The Smart Step
Continuing a series of business blogs written by Victor J. Temple, business manager at Friendship Garden Nursery School, Inc.
By Victor J. Temple
As the leader of your fiefdom, there is no job that you think you can’t do; furthermore no one could do these jobs as well as you. How could they, you built this company, created the policies and procedures. That is your blood, sweat and tears on the floor, there is no possible way that anyone could add value to your custom built business, or could they.
Often the first professional manager to be hired by a growing company will be the CFO or equivalent. The founder realizes he/she needs help however the release of the company, product or process to the new professional manager is an arduous task.
A while ago I undertook the consolidation of 96 Excel worksheets into an accounting information system. The 96 worksheets was bragging material for the proud founder. His company didn’t need a double entry accounting system. There was a spreadsheet for domestic A/R, another for international A/R, one for deposits owed, deposits paid and on and on and on.
The unfortunate result of the cash and balance sheet account reconciliation was a drop in retained earnings of $500K. If you are a proud founder, doing everything yourself, ask yourself the hard question. Do I know the best practice for each process in my business? Honestly you don’t, start looking for professional managers that can help you succeed, before you have a $500K retained earnings hit.
Child Care Management App
Using a child care management system with an app has been a game changer. Considering the average age of today’s parent if you are not using an app, you aren’t keeping up. There are many options available and they are very competitive in price I have found. Features including: teacher time tracking, attendance for children, messaging for families, paperwork, reports, online enrollment and billing save countless hours for administration and educators. The ease of use, convenience and time saving make it worth the cost.
I like to sign up for introductions so I can see what is current with each app. Fundamentally they are all similar and each includes something unique to it. If you find a feature or need one they seem fairly open to getting that feature into the app. As they try to stay competitive it is good for our end use.
Our parents have loved this app. If you are worried about teachers using their phones these apps can be used on school owned tablets. If you are worried about the amount of screen time that might be required of a teacher, set some firm guidelines before you roll out. Th app has been a timesaver for us!
Have you started using an app? What is holding you back?
10 Best Loose Parts for Toddlers
First published in 2017 in Becker’s Blog https://www.shopbecker.com/resource-cafe/beckers-blog/infants-and-toddlers/10-best-loose-parts-for-infants-and-toddlers/
Loose parts are defined as open-ended materials that can be used in many different ways. Check out these ideas for loose parts in your infant/toddler classrooms.
10 Best Loose Parts for Infants and Toddlers
1. Tin Cans – Cans of all sizes with clean metal edges are typically safe. Be sure to use a safety can opener, one that leaves no sharp edges on the lid or the can.
2. Fabric – Fabric of all textures this category includes ribbons.
3. Cardboard Tubes – cardboard tubes of varying circumference can be used so many ways.
4. Balls – offer balls of all sizes and textures.
5. Container lids – lids of varying materials and textures. When placed with intent in different areas of the room, they could be used for filling a container, dump truck or drink holder.
6. Egg cartons/to go drink holders – these are great for holding and transporting other safe parts.
7. Tree cookies – tree cookies of different circumference and width including cookies with holes. These baby tree blocks are great, too.
8. Boxes – small boxes for non-mobile infants to put things into, small boxes and also larger boxes for walkers to push around and get into.
9. Sensory bottles – sensory bottles filled with objects for exploring sight or sound. They should be small enough for an infant to grasp. Toddlers enjoy the challenge of larger bottles to carry and roll.
10. Pots and pans – A real favorite of all ages for banging together!
What are your favorite loose parts in the infant and toddler classroom?
The “Truth”
This month I will be posting a series of business blogs written by Victor J. Temple, business manager at Friendship Garden Nursery School, Inc.
By Victor J. Temple
Is your truth……the real truth?
We are the best…..we are the best childcare…No one is better….our business runs like clock-work….nothing is needed. Isn’t it easy to believe your own stories and rhetoric. In a business the stories of superiority spread like wild fire when fed from the top.
We fell into this trap in the past at our childcare. We had the best childcare, just ask the teachers. Some parents stated there is no better in the industry. Accounting boosts of fail safe processes, with no errors.
It takes a brave, insightful leader to support the bravado with fact. If you desire the truth, ask all your customers; past, current and future. Our story was we were the best in town and had the most competitive price. Then we asked our customers when returning from a sabbatical how we did while away. They told us that the teacher turnover was excessive, policies weren’t followed and pricing was inconsistent.
Try this in your company, walk into a classroom and ask the team why they are doing a specific task. If the answer is, “because we have always done it this way”, you might not have that fail safe process with no errors.
If you want to add fact to the bravado, just ask your internal and external customers for their opinion.
How inaction is an action
This month I will be posting a series of business blogs written by Victor J. Temple, business manager at Friendship Garden Nursery School, Inc.
By Victor J. Temple
Inaction is a Decision that will Create a Result:
In today’s political turmoil and possible economy downturn it is easy to find yourself re-arranging the deck chairs on your Titanic. Perhaps your wait list is off, cash is low, and parents aren’t calling! Many of us turn to what we did yesterday or worst yet, clean our desk, file and re-organize last years invoices, candidly taking no action.
Over the course of history, the dot com bubble, the housing crisis, Covid and more brought similar economic and political turmoil. We were mentored back then by a very successful entrepreneur that founded Whistler Radar, with help, we created a simple acronym for our action plan, OAF or rather OAPH, Operational Action Plan Highlights.
