All Tip Pages

To be able to acknowledge effort, we need to be able to not only see the effort, but honor and respect it.

Promoting the goals of quality early care and education – help children develop to their full potential, support families in providing a good start for their children, increase professional recognition of early childhood educators, and provide quality programs for all children – is seen as a fundamental activity for early childhood professionals today.

The overall goal for using Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP) is to support excellence in early childhood education through decision-making based on knowledge about individual children and child development principles combined with knowledge of effective early learning practices.

Art is important to all of us. For children, art creates opportunities to visualize, create, and express ideas.

Can one-year-olds (“ones”) truly be creative? If we step away from artistic expressions of creativity for a moment and just think about the essence of creativity, the answer is a loud “Yes!”

Preschoolers gradually develop a sense of ownership and pride in the objects they create. Their creations become more complex and detailed.

Most early care programs are required to do assessments, and funding is often linked to documented assessments, but the assessment process is not a once-and-done task.

Research shows that breastfeeding is best for growth and development of infants and offers many health benefits. The caregiver plays a vital role in supporting breastfeeding mothers. What can you do?

Keeping children safe is a top priority for early childhood practitioners. Every day you work to create a safe space and a caring place for children at your program.

In caring for children you have a responsibility to provide positive learning experiences, advocate for and protect children, and help families in their aspirations to provide good lives for their children. Sometimes children and families face difficult situations, and you are challenged to provide extra support, deal with sensitive issues, and become more aware of what is happening in the lives of children outside of your program.

Biting is typical behavior for children up to about 3 years of age. The first step to eliminate biting is to discover why that child bites.

Playing with blocks helps children develop such skills as physical, math, imagination and innovation, and social skills, among others.

Approaches. Why and how children learn through movement activities. Research tells us that from birth to age six there is important learning happening. One important way children explore and learn about their world is through physical movement.

Activities. Ways to build movement into an early childhood program to support learning. Dancing is part of our work with young children – we sway with babies, twirl toddlers, and teach fancy footsteps to preschoolers. Studies suggest that movement and dance are not only artistic, athletic, and healthy, but a learning opportunity as well.

The CDA Credential can be a catalyst to professional growth and a career in early education. Here’s what you need to know. The Child Development Associate (CDA) Credential is a national credential issued by the Council for Professional Recognition. The CDA Credential is based on a core set of competency standards developed by the Council for Professional Recognition, which guides early care professionals as they work toward becoming qualified teachers of young children.

Help children understand and respect similarities and differences among people.

“No!” “Don’t do that!” “NO!” “Get down!” “No!” “Stop!” “NO!” Do you ever feel like you are saying, “No,” “Don’t,” “Stop” all day long? Or there may be a child who seems to get on your nerves and you find yourself telling her, “No” all the time. A day full of “No” is stressful for you and for the children.

A child’s family and caregivers want the “best” for each child – for all children to grow and learn, to be ready for school, and to be safe.

Nature activities for children and ideas for using more natural materials in the child care environment.

Art activities and materials for young children. Art is very important to young children. It gives them a way to let out their feelings and ideas.

As child care providers, each of us plays an important role in planning for children’s success – but we are not alone.

Guidelines for buying toys for children and toy suggestions for young children.

As early educators, we observe play often and see children making connections to a variety of learning skills and concepts. What we truly see is that play and learning are interwoven. To support and discover children’s learning through play, we need to “unweave” the threads of play and become familiar with what to look for.

How to market a family child care program.

Almost all early educators will experience teaching a child whose home language is not English. According to NAEYC (The National Association for the Education of Young Children), “Projections indicate that by 2030, 40 percent of school-age children will have a home language other than English.”

Ideas for creating a calming environment and encouraging prosocial behavior. Children have the opportunity to hear and see many unsettling, often violent images through television, newspapers, radio, and electronic games. As caregivers to young children, what can we do to create peaceful environments that children need?

Routines and actvities to help children develop a sense of belonging in a child care program. The term sense of place reflects why a place is special and unique. It also reflects how attachments are fostered within the group and how each person develops a sense of belonging. A major goal for both parents and child care educators is that the children form positive attachments with the people involved in a program and with the child care program itself. So, how do you create a positive sense of place?

