In the Classroom
The Early Care and Education Consortium (ECEC) members operate more than 7,600 licensed child care centers, making ECEC the voice for tens of thousands of child care teachers and directors. You are among the experts in early care and learning, and you make an enormous difference in the lives of hundreds of thousands of children every day.
These resources and more are featured in our monthly e-newsletter. Sign up here!
Preventing the Flu in Your Child Care Center
Wondering how you can prevent the spread of flu in your center this season? The American Academy of Pediatrics' "Preventing the Flu in 2008-2009: Strategies and Resources for Child Care Providers and Out-of-Home Caregivers of Children" gives helpful tips and resources.
MyPyramid for Preschoolers
December 2008
With the holiday season in full swing, children are eating their favorite cookies and treats both at home and in the classroom. Now is the perfect time to teach them how to eat well, be active, and be healthy. MyPyramid for Preschoolers, a program through the United States Department of Agriculture, gives tips, guidelines, and resources for parents and teachers on how to help preschoolers grow up healthy, develop healthy eating habits, and play actively each day. For more information, visit MyPyramid.gov.
Developmentally Appropriate Practice
November 2008
Early childhood educators realize the importance of the early years of a child’s development and the remarkable changes that occur, especially from birth through age eight. It seems to influence all that we do in the classroom as early childhood educators, from lesson plans to activities to interactions among children.
Yet what many educators might not realize is that the practices we follow in the classroom today and the knowledge we have about how children develop and learn are rooted in developmentally appropriate practice. First published in 1987, the National Association for the Education of Young Children’s book, “Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Early Childhood Programs,” became the standard for educators in supporting children’s learning and development during these years by highlighting key principles to inform early childhood practice.
Because much has changed in the 21 years since the first edition of the DAP, NAEYC has just released a new edition of the practices. Not only will it give insight to the growth and development of children, but it will also aid early childhood educators in how best to influence this development positively.
To find more information on NAEYC’s new “Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Early Childhood Programs,” visit their website.
The Child and Adult Care Food Program
October 2008
You know that snacktime and mealtime are important social learning opportunities, and the nutritional quality of your food program is an important factor in the ability of children to develop and learn. The federal government recognizes this also through the Child and Adult Care Food Program. CACFP serves more than two million healthy meals and snacks a day to children in child care settings. It's a vital support for children who might otherwise go through the day hungry. With the increasing price of food and overall food insecurity among families and communities in today's economic climate, the role of CACFP is all the more critical.
Does your program participate in CACFP? With the program up for reauthorization in Congress in 2009, we're asking you to share your stories and perspectives on the Child and Adult Care Food Program. How has it helped your families? What changes or improvements in CACFP would make it work better in your center? What do you want to see retained in the reauthorization next year? ECEC is trying to help spread the message of the importance of CACFP and to ensure that the program is responsive to the needs of the programs who participate in it.
For more information on the Child and Adult Care Food Program, and to read our testimony concerning reauthorization of the program, visit our Federal Page.
Back to School for Students and Teachers
September 2008
The start of a new school year can be exciting and at times overwhelming for families rushing to prepare school supplies and adjusting to the new schedules of their children. Children are often faced with unfamiliar environments, unsure of how to proceed.
What's often forgotten is that the same issues are faced regularly by preschool teachers in the classroom. Teachers can often find themselves overwhelmed preparing their classes and curriculum for the first day of school. Teachers might also find themselves wondering the best ways to welcome children into the classroom and to ensure a smooth transition for children who are in class for the first time.
These and other questions are common. To help answer these and other concerns, the National Association for the Education of Young Children's new magazine, Teaching Young Children, has made available a wide variety of articles aimed at helping preschool teachers succeed at the start of the school year, including tips for helping children get to know each other, how to welcome families and involve them in classroom activities, and how to plan parent-teacher conferences. Visit TYC's website to access these and other resources.
For more about In the Classroom, check out past issues of the ECEC newsletter!
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