I have found that this is really important. Many people have commented to me that it "must be so fun to play with babies all day." When parents think their child is just playing all day, they seem less invested in being involved. However, when they start to understand what we are doing and why we do it, it seems like family involvement goes up. It also allows parents to understand how to continue the learning experience at home.

I agree with this wholeheartedly. Children are resilient and strong and amazing.

YES! I am honestly disgusted at some of the programs I have seen. There are far too many people in this field willing to provide subpar care and education to children.

This is one of the first things I do when meeting a new family or starting at a new center. Solid family partnerships are pivotal to a successful early childhood education experience for the child.

It's amazing to be in a position that requires us to think ahead about every possible bad scenario while also planning for the unexpected!

So important!

There are so many children who need a consistent, caring adult in their lives. It's important we recognize and acknowledge that.

I love this statement!

Most schools that I have been to have some semblance of a schedule. Sometimes you will a child, or a group of children, become fascinated with something not in your schedule or curriculum. When this happens, you just have to roll with it and allow the children (or child) to lead you and let that take you where it can. This is a field that requires a lot of flexibility, so it's important to remember that!

This is particularly important when observing. There are so many factors that go into a child's behavior that must be considered. Is the child being aggressive, or are they acting out because they're experiencing trauma? Is the child being overly-emotional because they are over-tired, or could it be something else?

This is so important. I've had so many parents come to me and tell me that their child is "suddenly" exhibiting unwanted behaviors. My first question is always asking whether anything has changed at home or with family members because of this exact sentence.

I love this. Children themselves are unique and fluid, so it makes sense that your environment would be too!

I love this. I wish everyone saw us this way!

Parental involvement is huge for me. I have seen a night and day difference in families after they become invested in their child's education. While we were only offering virtual learning, I saw a huge difference in the children whose parents were involved in their schooling vs. parents who weren't.

Yes! There is no one-size-fits-all in education! Each child is an individual with a unique background, learning style, and future and should be treated as such.

I love this. I feel it is so important to observe other programs (worldwide) to see their successes and failures. We know so little about child development in the grand scheme of things (kids are such mystical, magical little things; like unicorns!) that we are still learning what works and what doesn't. By opening our minds and observing others, we can find ways to improve on our practices, while also understanding what we still need to know more about. For example, research surrounding early childhood development often excludes minorities, or only includes a small amount of children from various backgrounds. This leads to hugely skewed data.

I strive to always enlighten and educated the parents of my programs as much as possible. When parents are aware of what realistic expectations for development are and how to achieve those developmental goals, the statistical likelihood of child abuse significantly decreases. I find that it also leads to higher levels of parent engagement.

I think this is incredible. The dedication to generating the funding to make the schools a reality is amazing.