Consider the descriptions associated with the word structure: arrange, organize, construct, and form. These words describe the actions we often see children doing and enjoying.

In early education and care, mission statements carry great meaning and are an important part of the program, no matter how small or large. Mission statements, sometimes called vision statements, typically describe the goals of a program; what unique qualities it offers and its overall vision. Mission statements are vital because they are unique to each program and they offer a voice to guide and share the definition and purpose of the program.

Reasons why children develop memory and activities to support the growth of memory.

Steps that help children develop language and early literacy skills.

A series of developmental charts with cognitive, social and emotional, and physical milestones. These handouts are available in English and Spanish.

As you work with young children, you see how science is very much a part of who they are. Young children are natural scientists. Just observe a child for awhile and you will see science in action.

While all children develop and grow at their own unique rate, some may experience developmental delays and need extra help and support. An awareness of early intervention (EI) is valuable for adults caring for children.

Because you work so closely with children, you observe the different ways children develop and their unique learning styles. While all children grow and develop in their own way, you may notice changes in some children that are different than those in most, or that are different in comparison to general developmental milestones. Early recognition of a child’s unique learning needs requires that you know about early intervention.

Teaching approaches for developing early language and beginning literacy skills.

With our society moving at a faster pace and its citizens becoming increasingly detached from each other due to advances in technology, busy schedules, and the frequency at which we move and change jobs, it is harder and harder to feel a sense of community.

Children, including infants and toddlers, are not too young to have mental health problems. Adults who work with children recognize that emotional wellness lays the foundation for learning and positive well being.

“Play is some of children’s most important work,” said Fred Rogers. Those caring for children know the importance of play. How can we support play?

There are simple, strategic choices that a teacher can make in the classroom to nurture a child’s executive function development. Some easy to implement ideas include enrich play, reinforce step-by-step routines, encourage storytelling, stop look and listen, time, and calming space.

Light is known to be one of the most intriguing elements of exploration and discovery with young children; a way to tap into emotion, beauty, vivid imagination, and concrete learning. Light sources can evoke feelings, and assist our work, living, and play.

"Developmentally appropriate practice requires both meeting children where they are—which means that teachers must get to know them well —and enabling them to reach goals that are both challenging and achievable."

You and your program may be one of the few sources of support for some families, and they may turn to you with questions and needs beyond education and child care.

Family/child conferences are a time to connect with families to discuss children’s overall progress and well being.

“Conferences are a time to sit down together with families and talk, hope and plan strategies that will foster growth. And it allows time to celebrate how truly special the child is!”

What to expect from four-year-olds and fun, easy play ideas. Full of energy. Silly. Pretenders. These are all good ways to describe four-year-olds. They are imaginative. They have discovered humor and enjoy telling “jokes.” They love to talk and ask questions. Four-year-olds are building self-confidence and like trying new things. They may overestimate their abilities and “leap before they look.”

Spring is a wonderful time to introduce children to the wonders of gardening. Young children learn by experiencing “hands on” and by having opportunities to think about, re-visit, and question their experiences.

Giving children choices helps them feel like they have some power and control over what they do, and is a step in growing up.

What to expect from infants and toddlers and techniques for setting limits for infants and toddlers. Teaching discipline

Have you ever had a friend move away? Have you had a pet die? Have you lost someone close to you? Sad times are part of life, just as much as happy times. This is true for both adults and children. Here are some ideas for working with children who are going through some sad times.

Do you the children in your care help you with daily chores? Although it may be easier to do the job yourself, children learn from doing real work. Organization and cleaning are basic skills all people need for their whole lives. Also, doing chores helps children feel useful.

We have all seen the difficult behaviors that may encompass early childhood, such as crying, yelling, snatching, hitting, biting, and refusing to follow directions. Challenging behaviors will almost always show their face in our work, but with knowledge, deeper understanding, and heart, we can gently guide misguided behaviors.

Do you celebrate holidays in your early care or out-of-school program? What do holiday celebrations look like in your child care? The holidays present an opportunity for staff to offer engaging, developmentally appropriate, and culturally welcoming experiences for children and families.

Strategies to help children learn how to work out and express anger in an appropriate manner. It’s normal for children and adults to have angry feelings at times. Karen may get angry at Lydia for coloring on her paper. Joel becomes angry when Kyle takes the blocks away.

