More on Early Childhood Day at the Legislature
As mentioned last week, we're taking a moment to discuss some of the key points from the Early Childhood Day at the Legislature. A big part of the work from that day continues to be the advocacy involved in telling our representatives in Montpelier about the importance of investing in early childhood education to benefit parents and children now and in the future.
Sarah spent time talking to local reps about the need to increase the qualifying scale for child care subsidies so that more families can qualify, and, discussed increasing the overall rate of subsidy reimbursement. More information on this type of funding can be found by taking a look at the 2016 agenda for the Vermont Early Childhood Alliance. There you'll also find more about the pressing issues the VECA hopes to move forward in the coming months.
Another area of focus was how to support programs and educators so that the highest level of care is accessible to all Vermont children. A big part of that means understanding the challenges that early childhood educators and programs face. Schools such as ours work tirelessly to provide full day, high quality care for families. It's a huge undertaking. I could take a moment here to discuss all the cogs that must go 'round to ensure that the heat works, the classrooms are clean and tidy, the rent is paid, the kids have materials for a special project...but instead, I'll focus on something which legislators need to understand: The most important asset to high quality education for Vermont's children is a well trained, and well compensated workforce. The truth is, early childhood educators are in this field because they know how clutch this time of life, it's a time where 80% of a child's brain is developed, and that development is pivotal for success down the road. It's not a profession we can ever expect to get rich doing, but we should expect to make ends meet, and have access to affordable healthcare and benefits. These are the basics and most teachers simply don't have them. It's why teachers turnover rates tend to be high in this field, both in our state and nationwide. Additionally when teachers don't have the resources they need to further their own learning to implement best practices, at the end of the day, it impacts the kids. You've heard the saying, "it takes a village to raise a child." One important way to strengthen that village comes in the form of better supporting teachers and programs, and the legislature needs to hear more from us.
A valuable part of this day was recognizing the numerous organizations in the state that are working towards improvements. These organizations help Vermont children and families and may not always be the first people we turn to ask for help or resources. We'll be featuring some of these organizations in the coming weeks, some of which you may already be familiar with, including Let's Grow Kids, the Lamoille Family Center and more.
We're going to keep these discussions going, and hope you do too!
Classroom Happenings
Infant I: The room is looking less an less like an "infant room" with five one year olds...as one parent put it, it's a "non-infant room." Singing has been a highlight as of late. It seems to have helped initiate more and more talking with the older children. They especially seem to enjoy "Ba Ba Black Sheep" and "Row Row Row Your Boat." When asked if they'd like to sing a song they respond with "Ba Ba." Once the singing has begun they sway their bodies to the tune and a few have even been trying to sing along. We have been working hard at being kind and gentle with our peers. It's been amazing to see just how much they care for one another and try to help and soothe a peer when they become upset. One of the older infants has even taken to rubbing the tummies of the smaller babies when they cry. Quite a heartwarming scene to witness!
Infant II: Our older group of kids are currently working through some behaviors that test boundaries and limits. We are encouraging positive and appropriate behaviors when interacting with our classmates and having conversations about kindness. Our younger group of kids are working with routines and self help skills. We are really enjoying the fresh air and sunshine. The children are working hard to complete jobs and tasks more quickly to get out and enjoy this wonderful weather.
Toddler I: This week we have observed a lot of pretend play and imaginative scenarios unfolding. This is currently happening in the play kitchen as the children cook and bake, as well as with the animal figures, wooden airplane and outdoors as the children continue their fishing trips with sticks and puddles. In our walks to and from the playground, we've been pretending to be caterpillars and butterflies! We have been enjoying We're Going on a Bear Hunt. We are asking the children follow up questions during and after reading. We are going deeper into our explanations of why and how and asking children to make some conclusions about what they are hearing and seeing in books. Also on the topic of books, we've started categorizing our classroom books and placing them in the different stations in the room: truck and machinery books near block area, food books in the kitchen and the like. This way, we follow their interests and provide the appropriate materials to keep them engaged. We've also noticed overall improvements in the volume of the room. The children are tuning in to their voices and when and where they should be loud and quiet.
Toddler II: We spent some concentrated time on sorting beads by color. We also did a lot of painting, after a hiatus from it. Both of the new students were very into painting. We also read My Yellow Ball and enjoyed the consistency of the language, the black and white drawings, and how the story travels around the world.
We read it last week and asked the children to recall what happened before reading it (a skill we've been working on a lot lately). There were several children that remembered specific images and actions. This is also great thing to do at home as well with your children; encourage children to talk about what they are seeing and what is happening during the first read- you can even take notes. Then a few days or a week later take the book out again and see what they can remember just by looking at the front cover. It's a great way to help children work on recall and brings the attention to the story. Back to our classroom, we also have been building with blocks a lot, both inside and out. Are we're seeing LOTS of independence. The classroom really has become preschool space. We have two children left that will be turning three in the next three weeks.
Pre-K: We spent time both at school and out in the community on adventures. We enjoyed reading Green Eggs and Ham as the week seemed to have a general theme of all things green. There were buzzes of excitement from both birthday celebrations and St. Patrick's Day as the children continued their fascination with catching leprechauns in the classroom. Thursday included some green crafting along with some Irish-inspired snacks.
