We are pleased to announce that Child Care Aware® of Central Missouri will be able to offer an increasing variety of quality professional development opportunities to help you earn your required clock hours and improve your child care programs.
A Place for All Children: Learning about Inclusion is a new curriculum designed to help providers meet the needs of each child, including those who have special needs. If you liked Child Care Plus, this new curriculum will help you continue to build those skills.
The Social Emotional Child Care Orientation Training has been updated, and it now includes four modules with a total of 12 clock hours available.
The Basic Knowledge Curriculum--Early Childhood will help establish a foundation for anyone new to child care, and it provides a great refresher to experts in the field. This training has replaced the CCOT and PACE trainings we used to offer.
The Basic Knowledge Curriculum--Youth Development is replacing our School Age Care Orientation Training (SACOT). We’re excited to be able to offer more clock hours specifically designed for staff who work with older children.
During the 2011-2012 fiscal year, we will be offering a few of these trainings online. Many of you have been asking for opportunities to earn clock hours online, so stay tuned for more information!
Due to some changes in how our trainings are funded, we have a new fee schedule. All trainings will now cost $6 per hour per participant. For example, a three hour workshop will now cost each person $18. This standard fee should simplify the registration process.
We’re scheduling all these trainings now, and registration information will be sent to those on our mailing list when details are available. All clock hour workshops, including online trainings, will also be posted on the Missouri Workshop Calendar, which can be found at http://www.moworkshopcalendar.org/.
Friday, October 7, 2011
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Simple Changes to Improve Children's Behavior
Dealing with challenging behaviors is difficult! However, more often than not, we can make changes that will positively affect children’s behavior.
Consider the following excerpt:
“If a child doesn’t know how to read, we teach.
If a child doesn’t know how to swim, we teach.
If a child doesn’t know how to multiply, we teach.
If a child doesn’t know how to drive, we teach.
If a child doesn’t know how to behave, we….. …..teach? …..punish?
Why can’t we finish the last sentence as automatically as we do with the others?”
Below are some tips that can assist you in making challenging behavior manageable:
• Develop a list of classroom rules. Because everyone is expected to follow the rules, everyone should be involved in setting the rules, including children. Limit the number of rules to three or less. State the rules positively telling children what to do as opposed to what not to do.
• Limit your use of the word “no.” The word “no” quickly loses its effectiveness over time and should be reserved for emergency situations when safety is at stake. Instead focus on redirection and setting up a safe, child friendly environment where the word “no” will rarely need to be used.
• Provide children with a consistent schedule and routine. When children know what to expect, their anxiety is decreased. Plan for transitions by giving children verbal countdowns and providing picture schedules for visual learners. When changes to your routine are necessary, inform children ahead of time.
• Model, model, model! Read books and scripted stories promoting social/emotional development. Involve children in coming up with solutions to problems. Role-play problem solving with another staff member or even a puppet to engage children.
There are lots of great resources for social/emotional development from the Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning (CSEFEL) curriculum for you to utilize at: http://csefel.vanderbilt.edu/index.html
Child Care Aware® of Central Missouri also has Early Childhood Specialists available for technical assistance and on-site consultation. You can contact Trinette Brewer by e-mail at trinette@mo.childcareaware.org, Barb Vigil at barb@mo.childcareaware.org, or Lori Meisner at lorim@mo.childcareaware.org, or call us at (573) 445-5437 or (800) 243-9685.
Consider the following excerpt:
“If a child doesn’t know how to read, we teach.
If a child doesn’t know how to swim, we teach.
If a child doesn’t know how to multiply, we teach.
If a child doesn’t know how to drive, we teach.
If a child doesn’t know how to behave, we….. …..teach? …..punish?
Why can’t we finish the last sentence as automatically as we do with the others?”
Below are some tips that can assist you in making challenging behavior manageable:
• Develop a list of classroom rules. Because everyone is expected to follow the rules, everyone should be involved in setting the rules, including children. Limit the number of rules to three or less. State the rules positively telling children what to do as opposed to what not to do.
