Making a Decision: Who is Teaching My Child? A Five Part Series on Choosing a Preschool

Research indicates preschool education has many benefits for children.  In addition to exposure to curriculum including literacy experiences, mathematical concepts, and science activities, a high quality preschool gives children the opportunity to learn how to socialize, to share and to contribute to society.  Making a sound decision about early childhood education is a crucial for a successful start on your child’s lifelong educational journey and there are many aspects to evaluate:  teachers, curriculum, philosophies, safety, family partnerships, and environment.  So, how do you make the right choice?

In this part we will discuss what should be the deciding factor:  Teachers!  The adults who interact with your child on a daily basis are key to a positive experience for your child!  A warm hug to ease separation anxiety or, conversely, a stern raised eyebrow inappropriately can affect how children perceive themselves and also affect their trust in others.   Whether you are considering family care, a nanny, or a center-based program, the people who care for and educate your child are of the utmost importance.  Visit the prospective school and observe the teachers’ interactions with children.   You should see:

q  Teachers in engaged two-way conversations with children

q  Teachers interacting at the children’s eye level

q  Teachers who are warm, patient and friendly

q  Teachers using gentle voices and an encouraging manner

q  Teachers and children with lots of smiles and happy faces

q  A classroom filled with happy sounds

q  Teachers who are organized and prepared

q  Teachers giving children the opportunity to choose activities.

q  Low Turnover

Watch to see if the teacher is actively listening, rather than pre-occupied or distracted with other events in the room, or being dismissive to a child.  During active listening you should see the teacher smile, nod, or acknowledge with her body posture she is interested in what the child has to say.  Active listening builds a child’s confidence and self worth.  Compare the spoken and unspoken interactions you see to those you would see in conversation between two adults who respect each other, and you should see similarities in body language, interest and intensity. 

Did you know the national average of turnover in child care staff is 30%!!!  At Kangaroo Kids we are so fortunate to have an outstanding staff who year after year have demonstrated their commitment to children and families!  We proudly boast that every lead teacher has been with Kangaroo Kids 7 or more years!  Therefore our turnover rate among our lead teachers is Zero.

According to Child Research.net a key to providing quality programs is retention of child care staff, the average annual turnover rate for child care is 30% in the United States.  Consequently, there have been a large number of studies conducted to wrestle with the issues of turnover. 

“Among the research examining the quality of early childhood programs, rate of job turnover for child care staff seems to be a strong indicator of program quality (Cassidy, Lower, Kintner-Duffy, Hegde, & Shim, 2011; Mims, Scott-little, Lower, Cassidy, & Hestenes, 2008). Raikes (1993), for example, explained that frequent turnover among early childhood teachers prevented children from developing a secure attachment with teachers. In addition, teachers' high turnover negatively affected children's social, emotional, and language development (Korjenevitch & Dunifon, 2010). Not only the relationship between teachers and children, but the relationship between teachers and parents also suffered from high turnover (Cassidy et al., 2011).

  

Teachers should be organized and well prepared.  Children should have an opportunity to choose activities.  A well-prepared and organized teacher provides a role model of organizational skills for children.  Choosing their own activities enhances children’s decision-making skills and sends the message that they and their choices are worthy!  Making good decisions is a lifelong skill you want children to develop as early as possible so it carries them through their teenage years where their decision-making skills will constantly be tested.  

Good teachers are energetic.  They enjoy the process of teaching and engaging with children.   They look for teachable moments, whether it is a butterfly going by, a leaf falling, or a chance to teach positive social interactions. 

Watch for upcoming articles on safety, environment, curriculum, and parent involvement.

Help You Child Become a Problem Solver

In Today’s fast paced society where everyone is connected at all times we expect immediate answers and solutions.  These demands can cause a great deal of stress for adults as well as for children. 

