Carla Snuggs's Blog
Posted by Carla Snuggs
As the year closes and I am looking back on the articles I’ve completed this year, I realized, sadly, that I have overlooked a very important issue in family daycares and preschools across the United States. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome affected our family in a tragic and unexpected way in 2004, as my nephew of 4 months old died of SIDS on his very first day of daycare. At the time I vowed to do my part, even if in some small way, to help others become aware of SIDS, and how as child care professionals and educators we can all do our part to ensure that SIDS rates are reduced. While SIDS cannot be prevented, reducing SIDS risk is simple. My recent article Reducing SIDS in Daycare is another way that I am supporting the reduction of SIDS, so I hope that it reaches those in need of this vital information.
I am thankful at the close of this year to my faithful readers. I am also thankful to Suite101.com for providing me with the opportunity to have a voice in this online community.
SIDS Organizations
Posted by Carla Snuggs
New Year celebrations aren't just for adults. Ring in the New Year with cute new year-themed crafts and music and movement activities as part of your preschool or family daycare curriculum.
Make new years hats out of cone paper drinking cups. Use crayons, stickers, confetti, paint, colored macaroni, glitter, yarn, or any other decorative scrap materials you may have on hand.
For music and movement, you can be creative and make your own noise makers by adding noise makers (beans, rice, etc) to coffee cans or boxes, or you can purchase them. Turn up the up-tempo music and let 'em go!
Confetti is always part of a good New Year celebration, but with small children it needs to happen in a very controlled environment or you end up with a big mess. With that in mind, kids like Confetti Collages. You can either make your own confetti or buy pre-made confetti. Using the confetti and any other new year-themed decorations, create a huge collage or let the children make individual colorful collages.
Happy New Year!
Posted by Carla Snuggs
I’m always on the lookout for outstanding daycare or preschool related books and music so I’m really excited to share this good news with you.
The National Association for the Education of Young Children, one of the largest early childhood education associations, has launched its new magazine Teaching Young Children! Hooray!It’s about time! This magazine is specifically for preschool teachers and offers articles about best practices, research, teaching ideas, and other preschool related topics. While the NAEYC also publishes Young Child, this publication is a scholarly, peer reviewed journal. Teaching Young Children has shorter articles and is written in an informal and friendly style. All of the articles support the standards set forth by the NAEYC.
If you are interested in purchasing the magazine, you can order by the issue or subscribe for an entire year. Therefore, you can test drive one issue before you make the commitment. There is also an online community and they will soon be launching a discussion board associated with the magazine so that teachers can share ideas, tips and strategies.
Posted by Carla Snuggs
With Thanksgiving behind us, it’s time to prepare for the end of the year holidays. I came up with a short list of my favorite sites for winter crafts and songs to get you off on the right foot.
I love First-School’s holiday activity pages because they have free printable crafts that are both religious and secular. They also include crafts for additional popular holiday celebrations such as Kwanzaa and Hanukkah. I also like Preschool Education’s holiday arts and crafts page for Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa crafts submitted by parents and educators.
Everything Preschool has a small but useful selection of easy to sing preschool Christmas songs.
DLTK has a great page of Christmas songs, plays and prayers. Many of the songs include sheet music and there is even a really sweet preschool pageant that you may want to check out.
It’s time to get crafty. Have fun. Happy Holidays!
Posted by Carla Snuggs
The holidays sure did arrive very quickly! In honor of Thanksgiving, I would like to suggest two cute Thanksiving songs that toddlers like to sing. I am not sure who authored these, but toddlers and preschoolers love them!
Five Little Turkeys
Five little turkeys by the barn door,
One waddled off, then there were four.
Four little turkeys out under the tree,
One waddled off, then there were three.
Three little turkeys with nothing to do.
One waddled off, then there were two.
Two little turkeys in the noonday sun,
One waddled off, then there was one.
One little turkey - better run away!
Soon will come Thanksgiving Day.
I Eat Turkey (sung to the tune of "Frere Jaques")
I eat Turkey,
I eat Turkey.
Yes, I do
Yes, I do
Turkey in my tummy,
Yummy, yummy, yummy.
Good for me
Good for you.
Happy Thanksgiving!!