• Limit your use of the word “no.” The word “no” quickly loses its effectiveness over time and should be reserved for emergency situations when safety is at stake. Instead focus on redirection and setting up a safe, child friendly environment where the word “no” will rarely need to be used.
• Provide children with a consistent schedule and routine. When children know what to expect, their anxiety is decreased. Plan for transitions by giving children verbal countdowns and providing picture schedules for visual learners. When changes to your routine are necessary, inform children ahead of time.
• Model, model, model! Read books and scripted stories promoting social/emotional development. Involve children in coming up with solutions to problems. Role-play problem solving with another staff member or even a puppet to engage children.
There are lots of great resources for social/emotional development from the Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning (CSEFEL) curriculum for you to utilize at: http://csefel.vanderbilt.edu/index.html
Child Care Aware® of Central Missouri also has Early Childhood Specialists available for technical assistance and on-site consultation. You can contact Trinette Brewer by e-mail at trinette@mo.childcareaware.org, Barb Vigil at barb@mo.childcareaware.org, or Lori Meisner at lorim@mo.childcareaware.org, or call us at (573) 445-5437 or (800) 243-9685.
Did You Know?
The U.S. Department of Labor has established law that applies to the time a child care staff member spends attending workshops/classes and whether/how they are paid for that time.
Workshop attendance that any state requires for staff, so that a facility can maintain child care licensing, must be counted as work time and compensated. In Missouri, the Section for Child Care Regulation requires that everyone counted in the child-to-staff ratio earns 12 hours of approved workshops or classes each year. The time that a staff member spends earning those required 12 clock hours is considered work time and she or he must be paid.
If the time of the workshop/class is included in a standard full-time work week as defined by the employer’s personnel policies, staff should be compensated at their usual salaries. If the time of the workshop/class is overtime beyond the standard work week, staff should be paid at the overtime rate consistent with the U.S. Department of Labor guidelines and established in the personnel policies.
Are there any exceptions?
There is only one exception to this requirement. If ALL four of the following items are true, then the training is not counted as work time:
The workshop/class occurs outside the normal scheduled hours of work AND
The individual’s attendance is completely voluntary AND
The workshop/class is not job-related AND
No other work is performed during the workshop/class period
For more information, contact the U.S. Department of Labor at 1-866-4-USWAGE or visit the Wage and Hour Division Website: http://www.wagehour.dol.gov.
Workshop attendance that any state requires for staff, so that a facility can maintain child care licensing, must be counted as work time and compensated. In Missouri, the Section for Child Care Regulation requires that everyone counted in the child-to-staff ratio earns 12 hours of approved workshops or classes each year. The time that a staff member spends earning those required 12 clock hours is considered work time and she or he must be paid.
If the time of the workshop/class is included in a standard full-time work week as defined by the employer’s personnel policies, staff should be compensated at their usual salaries. If the time of the workshop/class is overtime beyond the standard work week, staff should be paid at the overtime rate consistent with the U.S. Department of Labor guidelines and established in the personnel policies.
Are there any exceptions?
There is only one exception to this requirement. If ALL four of the following items are true, then the training is not counted as work time:
The workshop/class occurs outside the normal scheduled hours of work AND
The individual’s attendance is completely voluntary AND
The workshop/class is not job-related AND
No other work is performed during the workshop/class period
For more information, contact the U.S. Department of Labor at 1-866-4-USWAGE or visit the Wage and Hour Division Website: http://www.wagehour.dol.gov.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Taking a Bite out of Biting
Here are some suggestions for ways to minimize biting:
Look at your program's environment, schedule, routines, and expectations of children and staff. Try to minimize: congestion, confusion and disorder, children waiting, frustration, boredom, commotion, competition for toys and materials, and competition for adult attention.
Avoid large groups, and break the children up into smaller groups. Try to spread out activities to avoid children “bunching” up.
