Messages from the Movies
My mom called me up some years ago to praise a movie about a pig. As she began to mimic the pig’s squeaky little voice, I started to wonder what this meant and worried my...
Early childhood educators can ease the new school year transition for young children and their parents using creative ways to integrate the children into activities and ensuring families feel comfortable by building trust through routine and relationships. It’s also important to create a culture where all children and families are accepted, including those with special needs and/or dual language learners.
This blog focuses on how positive guidance, an inclusive environment, and icebreakers can help children to transition into a new program and feel at ease with their new peers and teachers.
Kesley Shaw, senior manager of Instructional Design at the Council, suggests, “I believe that by using activities, positive guidance and inclusion it provides the child the opportunity to increase their social and emotional competency while at the same time promoting a caring classroom community for the child. Creating this type of classroom community is essential when it is the child’s 1st day of school.”
Foster Positive Guidance
Early childhood educators can create environment where positivity thrives starts with the little things during the everyday routine.
As Katorra Enoch-Longshore, the Council’s manager for Strategic Alliances, remarks, “Two things I found always worked when using positive guidance strategies is to offer the child specific choices that lead to logical consequences, e.g. selecting art materials, toys, etc. For this to be effective, try not to compromise on the agreement already in place.”
Use these tips and positive guidance as part of your “back to school” strategy to help all children succeed in the classroom and develop trust to help them feel at ease in a new classroom2:
Create an Inclusive Environment
CDA Candidates are required to obtain 120 clock hours of education based on 8 subject areas that include the need for acquiring knowledge on children with special needs.
Inclusion is not a choice of a preference, it is a social justice issue –all children with disabilities have the right to live, learn, play, and work alongside their typical peers. When teachers acquire knowledge, they develop empathy and awareness and become more comfortable and prepared to work with children with special needs and their parents,” says Vilma Williams, senior manager of Multilingual and Special Programs.
To welcome children with special needs into your program, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) and Health and Human Services (HHS) encourages ECE programs and families to work together to ensure children have access to inclusive high-quality early childhood programs3:
Have Fun with New School Year Activities
Children love any opportunity to laugh, be silly, and have a good time, and what better way to make new classmates feel comfortable than with activities to get to know more about each other and their new classroom. Kim Cephas, Council manager and ECE professional, shares some ideas on how you can incorporate some fun activities for new preschool students4:
Ideas adapted from: Khan, Tanya. “Teacher Ideas for the First Day of Preschool” accessed August 17, 2018. https://classroom.synonym.com/teacher-ideas-first-day-preschool-7842801.html
These tips can help you oversee how the new school year will go and how the children under your care will potentially respond. Fostering relationships since day one can encourage a positive start for new students. It can also bring perspective to current students who will be adapting to having new faces and personalities around the classroom. It is in your hands to make children feel empowered and confident about themselves, so they can freely develop and reach the necessary milestones to succeed as they grow.
Sources:My mom called me up some years ago to praise a movie about a pig. As she began to mimic the pig’s squeaky little voice, I started to wonder what this meant and worried my...
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Chief Operations Officer
Andrew Davis serves as Chief Operating Officer at the Council. In this role, Andrew oversees the Programs Division, which includes the following operational functions: credentialing, growth and business development, marketing and communications, public policy and advocacy, research, innovation, and customer relations.
Andrew has over 20 years of experience in the early care and education field. Most recently, Andrew served as Senior Vice President of Partnership and Engagement with Acelero Learning and Shine Early Learning, where he led the expansion of state and community-based partnerships to produce more equitable systems of service delivery, improved programmatic quality, and greater outcomes for communities, children and families. Prior to that, he served as Director of Early Learning at Follett School Solutions.
Andrew earned his MBA from the University of Baltimore and Towson University and his bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland – University College.
Chief Financial Officer
Jan Bigelow serves as Chief Financial Officer at the Council and has been with the organization since February of 2022.
Jan has more than 30 years in accounting and finance experience, including public accounting, for-profit and not-for-profit organizations. She has held management-level positions with BDO Seidman, Kiplinger Washington Editors, Pew Center for Global Climate Change, Communities In Schools, B’nai B’rith Youth Organization and American Humane. Since 2003, Jan has worked exclusively in the non-profit sector where she has been a passionate advocate in improving business operations in order to further the mission of her employers.
Jan holds a CPA from the State of Virginia and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Lycoming College. She resides in Alexandria VA with her husband and dog.
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