Posted by Carla Snuggs
Here are some of the best early childhood education conferences and workshops offered this month.
November 7-10, 2007 -- Chicago, IL
NAEYC annual Conference and Expo
Sponsored by the National Association for Education of Young Children, this conference is a great opportunity to take advantage of the opportunity to be among more than 20,000 early childhood education professionals. There will be ECE conferences, exhibits, munch and mingle, and even sightseeing tours.
November 8 - 10, 2007 -- Minneapolis, MN
International Early Education Leadership Conference
This conference is sponsored by Association of Christian Schools International. Enjoy three days of seminars and speakers on such topics as preschool curriculum and environments, grant writing for Christian preschools, and strategic planning. Christian educators, try not to miss this one!
November 19 - 21, 2007 -- Hamilton, Ontario (Canada)
This 3 day forum on the topic of healthy development for children is sponsored by Wesley Urban Ministries and Our Kids Network. Enjoy excellent keynote speakers on a wide variety of topics, such as infant-parent attachment, cultural sensitivity, and quality indicators of child care. Great opportunity to network! FYI, some portions of the conference are free for professionals working in Halton or the region of Hamilton/Niagara.
Posted by Carla Snuggs
I am now in love with the CD The Ultimate Most Relaxing Classics for Kids in the Universe [Savoy, 2007].This compilation of 29 classical tracks from brilliant composers such asJohann Sebastian Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven, Fryderyk Chopin, and Claude Debussy is so calming and so relaxing; I can barely keep my eyes open by track 5.
My favorite tracks are Satie’s "Gymnopedie No. 1", Chopin’s "Piano Concerto No. 1 – Larghetto", and Jules Massenet’s "Meditation from Thais”. If you are looking for superb tranquil classical music to play during naptime (or anytime you need a calm, relaxed atmosphere in the classroom) this CD is a great selection.
Not all preschool teachers use music during naptime, but I recently read a study about how music affects naptime sleep onset. The study found that on the days when music was played during naptime, children fell asleep faster than on days when no music was played. In addition, the study also found that preschoolers took longer to fall asleep than toddlers.
For more information on preschool and daycare music, see Preschool Music and Movement.
Source: "Music Enhances Sleep in Preschool Children," Tiffany Field, Early Child Development and Care, Vol. 150, 1999.
Posted by Carla Snuggs
Am I out of the loop? I just got word about a new website that will target preschoolers. Nickelodeon/MTVN Kids and Family Group is launching myNoggin this November. It is a fee/subsciption based website with educational games for children ages 3-6 and their parents. The games support and follow school curriculum and are guided by national standards for preschool education.
According to an article in CNN money, "myNOGGIN features simple icon-driven site navigation and game-based learning that gives the sippy cup set a fun way to learn math, literacy, and languages in a completely engaging environment."
I tried a demo game. It seemed a little advanced for a three year old, but the games do adjust to the child’s level of development. I did like that myNoggin is ad free, user/child friendly and utilized vibrant colors. Are preschoolers really online? I know that kids are being introduced to computers at an earlier and earlier age but are computer based education now used in preschools and are computer skills now part of the preschool curriculum? Is online curriculum based play the newest wave in education? Your thoughts?
Posted by Carla Snuggs
I am working on a series of articles dealing with toilet training in the daycare or preschool setting. The articles will discuss signs of developmental readiness with respect to potty training. They will also discuss the role of the child care provider or preschool teacher in potty training and how they can work effectively with parents to ensure success. I will also be tackling the pros and cons of potty training chairs.
As I was completing research for this article, I came across many guidebooks that claim that you can potty train a child in a very short period of time--say one to three days. The experts I interviewed weighed in on the issue of whether or inot it is possible to toilet train a child in a very short period of time and if it is a proper practice. It was very interesting to see the wide range of responses.
My opinion? I think I am less concerned with whether or not potty training in one day is possible, and more concerned with whether or not adults should rush child development in any area. While I understand a parent or child care provider's frustration when potty training does not go as smoothly or quickly as anticipated, I feel the consequences of rushing this type of development can have long term negative effects on the child. Hopefully the experts' guidelines will help those that are struggling and provide some well needed tips and strategies. Stay tuned!
