Regimenting a day at preschool is all about balance: quiet time and play, flexibility and routine, structured lessons and free choice. While it may take you a while to find the formula that works for you and your group, the basic elements will remain the same.
Finally, as a more objective form of valuation, they form a cornerstone of parent-staff communication along with other child assessment tools such as developmental portfolios.
When you invest in this lifecycle of preschool assessment forms, your whole program will benefit overall. At each stage, there is the opportunity for improvement and growth — not just for children, but also for your staff, curriculum, and parent-teacher relationships.
The first stage of the lifecycle is creating your assessment forms. To do so, you'll draw from expert guidelines on developmental milestones.
We strongly recommend checking state regulations or guidelines to start. While you want to be sure you are meeting your own state's requirements, take a look at other state materials as well, as they can contain valuable information and tips. Look at resources such as:
Then, identify the primary categories you will assess (e.g., literacy, math, fine motor skills, emotional development) and what criteria you will use to determine a child's stage of development. Put these into a template with a standardized rating system, like the one available for download at the end of this article. And remember to check state guidelines every year — they may change!
Stage two of the lifecycle is conducting assessments of the children in your care. Observe each child over a predetermined period of time to determine whether or not they've reached certain milestones outlined on your assessment forms.
Whether you are looking for billing solutions or enrollment management, there's a lot to sort through. That's why we've broken down nine essential features of child care software you can use in your program, and how each one can help you inside and outside the classroom.
It’s Teacher Appreciation Week! Educators work tirelessly all year, doing arguably the most important job on the planet. This is a time to celebrate and honor the profession, and to that end, many businesses are offering special discounts this week (and beyond). We’ve gathered a list of just some of the amazing deals out there available to our hardworking teachers and school staff.
This is one of the biggest ongoing projects you and your staff will undertake, as portfolios require regular maintenance. How do you ensure that your files are consistently maintained, that each is high quality and a valuable tool for your staff and parents alike?
It all starts with collecting the right materials.
Running a child care business means doing a lot of administrative work, and how you handle things like billing, staff time sheets, and daily reports can affect your efficiency. Child care management software can help you automate and streamline your recurring tasks to increase your productivity and your bottom line. It can also help you build a good rapport with parents through streamlined, family-friendly communication and convenient options like automated billing.
Here are eight ways that child care management software can help improve the administrative side of your business, so you can spend more time and energy on creating an amazing experience for the children in your care.
By optimizing your sign-in experience, you can make things easier for parents and staff both during the hectic check-in time and when you review any child's attendance. This will save you time, money, and frustration across the board.
Let's take a look at the pros and cons of traditional sign-in methods, and explore the benefits of moving to a more modern, digital solution for child check-in and attendance tracking.
Child care administration isn't easy, especially when it comes to billing. Money is a sensitive topic for families, payment systems are complicated for administration, and we're all subject to human error and forgetfulness. Optimizing your child care billing process means dealing with all these factors.
When optimizing your billing we recommend that you:
Rather than hiding them in a file cabinet, use them as an opportunity to put your business a step ahead. How you write and present your forms is a direct reflection of your business and its values. The perceptions of staff and parents are influenced each time they fill out a form, so maximizing your forms has a host of benefits.
Nailing these forms and using them correctly helps you build a better business.
Just want the forms? Head to the end of the article for links to 7 essential child care forms.