It’s normal for children and adults to have angry feelings at times. Karen may get angry at Lydia for coloring on her paper. Joel becomes angry when Kyle takes the blocks away.

Most people who care for children have run into at least one child who swears, uses “potty talk,” or uses hurtful or socially unacceptable language. At some time in their development, young children experiment with language, as they learn what is or is not socially acceptable, and begin to test boundaries.

Guidelines for room arrangement and materials to set up an infant room. The goal of an infant program is to offer optimal opportunity for growth and development, as well as offer a safe and nurturing environment. What do we need to consider for optimal infant environments?

Ways to plan for and implement intentional teaching in an early childhood program.

Although many stages in oral language seem to “just happen,” all children need adults who consciously guide and support language development to its fullest extent.

Research demonstrates that children need responsive care and opportunities to build healthy attachments to their caregivers. It’s difficult to imagine responsive care without holding an infant, rocking a toddler, or graciously accepting the good-morning hug from a happy three-year-old. Physical contact with others is valuable and a critical component of healthy development, but may be missing or misunderstood in many early childhood programs.

There are many remarkable changes between children’s first and second birthdays. The most obvious is that they begin talking.

Preschoolers develop their ability to comprehend and tell stories, become more skilled conversationalists, and begin to understand the mechanics of written language.

Two-year-olds (twos) are expressing their opinions, making choices, and practicing independence.

How to set up a late fee policy for families that do not pay on time or arrive late to pick up their children from the child care program.

Leadership instills confidence, and helps children solve problems creatively, work in a team, and work collaboratively with others.

Taking children on a walk is such an easy activity, especially when the weather is warm. If you stop and think about it, a lot of great learning can take place on a simple walk around the block or in the back yard.

Ideas to foster children’s creativity by incorporating open-ended materials and loose parts in the early learning environment.

Easy recipes for making art mixtures such as doughs, paint, and goop. Some of the best learning times happen when children are playing with things that are gooey, sticky, gummy, gloppy, and runny! You and the children can make some of these interesting mixtures at home.

Children are born curious! Ones have been watching, listening, touching, tasting and smelling everything around them since they were born. Their rapidly developing brains have been noticing differences between things, events that happen the same way every time, and how they can make events happen. They’ve already been practicing the most basic of math and science skills! Learn how to nurture these abilities.

The preschool years, ages three and four, are a time when young children become immersed in extensive explorations of topics that interest them. Preschoolers are rapidly developing the mental abilities to think in mathematical and scientific ways in order to explore and understand their favorite topics. Preschoolers are also seeing evidence of math and science concepts in everyday life, from laying out the right number of napkins for snack to predicting and testing the direction a ball will go when it’s kicked. Examine the abilities that preschoolers are developing that help them think in more complex ways.

Even the very youngest children enjoy pouring, stirring, dumping, and concocting. These experiences provide children with opportunities to explore, wonder, and question. They learn to prepare, plan, predict, and gather important skills and information.

When a child goes to child care it may be the first time that child has been away from his parents. It can be hard for a child when a parent leaves, even if it’s only for a few hours. But each child is different. Some will come, tell their parents, “Good-bye,” and they’re ready to start playing. Others cry and hang on their parents when it’s time for them to leave.

Getting moving means not only increasing physical activity, but also reducing time spent in sedentary activities.

Spring time often means April showers and muddy trails, yards, and playgrounds. Sometimes the prospect of trekking through mud becomes a deterrent to outdoor time for children and adults. But some people find mud to be almost magical and puddles to be powerful. Most children get excited when given the opportunity to enjoy mud. In fact, the World Forum Foundation: Nature Action Collaborative for Children designates June 29th as International Mud Day.

Based on the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, USDA established MyPlate as the nutrition icon to remind Americans to eat healthfully and to make better food choices. It uses the familiar image of a place setting to show proper proportioning of the five basic food groups as they would fit into a daily meal plan.

A nature journal is a simple format of writing and drawing ideas about the natural world. Nature journals are a helpful means to inspire children’s creativity, intellectual ideas, and physical competencies.

When considering caring for and educating young children, what about something as simple as our words? Do our words and conversations get the same consideration as our other preparations?

