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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: "We do what we know, and when we know better, we do better."
~ Maya Angelou
2008-2009 Exciting New Topics!"Councilink" Inaugural On-line Newsletter
"Fall" into some great ideas from the Better Kid Care Program!
What does fall mean to early educators and families? This time of year often means getting ready for school, child care and celebrating the season. It also is an important time for planning and preparing quality child care programs.
Use the following link to find great information to support your work. Fall Resources
Resources include a section for School readiness, Choosing Child Care, seasonal ideas, and topics supportive to quality early care and education. Included are Activities pages, Lunch and Snack pages, Family Time / Work Time articles, Parents Counts articles, Tip pages, Distance Education lessons, and more!
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!
Email Christine at crb16@psu.edu or contact the Better Kid Care Program at 814-865-7894 or 800-452-9108 (within PA).
Getting to Know Families - Part 1by Christine Belinda
* Look for Part 2 of Getting to Know Families, titled Celebrations and Invitations, in the upcoming September 2008 E-Newsletter
The first contacts and efforts we make with families will set the tone for how our relationship will progress. From the start, families need to know how important they are as equal partners on our path together.
Build a solid foundation
Getting to know families is like building a house. Build a solid foundation, use the best materials, and fill it with things that are helpful and have meaning. Be sure to continue to make improvements, investments, and assess the value. But remember, it's the people that make the house a home.
The best way to get to know families in your program is by spending time together. Families will need time for conversation and opportunities to interact; not just filling out forms and receiving policy handbooks. Include "meet and greet" times for families to interact with teachers and other families and their children.
"Families are an essential component of complementary learning. To succeed in school and in life, children and youth need access to multiple supports for learning. These supports can be more effective when connected in an intentional and systemic way. HFRP (Harvard Family Research Project) calls these networks of supports complementary learning. Families are central to complementary learning as contributors, collaborators, and consumers."
Harvard Family Research Project; endnotes; Seven Takeaways about the Future of Family Involvement, Volume XIV, Number 1 & 2, Spring 2008, Issue Topic: Building the Future of Family Involvement.
http://www.hfrp.org/evaluation/the-evaluation-exchange/issue-archive/current-issue-building-the-future-of family-involvement/seven-takeaways-about-the-future-of-family-involvement, Retrieved July 18, 200.
References (found at the end of the article)
Distance Education Highlights
Do lessons in your home -- when it's convenient and you have time!
Supporting Children's Families
Becoming a family-supportive caregiver means learning to understand parents in a new light. Learn to look for strengths in the parents and in the children. Ask for - and really listen to - parents' ideas about how you can make your program better. Learn how to respond to families' needs in a helpful and supportive way.
Click link to preview material for Supporting Children's Families lesson
View a complete listing of all distance education lessons and information about how to register by visiting the Better Kid Care Distance Education page.
Children and Emergencies
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has developed information related to recent natural disasters and children's health. Check out the Children and Emergencies links at www.epa.gov/children. This information can be downloaded and distributed to people without electricity.
Extreme Heat: Effects to Children and Pregnant Women
Building the Future of Family Involvement - The Evaluation Exchange, a periodical on emerging strategies in evaluation, Harvard Family Research Project, Harvard Graduate School of Education, examines the current state of and future directions for the family involvement field in research, policy, and practice. Featuring innovative initiatives, new evaluation approaches and findings, and interviews with field leaders, the issue is designed to spark conversation about where the field is today and where it needs to go in the future. http://www.hfrp.org/evaluation/the-evaluation-exchange/issue-archive/current-issue-building-the-future-of-family-involvement. The Evaluation Exchange, Volume XIV, Number 1 & 2, Spring 2008, Issue Topic: Building the Future of Family Involvement
The Effects of Comprehensive Parent Engagement on Student Learning Outcomes
Download PDF
State Strategies to Reduce Child and Family Poverty
Critical Links: Learning in the Arts and Student Academic and Social Development
Published by the Arts Education Partnership with support from the NEA. Details the relationship of learning to dance, drama, music, multiple arts, and visual arts, and the development of fundamental academic and social skills. 160 pp. Available in a PDF on the AEP Web site (www.aep-arts.org). To order printed copies, contact CCSSO Publications at (202) 336-7016.
America's Children and the Environment brings together, in one place, quantitative information from a variety of sources to show trends in levels of environmental contaminants in air, water, food, and soil; concentrations of contaminants measured in the bodies of mothers and children; and childhood diseases that may be influenced by environmental factors. For a guide to all of the measures included in this site, see the summary list at http://www.epa.gov/envirohealth/children/measures/index.htm.
Turn the Page:The Bookcase from Harvard Family Research Project's Storybook Corner offers descriptions of read-aloud storybooks with family involvement themes. Each entry includes the author, title, and publisher of the book, as well as a brief description of the story's plot and its major family involvement themes. To view or download the list, visit http://www.hfrp.org/family-involvement/storybook-corner/the-bookcase?print=1
More Family Stories:
My Family, by Debbie Bailey, published by Annick Press, ISBN 1550375105. My Family considers how families of various configurations interact and care for one another.
