you do if it rained hearts? Find out what Cornelia does as she catches the raining hearts. Perfect story for Valentines Day!
I Love You like Crazy Cakes, by Rose A. Lewis, published by Little, Brown Young Readers; ISBN-10: 0316525383, ISBN-13: 978-0316525381. A touching love story of new parents, especially those who have adopted. A first meeting and a first falling in love story.
Contact your local children's library or your local Penn State Cooperative Extension office to find out about more books on making friends and child care. Reading with children creates lifelong readers. Enjoy your time reading with children!
Interested in professional development opportunities? Take a look at the following professional development training available for early childhood practitioners:
For more professional development opportunities, visit the PA Keys online calendar.
Send Us Your Questions - Do you have a question on any of the satellite workshop topics listed below? Send them to us! If your question is chosen to be read and answered during a satellite broadcast, you will receive a gift certificate to Redleaf Press. Submit questions two weeks prior to the satellite broadcast date via e-mail (enter Subject Line: Satellite Question), fax 814-865-7893 or mail directly to Better Kid Care, 253 Easterly Parkway, State College, PA 16801.
March 29, 2007
Your #1 Priority: Keeping children healthy and safe
K7C1 - Topic Code 77 / CDA 1April 26, 2007
How to Turn Good Play into GREAT Play
K2C2 - Topic Code 15 / CDA 2
Join with other early childhood practitioners in experiencing satellite workshops, offered in Pennsylvania and across the United States. To participate in these workshops, visit the Satellite Workshop link.
Are you looking for articles to share with your families? Do you need information for your parent/family bulletin board? Family Time / Work Time shares easy-to-read articles for busy parents and caretakers with a focus on Building Strong Families.
You are welcome to print and share these publications with your friends, family, and other child care providers.
Enjoy the following Family Time / Work Time:
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Talking and Listening Click on graphic to read entire publication |
Providers in the Child Development Associate (CDA) Program
Better Kid Care can help you obtain your CDA -- Although Better Kid Care does not offer a CDA program at this time, we offer professional development training accepted by the Council for Professional Recognition to meet the 120 hours of formal early childhood education required to obtain a CDA credential. These one- and two-hour distance education lessons are coded and categorized for CDA. To view a complete listing, please visit the Better Kid Care Distance Education page.
CDA News: The Council for Professional Recognition has updated its Web page www.cdacouncil.org Live Support Launched! Revised Competency Standards Books Released!
For information regarding Child Development Associate, visit our CDA page or contact Christine at 814-865-7894 or email crb16@psu.edu.
Do you have questions about caring for other people's children, such as:
Call the Better Kid Care Mentoring Line at 800-859-8340 or e-mail your questions to betterkidcare@psu.edu for information about child care and children's issues.
Better Kid Care Kit
Need ideas in your work caring for children? When you enroll in the Better Kid Care Program and sign up for the Better Kid Care Kit, family child care providers will receive several free publications in the mail. Family home child care providers will also receive The Basics of Caring for Children in your Home notebook to organize and store your Better Kid Care publications. Have you signed up to receive a Better Kid Care Kit yet? Complete our online registration form or call 800-452-9108 to order.
Notebook Contains: Tip Sheets, Activities Pages & Lunch and Snack Ideas
All publications are available online to print and share with your friends, family, and other childcare providers. Select issues are also available in Spanish.
New Staff Orientation curriculum is specifically designed for new staff members in child care centers. Meets the Keystone STARS Performance Standards. Order at no cost by calling 800-452-9108. Prepayment for review of each Orientation is $5.00. If you received materials before November 1, 2006, please download new Instructions and REQUIRED Forms.
Home-Based Caregiver Orientation - Meets the Keystone STARS Core Series Training Requirements. Order at no cost by calling 800-452-9108. Prepayment for review of each Orientation is $5.00. If you received materials before November 1, 2006, please download new Instructions & REQUIRED Forms.
National Playground Safety Week April 23-27 www.playgroundsafety.org
The U.S. Department of Education is pleased to announce the newly remodeled and updated Federal Resources for Education Excellence (FREE) website. It now provides richer, more expansive resources to teachers and students alike. There are over 1500 resources to take advantage of at FREE, including primary historical documents, lesson plans, science visualizations, math simulations and online challenges, paintings, photos, mapping tools, and more. This easily accessible information is provided by federal organizations and agencies such as the Library of Congress, National Archives, NEH, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian, NSF, and NASA.
Check it out today at http://www.free.ed.gov
New subscribers can join by sending email to:
BetterKidCareNews-subscribe-request@lists.psu.edu.
View archived Better Kid Care E-Newsletters
Upcoming March E-Newsletter:
See, Scribble, Print: Encouraging Children to Make their Mark
We would love to hear from you! E-mail your ideas to crb16@psu.edu or call 814-865-7894.