What children learn through painting activities and appropriate painting activities to offer young children. Painting in early education and care is part of its natural landscape. We can see the easel filled with an array of vivid colors just waiting to be explored. What does painting with young children really offer? Are they too young? What do we need?

There are many reasons to use photographs in your work with young children.

When you open your doors to welcome the children for the day, it’s important to have a plan. A plan prepares you to care for each child in the best way possible and provide an enriching experience. Today’s early educators are discovering many innovative approaches to planning. Instead of simply writing a lesson plan of activities, take a deeper look at strategies for planning and discovering the rhythm of the day.

Play is the central activity of young children. Play is the main way that young children explore, interact with, and enjoy the world around them. It’s where their inborn curiosity and creativity shine and where they can practice problem-solving and persistence. Play is self-motivating and is the best context for young children to practice making decisions and overcoming barriers. Discover what play looks like in one-year-olds and how caregivers can support it.

Most adults caring for children have experienced and offered playing with play dough and modeling materials, often called “clay.” But have you ever tried using natural or real clay?

The American Academy of Pediatrics says, “Breast milk is best for infants.” Providing infants and mothers the opportunity in child care to continue breastfeeding, or to use breast milk in bottles, is important.

Children learn about people and the world when they do pretend play.

Research in education, science, and public policy demonstrates that early educators hold immense professional responsibility for the healthy development of children and also for productive contributions to society as a whole.

Most of us have ideas of how we can be ethical. But have we really thought about what ethics means and how it affects our work? Where do we find informed solutions to the incredibly challenging dilemmas that we all may face at one time or another? How do we reflect ethical conduct?

At the end of your day working with children, you probably do what a lot of early childhood practitioners do: Spend time thinking about what happened during your day. You often are too busy in the actual moment of working with children to really stop and think about all that is going on. Is it really that important to reflect on your work?

How to build and support relationships within an early childhood program. In learning communities, there is one important that helps weave magic: Relationship. young children and their families, it is paramount connections and relationships.

It’s not surprising that children have an interest in rocks and are immediately drawn to them. Rocks are intriguing, beautiful materials that have multiple options for use; rocks can become anything! So why not create a rock garden in your child care environment?

Eating and preparing foods can be a great sensory experience for children and a fun learning opportunity.

School readiness includes the many skills that develop over time from a child’s birth through school entrance age. School readiness includes the areas of social-emotional, cognitive, language and literacy, and physical development. Another important part of school readiness includes a child’s ability to maintain focus on a task and show interest and curiosity in learning. The interactions children have with caring adults inside and outside of their families, each child’s developmental history and each child’s unique make up, all influence the development of school readiness skills.

Scribbling and drawing are the first steps in learning to write. Ideas to encourage children to scribble and draw.

How do children learn how to draw and write?

Part 2 of a two part series on self regulation. Setting up the learning environment to support the development of self-regulation skills. Although most children acquire self regulation through positive early experiences, experts suggest that self regulation is a skill that needs guidance or to be taught.

As an early childhood practitioner caring for children, a main task is developing plans and approaches to teaching that best support children’s overall development and learning. Planning helps you shape how your time together with children will unfold.

Try a thoughtful, reflective approach to caring for children. Many exciting things happen in your day of caring for children.

“Some days I feel like all I do is tell children, 'Don’t do this, don’t do that.' It gets to me. I feel like a broken record. When will they ever learn to behave?” Do you ever feel the same way? Learning can take a long time. When children are busy playing, it’s easy to forget the rules. You may find yourself reminding them over and over again about the same things.

Ways to act out stories with young children.

Make sure circle times are successful activity and learning times.

Many mothers with young children are choosing or planning to breastfeed their babies. Research demonstrates that breastfeeding provides the best nutrition for infants. Many mothers must to return to work and face the challenges of continuing to breastfeed, and this can be difficult. How can we as caregivers support breastfeeding?

Food allergies in children have increased significantly in recent years though the reason why is not yet clearly known. Understanding how to manage food allergies in the child care setting is essential for keeping children safe and for helping parents to feel confident about the ability of other caregivers to know what to do, especially in the event of a food allergy emergency.