We've been basking in the warmer weather, and inviting visitors into the room from Toddler II. We also welcomed Holli back from her vacation on Thursday.
Also Seen at MVS
Thanks for Reading
Sam
As mentioned last week, we're taking a moment to discuss some of the key points from the Early Childhood Day at the Legislature. A big part of the work from that day continues to be the advocacy involved in telling our representatives in Montpelier about the importance of investing in early childhood education to benefit parents and children now and in the future.
Sarah spent time talking to local reps about the need to increase the qualifying scale for child care subsidies so that more families can qualify, and, discussed increasing the overall rate of subsidy reimbursement. More information on this type of funding can be found by taking a look at the 2016 agenda for the Vermont Early Childhood Alliance. There you'll also find more about the pressing issues the VECA hopes to move forward in the coming months.
Another area of focus was how to support programs and educators so that the highest level of care is accessible to all Vermont children. A big part of that means understanding the challenges that early childhood educators and programs face. Schools such as ours work tirelessly to provide full day, high quality care for families. It's a huge undertaking. I could take a moment here to discuss all the cogs that must go 'round to ensure that the heat works, the classrooms are clean and tidy, the rent is paid, the kids have materials for a special project...but instead, I'll focus on something which legislators need to understand: The most important asset to high quality education for Vermont's children is a well trained, and well compensated workforce. The truth is, early childhood educators are in this field because they know how clutch this time of life, it's a time where 80% of a child's brain is developed, and that development is pivotal for success down the road. It's not a profession we can ever expect to get rich doing, but we should expect to make ends meet, and have access to affordable healthcare and benefits. These are the basics and most teachers simply don't have them. It's why teachers turnover rates tend to be high in this field, both in our state and nationwide. Additionally when teachers don't have the resources they need to further their own learning to implement best practices, at the end of the day, it impacts the kids. You've heard the saying, "it takes a village to raise a child." One important way to strengthen that village comes in the form of better supporting teachers and programs, and the legislature needs to hear more from us.
A valuable part of this day was recognizing the numerous organizations in the state that are working towards improvements. These organizations help Vermont children and families and may not always be the first people we turn to ask for help or resources. We'll be featuring some of these organizations in the coming weeks, some of which you may already be familiar with, including Let's Grow Kids, the Lamoille Family Center and more.
We're going to keep these discussions going, and hope you do too!
Classroom Happenings
Infant I: The room is looking less an less like an "infant room" with five one year olds...as one parent put it, it's a "non-infant room." Singing has been a highlight as of late. It seems to have helped initiate more and more talking with the older children. They especially seem to enjoy "Ba Ba Black Sheep" and "Row Row Row Your Boat." When asked if they'd like to sing a song they respond with "Ba Ba." Once the singing has begun they sway their bodies to the tune and a few have even been trying to sing along. We have been working hard at being kind and gentle with our peers. It's been amazing to see just how much they care for one another and try to help and soothe a peer when they become upset. One of the older infants has even taken to rubbing the tummies of the smaller babies when they cry. Quite a heartwarming scene to witness!
Infant II: Our older group of kids are currently working through some behaviors that test boundaries and limits. We are encouraging positive and appropriate behaviors when interacting with our classmates and having conversations about kindness. Our younger group of kids are working with routines and self help skills. We are really enjoying the fresh air and sunshine. The children are working hard to complete jobs and tasks more quickly to get out and enjoy this wonderful weather.
Toddler I: This week we have observed a lot of pretend play and imaginative scenarios unfolding. This is currently happening in the play kitchen as the children cook and bake, as well as with the animal figures, wooden airplane and outdoors as the children continue their fishing trips with sticks and puddles. In our walks to and from the playground, we've been pretending to be caterpillars and butterflies! We have been enjoying We're Going on a Bear Hunt. We are asking the children follow up questions during and after reading. We are going deeper into our explanations of why and how and asking children to make some conclusions about what they are hearing and seeing in books. Also on the topic of books, we've started categorizing our classroom books and placing them in the different stations in the room: truck and machinery books near block area, food books in the kitchen and the like. This way, we follow their interests and provide the appropriate materials to keep them engaged. We've also noticed overall improvements in the volume of the room. The children are tuning in to their voices and when and where they should be loud and quiet.
Toddler II: We spent some concentrated time on sorting beads by color. We also did a lot of painting, after a hiatus from it. Both of the new students were very into painting. We also read My Yellow Ball and enjoyed the consistency of the language, the black and white drawings, and how the story travels around the world.
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| The children worked together giving each other feedback on the correct way to hold the scissors. |
Pre-K: We spent time both at school and out in the community on adventures. We enjoyed reading Green Eggs and Ham as the week seemed to have a general theme of all things green. There were buzzes of excitement from both birthday celebrations and St. Patrick's Day as the children continued their fascination with catching leprechauns in the classroom. Thursday included some green crafting along with some Irish-inspired snacks.
We've been basking in the warmer weather, and inviting visitors into the room from Toddler II. We also welcomed Holli back from her vacation on Thursday.
Also Seen at MVS
Thanks for Reading
Sam
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