In the meantime I'm interested in hearing about your daycare potty training experiences in discussions.
Posted by Carla Snuggs
My fall leaves activity is a fun, creative way to incorporate a fall theme and help practice gross motor skills. In keeping with the fall/autumn theme, I thought I’d suggest more fun leaf-themed preschool and daycare activities.
Art/Creative
Leaf Wreath
- Take the children on a nature walk, collecting leaves, pine cones, acorns. Cut out the center of a paper plate, let the children paint the plate brown, then let them glue the items to the plate to create a wreath.
Leaf Cookies
- Cut cookie dough from leaf shaped cookie cutters and bake. Let the children decorate them with autumn colored frosting (red, brown, yellow, orange)
Cognitive development
Matching Leaves
- Collect or (create from construction paper) various types of fall leaves. Arrange two of each kind of leaves and ask the children to match the pairs.
Storytime
- Leaves! Leaves! Leaves! By Nancy Elizabeth Wallace [Marshall Cavendish Children's Books, 2007] Children learn about leaves and trees with Buddy Bear and his mom.
Physical
It has been my experience that collecting leaves is, in itself, a fun activity for kids. Take a nature walk with the children. Discuss what you see and hear. Collect leaves, pine cones and acorns. When you return sort and separate the items, discussing their colors and textures. Have fun with it!
Posted by Carla Snuggs
My niece was recently involved in an accident at her preschool in which she lost part of a tooth and I was shocked to discover that my sister did not receive or sign an incident report. So in the interest of preschool teachers, daycare providers, and parents, I would like to quickly discuss the necessity of incident reports.
A quality preschool or daycare should have in their health and safety rules and regulations, policies about accidents/injuries. I would like to stress two important policies that you should look for in your preschool or daycare:
- If a child is injured at preschool or daycare and the situation necessitates that the child receive medical attention, the parent must be notified and asked to pick the child up or meet the child at the emergency room.
- If your child is injured, an accident report should be prepared and you should be required to sign and date it when you pick your child up. This report should be in your child's file and you should also receive a copy of it. You should also receive and sign an incident report if your child harms another child.
Here is an example of a proper daycare incident report. In most cases, failure to document an incident is in violation of the licensing, so make sure you have one in hand when your child has an injury or accident at school.
Posted by Carla Snuggs
Wow September sure has flown by! This is a short posting highlighting of just a few of the really fantastic early childhood education conferences going on in October.
October 6, 2007—Orlando, FL
Sponsored by the Florida Kindergarten Council, this conference is day of workshops for educators of children age 3 through grade 3 on everything from cooking to poetry to literacy projects.
October 12, 2007— Highland Park, PA
Implementing the Wanna Play Program for Social Development and Behavior Management
Workshops for parents, teachers, and daycare providers on topics such as The Wanna Play Program Curriculum, Tools and Strategies to Help Develop Social Appropriateness, and Social Skills Lessons and Activities.
October 28 - 30, 2007---San Diego, CA
13th Annual NESA National Conference
Sponsored by the National Even Start Association this conference will feature a keynote speaker motivational storyteller DJ Eagle Bear Vanas and workshops related to the topics of early childhood education, parenting education and program management and evaluation.
If any of you attend conferences, be sure to post your experiences in the discussion board. I’d love to get some feedback.
Posted by Carla Snuggs
Fall is right around the corner --- it sure did sneak up on me! The first day of fall is September 23, fyi. It is so nice to revel in the beauty of autumn--the leaves changing to yellow to orange brilliance, the appearance of humming birds, and crisp, cool air.
Every time I think of fall, I think of a preschool activity I presented that was great for physical gross motor skills called Fall Leaves. I found and collected a large amount of crisp yellow and orange fall leaves and filled a small kiddy pool with them. I invited the children over to the area and encouraged them to jump into the pool and hop in the leaves, which enhances rebound and airborne activities. I also scattered some of the leaves on the ground for raking and sweeping, which provided an opportunity to practice projectile management. Most of all, it was just plain crunchy fun—they loved it!
If you live in Southern California as I do, the changing of the seasons is very subtle. But that is no excuse not to welcome in beginning of autumn with related daycare and preschool activities.
