Child Care Chatter: Choosing quality care
By Medicine Hat News on March 17, 2018.
What are the hallmarks of quality early childhood environments? The first one is the early childhood educator themselves. You want to see caregivers that are loving and responsive. Educators who spend time cuddling, talking to and really listening to your child are the best! It is so important that they are truly interested in learning more about your child’s interests and life. They spend time cultivating a positive relationship with your child. You can tell this right from how the child is greeted when they enter the program. Do the educators get down at their level, use their name and say how happy they are to see them? Do they ask them questions about their weekend? Are they engaged in play with your child? Do they extend your child’s learning by adding in materials and asking open-ended questions? Are they a playful partner? Do they flex the schedule to respond to your child’s needs? Do they tell you something fun that your child did that day? A safe, stimulating environment is also key to a quality early learning program. Look for a program that is clean, well-organized and has many options for children. Don’t forget though that play is sometimes messy. When the children are engaged in play, the room might be full of their creations. This is still OK. As long as the children are interacting with one another and the educators, the mess can be cleaned up at the end of the day. Children’s safety is a top priority to early learning and child care programs. Be sure to ask about educator’s certification levels, child to staff ratios, first aid certification, emergency procedures, toy sanitization, illness and accident policies, and child discipline and guidance policies. Another thing to ask about is the kinds of programming the educators provide for the children. You will want to see opportunities for your child to explore and create. Open-ended art activities, science experiences, messy play are all good ways for your child to learn about their world. Worksheets and cookie cutter art is not necessary for children’s learning and development. Time for exploration and creativity is! For more information on choosing quality child care and for a list of our members (including ages served and hours of operation), please visit the Medicine Hat & District Child Care Association’s website at http://www.mhdcca.com. Jennifer Usher is the coordinator of the Medicine Hat & District Child Care Association (www.mhdcca.com). 8-7