Look for ways to increase the promotion of the children’s sense of security and stability:
- Maintain a predictable schedule and ensure that children understand and anticipate the progression of the day.
- Ensure prime times with the child’s primary caregiver.
- Ensure warm, cozy, semi-secluded “safe places to be.”
- Avoid staffing changes. Develop and maintain individual and group rituals.
Look for ways to engage children more effectively in the environment:
- Analyze the developmental appropriateness of children’s choices.
- Provide duplicates of popular toys and multiple options for activities.
- Consider whether to increase the motor and sensory choices available.
Look for ways to calm children after periods of excitement, such as relaxed transitions, calming music, and calming physical contact with caregivers.
Analyze grouping of children to avoid combinations that might lead to conflict or biting. Avoid grouping “biters” and “victims” together. Also avoid grouping children who will compete for toys.
If you would like more information about biting or any other behavior issue, please contact one of the Inclusion Specialists at Child Care Aware® of Central Missouri at 800-243-9685.
Information obtained from: ExchangeEveryDay a free service of Exchange Magazine, January 6, 2006
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Learn The Signs. Act Early
All children are unique, but sooner or later, you will see a child who is not developing as they should. You are a valuable resource to parents! They look to you for information on their child, and they trust you. The “Learn the Signs. Act Early” campaign has created a series of resources to help you educate parents on the full range of child development.
To order the FREE Early Childhood Educator Resource Kit, and for more information and tools for tracking child development and early developmental milestones, visit www.cdc.gov/actearly.
Submitted by: Mary Clark, Thompson Center for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders
Please remember that you can always call our Inclusion Specialists, who can come out to your program/home to do a visit. They can complete a general observational visit or they can observe a specific child with parental permission. They are also available by phone or email for consultation and can direct you to or provide additional resources for yourself or your families.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Do You Have a MOPD ID Yet?
A MOPD ID is your Missouri Professional Development Identification, formerly known as PARS (Professional Achievement and Recognition System) In the future, this number will be necessary to register for clock hour trainings. Get your MOPD ID here!
This data system streamlines data collection for Missouri's quality initiatives (e.g., Quality Rating System (QRS), Accreditation Facilitation) and child care licensing.
The goal is for all training records to be available electronically from one source. This will prevent the need for staff to submit training and education information each time they or their program participates in a quality initiative. It will also prevent fraud associated with paper clock hour certificates, and it will save licensing representatives time needed to look through certificates on site every time they visit.
Being a PARS participant has a number of additional benefits including:
Receipt of a Missouri’s Education Matrix - chart indicating your level of training and/or education.
The ability to track and update your education and training through OPEN’s secure, on-line system
For more information visit: http://www.openinitiative.org/, click on the “Projects” button on the left, the PARS Enrollment form is located on the left hand side along with the instructions. To just obtain a MOPD ID, use this link.
This data system streamlines data collection for Missouri's quality initiatives (e.g., Quality Rating System (QRS), Accreditation Facilitation) and child care licensing.
The goal is for all training records to be available electronically from one source. This will prevent the need for staff to submit training and education information each time they or their program participates in a quality initiative. It will also prevent fraud associated with paper clock hour certificates, and it will save licensing representatives time needed to look through certificates on site every time they visit.
Being a PARS participant has a number of additional benefits including:
Receipt of a Missouri’s Education Matrix - chart indicating your level of training and/or education.
The ability to track and update your education and training through OPEN’s secure, on-line system
For more information visit: http://www.openinitiative.org/, click on the “Projects” button on the left, the PARS Enrollment form is located on the left hand side along with the instructions. To just obtain a MOPD ID, use this link.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Free Lending Library Available
Child Care Aware ® of Central Missouri has a wonderful and FREE resource library available to you and your families. The library includes books on topics such as curriculum, child development, special needs, as well as brochures, videos and DVDs.Materials can be checked out for 30 days. Some interesting titles available include:
The GIANT Encyclopedia of Preschool Activities for 3-Year Olds
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