Create this plan with your team, all of them, get them together and ask a very simple question, what are we going to do differently tomorrow than what we did today? In each functional area of your business, ask this question, challenge yourself to craft unique and ridiculous objectives, don’t debate them, there is no wrong, just opportunities for change. Prioritize these objectives and take action, report on them weekly and continue to push change, remember no action is a decision and will create a result, one that might not be pleasant.
The companies that weathered the storm of the great depression emerged to be the leaders of today. Create the possibility of success and live into that possibility by doing something differently everyday, when the economy shifts you will be poised for grandeur.
Celebrations without Food
Photograph by Lulu Lovering Shepherd
We recently decided to stop celebrating birthdays with sweets. After observing an alarming number of snacks and lunches that are full of sugar and sodium and having children with allergies and dietary restrictions as well as parents wishes, we felt it was time to make a change.
For celebrating, families have the choice of coming in and reading a story, participating in a craft, sending in a craft for the class to participate in, or sending in fresh fruit or vegetables keeping the focus on the celebration and not the treat. This summer we had a major garden overhaul and addition and a big activity table was added. It was the perfect backdrop for a recent birthday celebration. We also like how families can be involved rather than quickly grabbing cupcakes at the market.
Teachers provide special activities in the classroom or outside based on the child we are celebrating specific interests. They might read the child’s favorite story or set out their requested activity. We are also working on a birthday celebration box filled with materials to make cards and play dough cupcakes. So far we are pleased with our decision to cut out more sugar!
What other ideas do you have?
Teacher Role
Ms. Lulu, Friendship Garden Toddler Teacher, wrote this blog, it has been edited slightly and shared with permission.
We often giggle that it probably looks like the teachers are just kind of hanging out, but what are we really doing? We spend much of the day in close observation of each child, adjusting the “other teacher/ the third teacher”, their environment, to meet their interests and explorations as they unfold.
This might appear like a laidback approach but this Reggio Emilia style of childcare lets the teachers build strong bonds with each child while nurturing their natural independence, social skills, and problem solving. We often say that Friendship Garden children are “built different”! 😂💗
When they are ready our kiddos fly down the slides, swing on all kinds of stuff, climb trees, navigate complex pretend play scenarios that can last an entire day, read through books with a teacher, jump from the tops of the climbers (and somehow never get a scratch) and much more.
We are grateful in the toddler class to set the initial path for self-esteem, love of nature and joy in independent thinking. It’s important to all of us teachers to make the children feel like they are at a home away from home where each child is like a member of the family.
Basically, your kiddos mean a lot to us and we’re a bit nerdy about their development and growth behind the scenes 😂
written by Lulu
Rest Time
I often see early educators ask on different platforms how to handle non-sleepers at rest time. Most teachers seem to ask because it is very stressful time of day in a classroom. Responses often include quoting a state requirement for rest and also the range of answers from giving children “busy bags” or books to listening to audio stories to not requiring a rest time. All fine ideas that one would hope does not add to the stress that occurs for educators during “rest” time.
Some people claim rest time to be for curriculum planning and breaks. In my opinion this is what creates a hardship. The teachers have an agenda for themselves so it gets SO frustrating if they can’t accomplish what they expect. The expectation that teachers plan or break during rest is doomed to failure.
You need to know what your philosophy of rest time is. We should not see it as controlling children. There are schools that allow children to choose to rest where other children do not choose to rest. This is when you need to define your philosophy. We believe that everyone needs down time, a time to slow down, re-set and self regulate. We help our children to rest by setting the stage for rest. We cover the toys, dim the lights, and start with quiet music. We model our own rest time by quietly reading a book, writing notes, working on portfolios or messaging parents. We do not scurry about the room but rather sit quietly attending to our tasks. We use big pieces of flat cardboard to make partitions between children if needed.
We need to trust that children know their own bodies and we also need to help them to see that a resting period is healthy.
“Bad” Words
This post was written in part by Delaney Driscoll , Friendship Garden Nursery School Educator
You are not alone if you experience your child expressing themselves using bad or swear words!
Children hear the language being used around them, think about what you said when getting cut off in traffic, or dropping a bag in a hurry getting out the door. Children repeat this in and out of context. We appreciate that they are using their words to communicate how they feel, and also we’re trying to model for them more descriptive, appropriate replacement exclamations when we can.
We say silly things or use constructive language depending on the situation, children are usually not trying to be hurtful or “bad” they are being expressive. We appreciate families that help us explain why we can’t use those words since we can’t give meaning or explanation to them.
Next time you find yourself in a stressful situation, what will you say?
Re-Thinking Loose Parts
There is so much written about loose parts. I have recently enjoyed reading about loose parts in an “untraditional” way. As I am wondering about and embracing the philosophy that nearly everything can be a loose part, I find it’s really a mindset for your classroom rather than about any specific materials.
When we think of loose parts we are likely thinking of those objects we add to the environment rather than the environment itself. Tree cookies, velcro hair rollers, sticks, boxes, clips, and tires quickly come to mind as materials that children can use any way they can imagine. But what about tables, chairs, all weather and even art materials.
If we are not directing children as to how they must use these materials they will undoubtedly use them as loose parts. As always there are safety guidelines that need to be followed.
How will you see your child care surroundings differently?