Posted by Carla Snuggs
Recently, my article on preschool music and movement recommended that musical experiences for toddlers and preschoolers should include age appropriate toys that make controllable musical sounds. So, when I read about a consumer recall for one such item, I felt the need to make my readers aware.
On September 4, The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced a voluntary recall of the Big Big World 6-in-1 Bongo Band toys, imported by Fisher-Price, Inc., manufactured in China.
The toy's surface paints contain excessive levels of lead, and is in violation of a federal law which prohibits lead paint on children's toys.
The recall includes two bongos: One with a yellow and green plastic drum base with a blue drum surface; the other has a yellow and green plastic drum base with an orange drum surface.
If your product contains product number K9343 and A date code between 139-7SH and 232-7SH, stop using the toy immediately and contact Fisher-Price at (888) 496-8330 or visit the company's website at www.mattel.com/safety for information about returning the product and receiving a free replacement toy.
Posted by Carla Snuggs
My nieces and nephew just started back to school today and it reminded me of that nervous anticipation that most kids get when they return to school.
If your child is apprehensive about going back to daycare or child care, or it is their first day of preschool, there are a few things you can do to ease him or her back into it. I highly recommend advanced preparation and helping your child becoming familiar with new surroundings.
Visit the teacher and the classroom. Take your child for a brief meeting with the teacher. Let him or her explore the classroom setting. Play on the playground. Let them get a good sense of how the layout of the school.
Review the route to school. Take a casual walk or drive to the school. Point out landmarks along the way. Let them meet the crossing guards. This gives them a taste of the route and will give them a sense of familiarity. If driving, show them where you will drop them off and pick them up.
Have a mock lunch: Pack two lunches similar to what you will pack for your child for a normal day of school. Sit with them and have lunch, discussing that this is similar to how lunch will be at school. This way you will see if they struggle with handling usual lunch items.
Posted by Carla Snuggs
There are some exciting early childhood education conferences for September across the country. I am hoping to attend the Infant Conference in Seattle! Many of them offer the necessary continuing education units to those who attend the workshops, so keep that in mind as you consider attending.
September 15, 2007 --West Windsor, NJ
Our Role in Children's Lives -Sponsored by National Academy for Educators and Caregivers Join the NAEC for a day of fun, informative early childhood workshops for child care professionals. It’s a great workshop if you need fresh ideas about music, literacy, and art for your childcare center.
September 29, 2007--East Hanover, NJ
Planting the Seeds for Success --Sponsored by National Academy for Educators and Caregivers
For a day of workshops and the opportunity to earn ECU units, consider this NAEC sponsored conference. Admission includes your choice of four one-hour workshops, entrance to the keynote address, breakfast, and lunch.
September 29, 2007 Seattle, Washington
2nd Annual Seattle Infant Conference -- Sponsored by HCNR
E-mail: MaryJo.Dostal@seattlechildrens.org
This one day conference focuses on connecting with infants, toddlers and their families, and fostering respectful relationships in group care.
Posted by Carla Snuggs
Flyers are one of many ways to promote your in-home or family daycare business. I’ve compiled some helpful tips for making, posting and handing out flyers:
- Keep the flyer colorful but simple with the name of your daycare in large letters
- Create a simple, but attractive and relevant logo
- Make sure to list your days and hours of service, the age ranges of children you will care for, describe your meal service, and include your phone number
- As a security precaution, Do NOT list your full address on the flyer. Simply describe the area (for example: A quiet, safe residential area near downtown Huntington Beach)
- If your daycare cooperates with government subsidized programs, list this information
- Make sure to list the best and/or unique features of your daycare. For example if you or your staff has an FCS degree or has acquired a certain number of ECE units, has special certificates or has attended special workshops, you offer infant or extended hours, or all organic foods, be sure to highlight these aspects of your business
Flyers can be distributed door to door and placed on cars parked in family friendly places.
Flyers can be posted in laundromats, churches, community centers. For flyers you will post in public areas, make sure to use regular letter sized sheets and include convenient tear away sections on the bottom which include the name of the daycare center and phone number.
For more for in-home or family daycare, see Books for Home Daycare Businesses.
