Subscribe via RSS- Beyond the Book—Inspiration for the New School Year
- Beyond the Book—Organizing the Moving Parts of a Child Care Center
- Beyond the Book—The Mentor Teacher Program
- Beyond the Book—Making Successful Transitions
- Beyond the Book—Taking Time to Reflect
- Beyond the Book—Setting the Stage for the Children
- Beyond the Book—The Teacher-Parent Partnership
- Beyond the Book—The Partnership
- Beyond the Book—Receiving Feedback
- Beyond the Book—Giving Feedback
Category Archives: John Hancock Child Care Center
Beyond the Book—Inspiration for the New School Year
Each year, we closed our child care center, to parents and children, the two days before Labor Day weekend. We worked, and worked hard to get everything ready for the upcoming first day of the new school year. And each year, as director of the program,
I spoke to my very large team. This post shares my remarks from 2001 – and will give you an idea or two for your own program. Continue reading
Posted in Child Care, Early Childhood, Early Childhood Curriculum, Early Childhood Leadership, Early Childhood Professionals, Early Childhood Teachers, For Early Childhood Directors, John Hancock Child Care Center, Managing Early Childhood Programs, Performance Management Skills, Quality Early Education and Care, Training for Early Childhood Directors, Training for Early Childhood Professionals
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Beyond the Book—Organizing the Moving Parts of a Child Care Center
“Whose job is it?” was a question I asked myself often as Director of a very large Child Care Center. There were many, many moving parts in the course of a day and I was determined to juggle them with skill. This post highlights one of the processes we put in place. These are the “how we did it” details not found in “Beginning to End: The Life Cycle of a Child Care Center” (Yes, this is information Beyond the Book). Continue reading
Posted in Child Care, Early Childhood, Early Childhood Curriculum, Early Childhood Leadership, Early Childhood Professionals, Early Childhood Teachers, For Early Childhood Directors, John Hancock Child Care Center, Managing Early Childhood Programs, Performance Management Skills, Quality Early Education and Care, Training for Early Childhood Directors, Training for Early Childhood Professionals
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Beyond the Book—The Mentor Teacher Program
As Director of the John Hancock Child Care Center, I knew that the key to a quality early childhood program was to find, hire and retain the finest teachers! I also knew that we had to provide unique, individual opportunities for their professional growth. And so, our Mentor Teacher Program was born! How we did this is the subject of this blog post. Continue reading
Posted in Child Care, Early Childhood, Early Childhood Curriculum, Early Childhood Leadership, Early Childhood Teachers, For Early Childhood Directors, John Hancock Child Care Center, Managing Early Childhood Programs, Performance Management Skills, Quality Early Education and Care, Training for Early Childhood Directors, Training for Early Childhood Professionals
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My New Adventure …
From early childhood teacher to director, to consultant, to published author – writing, in order to share what I have learned during my 40+ year career, has become my new adventure. This is my first book! Continue reading
Posted in Early Childhood, Early Childhood Curriculum, Early Childhood Leadership, Early Childhood Teachers, For Early Childhood Directors, John Hancock Child Care Center, Managing Early Childhood Programs, Performance Management Skills, Quality Early Education and Care, Training for Early Childhood Directors, Training for Early Childhood Professionals
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Let them be Little…
The longer I live, the less I understand the rationale behind the “rushing,” the “hurriedness,” the “sense of urgency” that accompanies everything we do today. Why the fast lane? Where are we going? What are we racing to? Continue reading
The 20th Reunion at the John Hancock Child Care Center
It has been eight years since our John Hancock Child Care Center in Boston closed. As we were all saddened by the corporate decision, we were determined to make our last months memorable. The following is from my journal entry of June, 2010.
“On a recent summer afternoon—a Saturday—when so many other events are planned, they came to ours! Hundreds of people attended. Unbelievable! The line to the front door stretched down the block! The perfect celebration for our 20 years as the John Hancock Child Care Center. And, it was quite the party! Continue reading
Building a Team: First Things First …
When it comes to hiring, leave no stone unturned – look everywhere! Continue reading
Places of Delight and Wonder …
“We become attached to spaces that charm, delight, or move us. What brings this on? – a certain slant of light; an intriguing staircase; an alcove; the feel of smooth wood; or, unexpected beauty or form. Children have, or can acquire, more taste than we expect.” – Jim Greenman
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Ten Commandments for Teachers …
Grace L. Mitchell was my professional mentor, my motivator, my cheerleader, my role model, and my friend. A long, long time ago, she gave me her Ten Commandments for Teachers. It is timeless, and often made it to the bulletin board in our staff room. It is concise, and yet filled with best practices and positive values. Embedded in Grace’s words, you can hear her philosophy, visualize her dramatic flair, and understand the depth and breadth of her teaching. We, who worked with her, were deeply inspired. She ignited our passion of caring for and educating young children and we immersed ourselves in this field – always stretching, always growing. Continue reading
Mentoring – Fitting the Pieces Together …
When we added the “mentor teacher” rung to the career ladder in our early childhood program, we provided recognition to our experienced and skilled teachers. We offered learning opportunities to them, particularly in the areas of peer coaching, reflection, leadership, and adult development. In addition, we offered learning opportunities to our novice teachers (protégés) who were committed to furthering their professional development. And the end result was improvement in the overall quality of our entire program. We learned a lot along the way – to be passed on to you – who might be interested in doing the same thing in your program. Continue reading