Most adults depend on the TV, radio, and newspapers to find out what’s happening in local areas and in the world. Adults may forget that children are seeing and hearing the same news reports. Stories and pictures that may not seem bad to adults can be confusing and frightening to young children.

Addressing sensitive topics with families will take planning and preparation.

Just like adults, children need to develop strategies for managing their emotions, so that they can build social-emotional skills. When children are more socially and emotionally aware and skilled, they can more effectively navigate relationships, calm down and problem solve when challenges arise.

Touch is a means of learning for children. From the very early stages of life touch conveys communication and discovery. Teaching and providing children appropriate touch is a responsibility of early educators. Valuable information can be found to assist teaching children about appropriate touch through the use of research, self-reflection, and intentional planning.

Activities and steps for teaching young children cooperation skills.

Ways to respond to teasing among children and ways to discourage teasing. Teasing is very common with young children. Although teasing is common, it has been found that it can lead to bullying, especially if not addressed with children when they are younger.

Media screens are everywhere—television, smart phones, touch pads, e-books, computers—and new ones are hitting the market frequently. Parents and educators are raising and teaching children in an era when the abundance of digital media presents unique challenges as well as educational opportunities. Limited research shows that there can be many negative effects on young children through early exposure to specific types of screen time. Knowing how to manage this technology and use it appropriately is critical for early educators.

When children use their minds to create images based on words (rather than being provided with images in a book or on screen), they develop abstract thinking skills – being able to think about something without a real object in front of them.

Temperament is a child’s emotional and behavioral style of responding to the world, and researcher have found it is influenced by nine traits.

What to expect from three-year-olds and fun, easy play ideas. Three-year-olds are a lot of fun! They often spend a lot of time watching and exploring. They want to please you and to do things “right.”

There’s a lot in the news about children and the rising rate of childhood obesity. Studies are showing that what children drink plays an important part in keeping children healthy and at a proper weight.

“Be Nice!” Adults have often heard other adults say, “Be nice!” or “That isn’t nice!” Do they expect children to just “be nice”? Of course, they would like them to, but realistically it’s not always that simple. As with all components of caring for children, they need to consider the child’s developmental ability, family, culture, and background.

Ways to include musical experiences in a child care program and ways to use music for teaching a variety of skills and concepts.

From the start of life (and some believe before birth), language can be brought to children in easy yet exciting ways. Think of what language connects for children: communication, understanding, emotion, need, social skills, literacy, cognitive associations and much more.

Toilet learning is a big step for both children and adults. Changing diapers all day is a lot of work, and families may find that diapers become very expensive. Although the adults are ready to take that big step, the key is the child’s readiness. Toilet learning can take a lot longer when a child is pushed into it, and often involves tears and frustration on both the child’s and the adult’s side.

Touch can be a challenging topic to discuss. There are strong concerns and issues to consider, such as inappropriate touch and abuse, as well as each person’s individual feelings and history regarding touch.

Ways to plan daily transitions to make changes easier for children.

Understand ways transitions and change affect young children. Learn ways to prepare children for changes.

Early childhood practitioners can use carefully chosen prompts and questions to facilitate deeper learning as children explore and experiment. They can also support rich thinking and conversations as they share their findings with peers and adults. When adults ask purposeful questions to prompt a child to recall an activity or demonstrate understanding, this can help children make connections between previous experiences and current ones.

An important goal in early education is to connect and inspire learning in young children. Many early educators are gaining significant results in encouraging learning by embracing the use of reflection. What do we need to think about when considering reflection as a learning tool?

This time of year also means being extra vigilant about sun safety and biting insects.

Webbing is a form of brainstorming used to visually collect captured ideas and thoughts from a group.

Many adults think children should be able to say their ABC’s, count to 20, and know their colors and shapes before they start school. If you talk with a kindergarten teacher, you may hear a very different answer.

While cleaning up at the end of the day, an early learning professional shared the comment, “That was a beautiful day!” You could see on his face the expression of happiness.

No matter what their role, adults who spend time working with young children are important. Early educators provide multiple skills in serving children and their families. What are some of the critical links early educators provide?

There is no doubt that children try to act out the things they see on TV. But studies have shown that even without TV, children will still play games for power and control. Many people think this type of play comes from the amount of TV children are watching and the kinds of shows they see.