Articles August 2010 Newsletter Featured Article Business Administration Scale: Part Three - Marketing & Public Relations Marketing is an essential tool for any child care business. It's what gets word of mouth going and in this business, it's what will make or break you. The ninth item in BAS is Marketing and Public Relations. This covers everything from the tools you use, how the quality of your business is reflected in the public eye, how involved you as a provider are in your community and how organized you are with your marketing efforts. Download Now (pdf) July 2010 Newsletter Featured Article BUSINESS ADMINISTRATORS SCALE: PART TWO – Using the Parent Handbook to Meet Standards The Business Administration Scale for Family Child Care by Teri N. Talan and Paula Jorde Bloom is the newest addition to the ever-popular line of child care assessment tools produced by Teacher's College Press (otherwise known as BAS). It is designed to complement the Family Child Care Environmental Rating Scale (FCCERS), covering the business side of running a quality family child care business. It is being used by many states Quality Rating & Improvement Systems as the assessment tool for verifying a provider's level of competence on their Quality Rating Scale. My first book, From Babysitter to Business Owner, was used as a resource in creating BAS, specifically in the areas of parent communication, marketing and creating a Parent Handbook. Given that, I thought I could offer some insight and examples for providers who are looking to increase their scores. Download now (pdf) June 2010 Newsletter Featured Article BUSINESS ADMINISTRATORS SCALE: PART One – Work Environment For the next few months I will be running a series of articles highlighting the score item areas covered by the assessment tool: Business Administrators Scale for Family Child Care. I will be providing guidelines on meeting and exceeding these qualifications. Child Care Center Staff: please read these too! The qualifications for FCC are very similar to those for center care and the tips in the articles can help you to set improvement goals for yourself and your classroom as well. Download Now (pdf) Fabulous Fieldtrips By Patricia Dischler Summer is knocking on the door and it's time to open that door and run outside to discover all we can about this wonderful world we live in! While everyone agrees that giving children hands on experiences and exposing them to a variety of environments is great for brain development for them, many providers are afraid to take the plunge because of the potential headaches it will cause for their brain! How can anyone take a large group of kids out and about and not go crazy? It's actually much easier than you may think. With some pre-planning, a little organization and a positive attitude, you'll be out your door before you know it and opening up a entire world of learning possibilities for the children in your care. Download Now (pdf) May 2010 Newsletter Featured Article Business Administrators Scale: Part One - Professional Development For the next few months I will be running a series of articles highlighting the score item areas covered by the assessment tool: Business Administrators Scale for Family Child Care. I will be providing guidelines on meeting and exceeding these qualifications. Child Care Center Staff: please read these too! The qualifications for FCC are very similar to those for center care and the tips in the articles can help you to set improvement goals for yourself and your classroom as well. Download Now (pdf) April 2010 Newsletter Featured Article MOVING YOUR CHILD CARE BUSINESS You've worked hard to establish a reputation in your home town, your enrollment is filled, the phone rings with little effort, and then you and your family make the decision to move. How do you start over in a new town? Does it mean starting all over? Do your benefits go back to the beginning to reflect being a new provider in town, or can they reflect your experience? What about your rates? What will determine if they go up or down? How can you begin marketing? How do you establish yourself as a new business, but an experienced provider all at the same time? Download Now (pdf) March 2010 Newsletter Featured Article NEWSLETTERS At Patty Cake Preschool, each month I sat down at my typewriter and wrote a newsletter to share with my daycare families. (Yes, I said typewriter, for you young kids out there it's a computer with no batteries and no screen, you stick a paper in it and put letters directly onto the paper when you type! Yeah – no printer, cool huh?!) I followed this ritual for 17 years and at times it was something I looked forward to as I had some exciting news or story about a child to share, other times I would sit for long minutes staring at the blank page and trying to force some words to appear. But eventually, I'd begin, and each time when I finished I'd feel a sense of accomplishment. Not because I had finished the task, but because in doing it I had relived the previous month's activities with the children. I could now see in black and white (nope, no fancy fonts or colors on a typewriter either!) the legacy I was leaving. My imprint on this world – one month of opportunities to make a difference in lives of children and families and how I took those opportunities seriously. Download Now (pdf) Nothing to Lose: Keeping Your Child's Weight Healthy While in Daycare By Patricia Dischler First the bad news. Studies have shown for awhile that children who are in daycare get sick more often and, as if that wasn't enough for parents to worry about, now researchers tell us that children in daycare tend to gain more weight than children home with their parents. What can working parents do to protect the health of their children when daycare is a necessity? Download Now (pdf) Teaching the 3Cs: Creativity, Curiosity & Courtesy By Patricia Dischler In the world of early childhood there has been an increase in the pressure to teach the traditional 3 Rs: Reading, 'Riting, and 'Rithmatic. What was once the curriculum for first grade has become the standard for kindergarten classrooms, and what was once a kindergarten lesson is expected at the preschool level. Parents feel they should expect more, research shows kids are capable of more, and so standards get tighter and the pressure is on for early childhood teachers to deliver. The unfortunate result of this has been programs that focus on getting the academic results and that leave the basics for all learning behind. Download Now (pdf) Supporting a Child's Curiosity By Patricia Dischler Children are naturally curious, so to be sure this sense of exploration doesn't get lost in your day, give them lots of opportunities to follow their own questions and be exposed to new things, people and experiences that build their interest. By supporting a strong curiosity, parents and teachers are giving children the tools to construct their own learning, to make it more meaningful and to have more success in school. Curiosity activities support a wide variety of state standard developmental areas as children engage all of their senses, use creativity, and build a foundation for problem solving. Including activities that support a child's natural curiosity in your daily curriculum creates a bridge between knowledge and fun, making your day not only developmentally successful, but a time for pure enjoyment for both you and the children! Download Now (pdf)

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