Posted by Carla Snuggs
It’s just about back to school time!!! This is just a gentle reminder to make sure that your child’s immunizations are up to date. Immunizations make daycare and preschools a healthy place to learn and grow. Check with your preschool or daycare center and follow state requirements. In general, and in the state of California, preschool children must have:
- four doses of the diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis vaccine ( DTP)
- three doses of polio vaccine
- one dose of measles, mumps and rubella vaccine
- Hib flu vaccine
- three doses of hepatitis B vaccine
- one dose of varticella for chicken pox (or proof they've already had chicken pox and have immunity from chicken pox).
Vaccines do have side effects such as fever or soreness and or redness at the site of injection.However, the risks of minor side effects do not outweigh the vaccine’s ability to immunize children against horrible, preventable diseases. As an infant, I was exposed to and had measles, mumps, and chicken pox but in my lifetime, fortunately, I’ve never seen a case of devastating diseases such as polio, diphtheria, tetanus or pertussis thanks to vaccines. In some cases exemptions are allowed for medical, religious or personal reasons. Be advised that those children who are not fully immunized may be barred from attending preschool or childcare if an outbreak of one of these diseases occurs. Immunize now to avoid that back to school rush. For more information on health related daycare issues see my article Controlling Illness in Daycare.
Posted by Carla Snuggs
This month there are three exciting conferences that I’d like to bring to your attention.
August 14-17, 2007: Washington, DC.
The Creative Curriculum and You!
Teaching Strategies, Inc. is sponsoring The Creative Curriculum and You. The Creative Curriculum® approach is used extensively in Head Start programs in the United States and helps early childhood educators implement high-quality early childhood programs. The conference will introduce to you a system which integrates curriculum, assessment, training, and program evaluation and is a great opportunity to earn Continuing Education Units.
August 15-18, 2007: Anaheim, California
17th Annual NAFCC National Conference
Sponsored by the National Association for Family Child Care, and hosted by the California Association for Family Child Care, the Annual Conference is titled Family Child Care: Foundations for the Future. The conference, held at the Anaheim Marriott Hotel, will feature distinguished keynote speakers and address how to improve the quality of the field and discuss modern early childhood education practices.
August 28-30, 2007: Uncasville, Connecticut, United States
Spirit of Leadership, 2007 National Conference
Sponsored by National Indian Child Care Association (NICCA) and held at the Mohegan Sun Resort, this conference offers the opportunity to learn about tribal curriculum and culture and tour tribal child care centers. The conference features three days of workshops with Tribal leaders on a variety of topics such as “Natural Playgrounds”, “Being a Role Model for Physical Activity”, and “Infant/Toddler Curriculum”.
Registrations ends soon for many of these conferences so get registered ASAP.
Posted by Carla Snuggs
It’s nearly back to school time and some preschoolers heading to kindergarten may be riddled with anxiety. No doubt this is mostly due to the unknown.
Reading through the news today, I was surprised to see that some cities across America offer kindergarten readiness camps!
So what is kindergarten readiness camp? It sort of walks children and their parents through what the typical kindergarten experience entails.
For example, The Learning Train, a camp in Greensborough, North Carolina offers a week long day camp for 85 dollars which gives students practice in the classroom for about three hours each day. The former preschoolers get to experience kindergarten type activities such as circle time, and walk through practical things like how to go through the cafeteria line with their trays. The children are also screened in terms of emotional, physical, and academic kindergarten readiness before and after the camp. I find this perk to be most valuable as some school districts don’t screen children until they are already in kindergarten. Parents are also provided with practical information such as how to interpret their child’s report cards.
While I think it’s a clever idea, I don’t remember this being offered in my day and I don’t remember it being necessary. It would be interesting to see if these camps are truly beneficial in the long run. My thoughts are that if they reduce anxiety, make the transition from preschool to kindergarten smooth, and help parents understand more about the nature of education, then camps of this nature may be worth the money, especially if your child is particularly apprehensive about entering kindergarten.
Feel free to express your thoughts in discussions.
Posted by Carla Snuggs
For the past two weeks my articles have focused on toddler biting. The idea came to me after I recently witnessed a toddler get frustrated and attempt to bite an adult. Since it was a public incident, the parent was embarrassed and didn’t know how to react.
