In-House Positions
January 2016
Education Specialist
The first topic we will review is the Learning Center Management System:
*Learning Centers should consist of an hour of uninterrupted learning in the morning and afternoon.
According to The Creative Curriculum®, early learning best practices standards, and National Accreditation standards, all learning centers should be open daily and children should be allowed to select which center they would like to explore. In order to maintain high-quality care and education in your classroom, it is important to have a learning center management system.
During morning group, teachers should explain center activities and encourage children to plan for their morning and afternoon learning. The learning center management system is an organized framework to indicate how many children are able to play in each learning center and provide a visual planning tool.
· In order to develop an age-appropriate learning center management system, please consider using the child’s picture and name on the check-in tool.
·The Learning Center Management System should be integrated in toddler through Varsity Club classrooms. Allowing children to be in charge of their learning provides them with an opportunity to learn to make choices, take responsibility, and make social connections.
For additional information, please review The Learning Environment Standards book page 5.
SharePoint > Education > The Learning Environment
Pen Pals
Murfreesboro, TN Winter Parade
Healthy Beginnings
At Rainbow of Byron Center, MI, the students enjoyed an educational visit from a pediatric dentist!
Everyone had a great time learning about the healthy eating and drinking habits that keep our teeth nice and strong. The children also had fun learning proper brushing technique by practicing on Annie the Alligator!
Rainbow Representative
“With a new year beginning, January is the time for making new goals and evaluating how well old ones have been accomplished. This is also a great time to set new goals within your center and classrooms. Setting goals and sharing them with your staff and families will help them be aware of the positive direction your center is continuing to move in!
Each month we will continue to provide ideas as well as general tips for connecting with staff and families. We would also love to hear your ideas and see your hard work! Please send ideas and pictures of completed activities to education@rainbowccc.com.
Staff Connection Idea- “You can’t be both awesome and negative. Choose one.” Karen Salmanshon. Create an “I Choose Awesome!” board in the break room. Have each teacher decorate a tag with their name and add it to the board. At the monthly staff meeting encourage conversation about what the goals should be for the center as a whole and for individual classrooms. Write them out and post them in the break room to serve as a daily reminder.
Family Connection Idea- January 19th is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Celebrate this holiday by encouraging families to share something from their culture. Invite parents into the classroom or host an event where all cultures can be celebrated. January 21st is National Hugging Day. Find a way to encourage hugs in your center. This could be something as simple as placing a teddy bear at the front with a sign that says “Hug Me! It’s National Hugging Day”, because after all who doesn’t like teddy bear hugs?”
Health, Safety and Licensing Coordinator
Preparing for your Licensing Visit
Teachers need to know what to expect from the licensing consultant/inspector to feel comfortable when they are in their classrooms. The role of the consultant/inspector is to review procedures and policies and watch interactions between teachers and children in our classrooms and center.
Meeting with teachers before a licensing visit is very beneficial. It is important to review the staff to child ratios and group sizes for their classrooms per your State’s requirements. Discussing appropriate teacher and child interactions are key ingredients for successful classroom management. Discuss and model positive discipline with the all teachers. You might consider in a staff meeting doing a role playing exercise using positive and negative discipline so that the teachers can see the difference and concentrate on using the positive discipline techniques that are taught. Another topic you should discuss is our company’s supervision policies and answer any questions they might have regarding this policy.