Teaching children to take the time and steps necessary to become problem solvers can alleviate stress and inappropriate responses to challenges.  Here are some great tips from the National Association for the Education of Young Children to help your child become a problem solver.  

http://families.naeyc.org/child-development/help-your-child-become-great-problem-solver        Problem Solving

Kangaroo Kids Celebrates 100 Days of School!

Kangaroo Kids Prekindergarten under the direction of award winning teacher Misse Turner celebrated 100 days of learning with a very special day! Children in her Prekindergarten class came to school in PJ’s and very original hair do’s! Each family created a poster filled with 100 random objects. Director Kathy Feigley said, “ It was the most creative years ever, as each family filled the posters with an array of materials including 100 marshmallow, 100 sea creatures, and 100 flowers to name a few. One of the strengths of Kangaroo Kids is the partnership with parents and they certainly outdid themselves with this project. “

Misse Turner and assistant teacher Debbie Cooper read books on the 100th day of school, created edible necklaces with 100 fruit loops and searched for 100 stars. Prekindergarten children

certainly enjoyed the day and in the process had an outstanding math lesson!

Kindergarten teacher, Katie Mileto, “Teacher of the Year,” for 2010 celebrated with her class by creating 100 day of school hats and glasses. The children also had an opportunity to explore

and array of math projects including number searches, graphing, and 100 day number challenges.
Upcoming events at Kangaroo Kids will be “Read Across America,” Donuts for Dad, and March tours for September enrollment and summer camp.

For more information about Kangaroo Kids Childcare and Learning Center please call 908-231-7800 or visit our website www.kangarookidschildcare.com or like Kangaroo Kids Child Care on facebook!

Healthy Eating For Young Children

February is good nutrition month at Kangaroo Kids. Children are learning about healthy foods! They will have an opportunity to taste different fruits and vegetables, to graph their favorite healthy foods, and to create their very own healthy necklace. The necklace is a great project to do at home! The only materials you will need are a box of cheerios or fruit loops and some vinyl lacing string. Your child will have a healthy snack to munch on and at the same time you will be developing their fine motor skills. You can also add a math lesson in one to one correspondence by counting as your child strings each cheerio!

Money and Young Children

When you’re raising children, one of the most important things you, as a parent, can teach your children is how to handle their money. Children should be taught at a young age that they can't always get what they want, when they want it. This automatically means that you can, and must, say "no" to children every now and then. This is also a good opportunity to teach children that life involves making choices and dealing with money is one of many areas in life where we need to evaluate our options and make a choice.

Get a piggy bank for your preschooler and teach him or her about the different sizes and values of coins. As early as possible, let your child save and spend his own money (perhaps at the dollar store) for certain things that he or she wants to purchase.

Any allowance given to a young child should be small, so he or she will ‘run out’ of spending money and consequently learn how to budget. When you go shopping at the grocery store, give your child a small amount of money for example, $5.00, to buy a certain item and tell her she can keep the change. This will teach her how to get the ‘best deal’ for the item she was assigned to purchase.

One good way to get children to save is to say you will match whatever they save (out of their allowance) if they keep it in the bank for 6 months, 1 to 5 years, etc. Whatever they spend is gone and not matched. This way they will watch their savings grow!

When your child grows older, his needs will change. He may start to nag you for additional money so he can get something that everyone else has! Don't always give in to your child's request without asking for something in return. You may want to give your child some extra chores to earn additional money so he learns that it won’t just be handed out. As a parent, you are obliged to provide the roof over their heads and their meals, but it is also your job to prepare your child for the responsibilities of an adult.

Personally, I also feel there should be certain non-paid tasks that are your child’s responsibility as a contributing member of the family unit. This can start as early as age 2, when your child can help do little tasks like putting her socks in the drawer. It may take a little more time, but you are teaching your child a valuable lesson in helping the family and, in the process, your child will be proud of his or her accomplishments.

Once your child is old enough to understand, sit down and show him or her some of your monthly expenses. Many people keep their financial affairs from their children, but when you share this information with them, they know what to expect in the future.