It brought me back to the many times I’ve had to deal with biting in the preschool setting. Back then, I would have an emotional reaction when I was bitten by student, but I was a teacher’s aide just starting out and wasn’t quite sure how to handle these types of incidents. I would yell “OUCH” and sometimes I would laugh nervously. I now know this is exactly the opposite of what the pros want you to do. I also know that these types of reactions promote biting in toddlers. I’d forgotten what a prevalent issue biting can be.
So for those who want and need more advice on dealing with biting in the preschool, daycare, or any childcare environment, I suggest reading No Biting: Policy and Practice for Toddler Programs by Gretchen Kinnell. Yes, another book recommendation. Kinnell is an expert in training child care providers and also presents workshops on toddler biting.
No Biting provides an overview of why toddlers bite and how to handle biters in greater detail than my articles. It also explains how to deal with ongoing biting and has practical information for dealing with parent teacher relationships with regard to biting incidents. For those of you who work in group daycare setting with multiple staff the book gives practical advice for working together to control biting.
And finally, there are sample policy forms that you can duplicate. I like the book because it’s not just for toddler programs it’s also applicable to parenting.
I also recommend a book for children about biting titled No Biting by Karen Katz. This colorful board book with the theme of discipline shows kids in a playful way many behaviors that are acceptable and unacceptable. It also shows them all the fun things they can do in place of harmful behaviors.
For more information on biting in daycare, see my article Controlling Biting in Daycare.
Posted by Carla Snuggs
I don’t know about the weather where you are, but right now in Southern California, it is scorching hot! There’s not a cloud in the sky, it’s a gorgeous sun-drenched day, and I’m sure most kids are begging to play outdoors.
Unfortunately, infants, toddlers, and preschool aged children are at greater risk for heat related conditions like dehydration and heat exhaustion so it is important to take precautions.
Daycare providers, preschool teachers, and parents must make careful decisions about when to let kids play outside and when to keep them indoors.
Some key points to remember during times of extreme heat.
- Always check the weather for ozone warnings and weather advisories.
- Peak sun hours are from 10am to 4pm, so limit children’s time in the sun during these times.
- It is very important to stay hydrated. Have the children drink water before outdoor activities, as well as during and after. Make sure children take regular and frequent breaks when playing outdoors.
- Dress children in loose-fitting, light fabrics.
- Sunscreen is a must! Protect children from UV rays with a sunscreen that has an SPF value between 15 and 30. Apply 30 minutes before heading outdoors and reapply every two hours.
- Try to incorporate water related activities, such as water balloon tosses, water games with toys that spray water, or sprinkler fun.
If there is an ozone warning, or the weather is just entirely too severe, keep children indoors as much as possible. If you must keep children indoors they can become bored and finicky. To combat this:
- Double-up on your usual fun group activities. For example, play an extra indoor game or read an extra story.
- Arrange a story time and an activity at an air conditioned public library
- Make cool refreshing treats with the children. Try making “Apple Snow”: Using a blender, blend together 1.5 cups apple juice, a tablespoon of honey, and 3 cups cracked ice. Put in a cone shaped paper cup and serve. Serves two.
- Modify the activities that you normally do during rainy or snowy days so that they have beach themes. For example, set up an indoor scavenger hunt for beach related items.
I love the lazy days of summer, but it is important to be mindful about how the sun affects small children. Keep kids protected, be creative with your activities, and always have fun with it!
Posted by Carla Snuggs
There has certainly been a lot of media hype recently about alcohol based hand sanitizers and the dangers they may pose to children. Because they are sometimes used in the daycare setting I felt this situation should be addressed or discussed. The warnings come after recent accidental or improper ingestion cases involving alcohol based hand sanitizers.
However, experts say these warnings are due to media hype about isolated cases.
In a recent article distributed by Electronic News Publishing titled Hand Sanitizer Use Safe, Despite Internet, Media Hype, experts confirm that these claims have gotten out of hand. “It is most unlikely that accidental poisoning would occur in a child who licked their hands after application of hand sanitizer gel," says S. Rutherfoord Rose, PharmD, FAACT, Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine and Director of the Virginia Poison Center in Richmond. "Most of the alcohol contained in these products evaporates into the air upon application."