My Family Tree: A Bird's Eye View, by Nina Laden, published by Chronicle Books, ISBN 0811815285. Everybody has a family tree. You don't even need a yard to grow one. But family trees are not always simple. What is a stepsister? What makes a cousin once-removed? My Family Tree explains family connections in a fun, easy way.
My Family, by Sheila Kinkade, published by Charlesbridge Publishing, ISBN 1570916624. In a lively celebration of families in all their diversity and connections, this full-color photo-essay shows loving families across the world having fun together, eating, working, teaching, learning, playing, and more.
Just Me and My Family, by Mercer Mayer, published by Golden Books, ISBN 0307340945.
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.
Words are Powerful Words can be very powerful. Remember this when talking with your child. Think before you speak. When talking with your child, think about what you are saying. Will your child understand what you really mean? |
2008-2009 Satellite Dates Are Here!
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Exciting New Topics! Mark your calendar now! |
October 16, 2008
What Does "Time" Mean to Children?
What do children of different ages know and understand about time? Why do children and adults struggle when it's time to clean up? Learn ways to build on children's understanding of "yesterday," "today," and "tomorrow."
Professional Development Code K2C1 topic code 14
CDA Competency 2 - Steps to advance children's physical and intellectual development
Pennsylvania Early Learning Standards Key Learning Area: Social Studies
December 4, 2008
I want! I want!! I want!!!: building good consumers
Advertising captures children. Take a close look at what advertising doesn't want you to know. Learn the effects of marketing on children.
Professional Development Code K2C1 topic code 13
CDA Competency 2 - Steps to advance children's physical and intellectual development
Pennsylvania Early Learning Standards Key Learning Area: Social Studies
March 26, 2009
Art Appreciation 101 for Young Children
Believe it or not, even infants can begin to appreciate art. Learn how to introduce and talk with children of all ages about art made by them and others. Try creative ways to react to art.
Professional Development Code K2C1 topic code 19
CDA Competency 2 - Steps to advance children's physical and intellectual development
Pennsylvania Early Learning Standards Key Learning Area: Creative Arts
May 14, 2009
Sparking Kids' Curiosity
What's so great about curiosity? How to help kids to grow curiosity. Clever materials to spark children's creative thinking and learning.
Professional Development Code K2C2 topic code 11
CDA Competency 2 - Steps to advance children's physical and intellectual development
Pennsylvania Early Learning Standards Key Learning Area: Approaches to Learning
Want to share your ideas from past satellite sessions or ideas for future satellite sessions? Contact Better Kid Care by e-mailing us at betterkidcare@psu.edu or by phoning 800-452-9108 to share your comments.
Visit the Satellite Workshop link for more information. Missed a show? Visit the Past Satellite Workshop page to view video online. If you live in Pennsylvania, contact your local extension educator for information to attend a workshop in your area. Live outside of Pennsylvania? Visit the Out-of-State Information link.
The Council for Professional Recognition has reformatted its online newsletter formerly titled "Council Updates". "Councilink", the newly titled on-line newsletter, features information on preparing teachers of young children. Each issue will also include an Advocacy link, CDA (Child Development Associate) credential information, as well as other tips and ideas contributing to the field of early education. View the new "Councilink" at or visit the Council's web site at www.cdacouncil.org and click on "Councilink."
You can reach the Council of Professional Recognition at:
Council for Professional Recognition
2460 16th Street NW
Washington , DC 20009-3547
On the Web: www.cdacouncil.org
Phone: 800-424-4310
Email: newsletter@cdacouncil.org
Council Newsletters: http://www.cdacouncil.org/ab_new.htm
Need more CDA help? Visit Better Kid Care's "What is the CDA?" newly revised link and get answers to your CDA questions! Get CDA support! Call Christine at 800-452-9108. E-mail your CDA questions to Christine at crb16@psu.edu.
The following information highlights upcoming professional development opportunities available for early childhood practitioners:
In Pennsylvania:
Outside Pennsylvania:
TRANSITION TO KINDERGARTEN
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, 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.
Preview notebook contents: Tip Sheets, Activities Pages and 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.
Home-Based Caregiver Orientation - Meets the Keystone STARS Core Series Training Requirements. Order at no cost by calling 800-452-9108.
Do you have questions about caring for other people's children, such as:
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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.
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View archived Better Kid Care E-Newsletters
Upcoming Feature Article in
September E-Newsletter:
Get to Know Your Families Part 2:
Celebrations and Invitations
Reflections...
We would love to hear from you! E-mail your ideas to crb16@psu.edu or call 814-865-7894.
Disclaimer: Where trade names appear, no discrimination is intended, and no endorsement by Penn State Cooperative Extension is implied.