I’m no expert, but I tend to agree that if alcohol based hand sanitizers are used as directed they are reasonably safe. I also believe they can be useful and handy, but are not absolutely necessary. None of the daycare facilities I have worked in used alcohol based hand sanitizers. Personally, I tend not to use them unless I am in an environment where there is absolutely no soap and water available. The moms I know, and I’m sure hosts of other mothers, use these practical products everyday without incident.
I think that alcohol based hand sanitizers are generally safe when used with caution and in moderation; there is no reason to stop using them if you are already doing so and have not had any problems with them. Again, this is my opinion and I am in no way making light of the isolated cases that are being reported.
The thing I’d take away from these news stories is to pay careful attention to directions for proper usage when using any potentially harmful substances around children.
Posted by Carla Snuggs
From time to time, my blog posts will include books I love and recommend. That’s the librarian and bibliophile in me, so bear with me! I will always include helpful, interesting books on the topic of daycare, childcare, preschool, or child development.
I have just discovered Circle Time for the Very Young by Margaret Collins.
Circle time is important because it helps develop speaking and listening skills, increases confidence, and raises self-esteem. So, child care providers and preschool teachers, this is the book for you if you:
- Are too busy to develop circle time activities
- Are not sure how to develop themed and/or developmentally appropriate circle time activities
- Simply need more ideas for circle time.
Circle Time for the Very Young covers eight Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) themes: Friends and Friendships, Growing and growing up, Keeping safe, Self esteem, Keeping healthy, Feelings and persuasion, Citizenship, and Loss, grief and separation.
The main reason I recommend and love this book is because it is so versatile and easy to use with two different age groups. For each theme, on one page you will find a circle time plan for children in age group 3-5, and on the opposite page the same plan is modified for children ages 5-7. Therefore, the book is useful through the primary grades and you’re definitely getting your money’s worth.
I strongly suggest that daycare providers and preschool teachers buy, borrow, or steal a copy of this book.
For more information, see my articles on Day Care Activities
Posted by Carla Snuggs
If you have selected family day care for your child(ren), be sure to find out what types of activities the children will be participating in. Some family child care settings offer video games as a form of entertainment or recreation.
In terms of child development, I believe that children learn best, in all areas of development, from real life. Their interactions with other children and adults and their experiences and activities are important to learning and impact school readiness.
Lilian Katz in her article Another Look at What Children Should Be Learning recommends that daycare activities should be evaluated for whether or not they promote development in skills, knowledge, disposition, and feelings. Therefore in terms of social development, do video games help develop social skills or knowledge about social expectations? Does it help them acquire the ability to acquire a friendly, helpful, or cooperative disposition, and does it help them feel safe, secure, confident and competent.
Studies vary, but most show that when children are focused on video games, it interferes with this type of social development. In fact their social interactions become disorderly, rushed, and unproductive.
As a parent you should be aware of the possible effects of of video games on early childhood development. Make it a point to find out if video games are being used in your child’s daycare environment. I tend to believe there is good and bad in everything and that balance and moderation is key.
I think it’s also important to find out what games are being played, to find out how often, and to ask the provider what type of learning they are encouraging by offering specific games. Whatever your position, be clear, and make your voice heard.
For more information about family daycare, please see my article In-Home and Family Daycare.
Posted by Carla Snuggs
I recognize that proper eating habits should start at an early age and begin at home. But if young children are in daycare throughout a parents long work day, the “burden” of meeting a child’s dietary needs shifts to daycare providers.
As daycare providers, it is important to meet the health and nutrition requirements for the children you care for. I constantly hear the buzz words “all natural” “trans-fats” “free range” “organic”.
What do these terms mean and are these types of foods more expensive? New studies and reports are released daily. They can contradict each other and become confusing and overwhelming.
There are companies such as Real Food for Real Kids, a Canadian company which offers healthy, organic, free range, refined sugar free, trans-fat free, meal delivery to childcare centers, but it is relatively expensive.
While you may not be able to afford delivery service, there are some things you can do.
Arm yourself with knowledge and arm the children in your daycare around you with knowledge. For parents who send your children to daycare with home lunches and for daycare providers who provide breakfast, lunch and snacks to children it is important to have knowledge of age appropriate, balanced nutrition.
I suggest reading: The Yale Guide to Children's Nutrition by William Tamborlan, which is a comprehensive guide to children’s nutrition and a good place to start to learn the basics.
I also love The Sneaky Chef: Simple Strategies for Hiding Healthy Foods in Kids Favorite Meals by Missy Chase Lapine. Lapine is really on to something with highly creative, healthy dishes that get finicky eaters to eat healthfully.
I also suggest How to Teach Nutrition to Kids by Connie Liakos Evers, which helps child care providers teach children about a balanced diet.
Even making a few simple additions to your daycare menus can make a big difference. One child care center designates two days each week as “salad bar days”. Get creative and really mix up the fruits and veggies. Just make sure they are age appropriate and fresh.
Educate the children about the benefits of eating healthy, and then model healthy eating in the food you serve. For more fruit and veggie theme and activity ideas, see my article Nutrition Activities for Daycare.
Posted by Carla Snuggs
When I tout the benefits of daycare or preschool in articles, I usually describe how daycare promotes school readiness, and stress the importance of young children learning to share, interact, and socialize with other children and non-parental adults.
But did you know that high quality daycare might also be linked to the quality of mental health later in life?
A fascinating article in Reuters News titled “Good Daycare Boosts Poor Kids' Later Mental Health” discussed a study conducted to observe depressive symptoms in 104 21 year old adults.
“The young men and women had, in infancy, been randomly assigned to full-time daycare up to five years of age, or a comparison "control" group. Researchers visited the homes of all of the children and used a standardized scoring system to gauge the quality of home life”.
According to the study, the worse a child’s quality of home life (i.e., poverty or unstable environment) the more the child is at risk for depression later in life.
However, children with a low quality of home life that were placed in a daycare where the staff was well paid, and where there was “developmentally appropriate education and stimulation” and a high level of interaction and play, were less likely to be diagnosed with clinical depression. These children also had less depressive symptoms than those children who didn’t attend the daycare program.
So what do we take away from this? As a parent, no matter what the quality of your child’s home life, you must recognize the importance of selecting daycare where the staff is appropriately educated and the rate of staff turnover is low. This usually helps promote a safe, family-like environment.
For me this study only reinforces how important it is to closely evaluate the daycare program to make sure that the educational focus is not performance driven. Rather, children under the age of two should be allowed to learn naturally through play and interaction.
For more information on assessing daycare, please see my article How to Select a Daycare Provider.
Posted by Carla Snuggs
As tension over school security issues increase, I can’t help but think about the security issues many daycare facilities face and how they are planning to respond. My sister and I were scouting for new daycare facilities for my niece and I was shocked at how easily one can come and go and browse without being questioned.
At one facility my sister and I toured an entire day care facility on our own. The gates had no locks, the front door was open and no one was at the desk. We were there almost ten minutes in one empty classroom reading about their schedule and the activities they would be doing that month before someone asked us if they could help us. Disturbing.
Recently I came across an article in the Chester Chronicle titled “Nursery’s Digitally Enhanced Security”. Guilden Sutton Day Nursery in the United Kingdom is using fingerprinting technology to enhance safety at their daycare facility in order to prevent persons without daycare affiliation from entering. A biometric system allows parents to have their fingerprints scanned at the door and once they are recognized they allowed to enter.
Barriers to implementing fingerprint identification systems are accuracy, cost, and privacy. As I was discussing this with a few parents, most expressed concern about having their fingerprints scanned.
What makes this system less controversial is that the fingerprints are not photographed; rather the system identifies and recognizes “up to 70 unique points on each person's fingerprint and converts them into numbers”. So far the parents at this UK daycare center have responded well to the system. But is it affordable and is it reliable?
Security is always a concern for parents as they search for the appropriate daycare for their children. While nothing is foolproof, this extra level of security is more than most daycare facilities. The important thing is that when selecting daycare facilities, be sure to ask about their security measures.
For more tips on questions to ask daycare providers, read my article How to Interview Daycare Providers