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This book is filled with essential parenting advice for understanding the challenging middle years of childhood, during which children master the skills and habits that determine future health and well-being. 100+ two-color illustrations.
What are the components of high-quality after-school care for children ages 5–12? How can we evaluate these programs? These are the challenges facing caregivers, schools, agencies, and parents as after-school programs proliferate. The School-Age Care Environment Rating Scale®, Updated Edition provides an easy-to-use resource for defining and assessing the quality of both public and private programs caring for school-age children during out-of-school time. This updated, spiral-bound edition is re-formatted so that each Item appears on its own page, along with Notes for Clarification and Questions. The expanded Scoresheet can be copied from the book or downloaded from the TC Press website: www.tcpress.com. Selected revised Items make scoring more accurate and informative. The SACERS Updated Edition consists of 47 items, organized under 7 categories: Space and Furnishings Health and Safety Activities Interactions Program Structure Staff Development Special Needs Supplementary Items The SACERS Updated Edition is designed to be comprehensive in coverage and easy to use. Instructions for using the scale provide options for self-assessment in addition to formal assessments. Who should use the SACERS? Program directors Organizations, states, and agencies doing QRIS and continuous improvement evaluations School districts Program funders School principals Community-based out-of-school programs States receiving Race to the Top funds Teachers Teacher educators Researchers
CARING FOR SCHOOL-AGE CHILDREN, International Edition, presents the most pertinent information needed by those involved in after-school programs. Current research has established the importance of quality after-school programs due to their tremendous impact on children’s academic achievement, overall happiness, and self-esteem. To address this reality, the new edition presents the latest research and information on school-age child care, and offers numerous practical applications and activities that can be put to use immediately in a child care setting.
Reflecting the importance of drawing on children’s perspectives to shape professional practice, this book offers a nuanced approach to understanding the aims, implications and practicalities of accessing and incorporating children’s perspectives in pedagogial practices relating to transitions. Listening to Children’s Advice about Starting School and School Age Care: emphasises the importance of listening to and respecting children’s perspectives at the time of their transitions to school and school age care; shares children’s perspectives of the transition to school and school age care in ways that are both authentic and provocative; explores implications for practice as a consequence of children’s input; provokes a deep level of critical reflection and practice/policy development that is informed by a dialogue between research and practice. Chapters report research conducted in seven different countries to highlight approaches that acknowledge and respect children’s input, and use this as a basis for critical reflection on practice, with a view to improving the children’s transition experiences. Using examples of practice and offering practical and theoretical insights, the book illustrates the multiplicity of children’s perspectives, and prompts educators to reflect on and critique practice. This book will be invaluable reading for researchers, students, educators and practitioners involved in young children’s transitions to school and school-age care.
For those wanting to develop or enhance their skills as a child care provider, Caring for School-Age Children is an ideal choice. The book introduces the reader to the people in child care; the children; the families; and then shows how caregivers can help children in various competencies throughout different stages of childhood. Suggestions for designing day-to-day activities, program planning, creating environments that contribute to each child's success, as well as how to implement them, are meaningfully presented. This edition gives insights on handling behavioral and social issues, and how to use community resources and national programs to reinforce center or school based goals for improving quality through accreditation, credentialing, and evaluation. Also new to this two-colored edition are caregiver profiles, helpful web site case studies, and expanded
As schools struggle to teach all students, the multi-age teaching and learning framework has emerged as one of today’s most effective ways to structure schools. Multi-age Learning Community (MAC) Program is a professional development program in action. It presents a framework that can transform schools from a graded system to a multi-age learning environment. This multi-age school targets students’ individual and personal needs and allows students to excel and succeed. The school reform climate today focuses on schools of choice and building effective school environments. This multi-age program creates a unique school niche that is marketable to families. Parents have the option of sending their children to schools that concentrate on achievement that best meets the needs of the learner without disrupting the mandates of the curricula. This book is intended to assist educators at all levels of all school organizations, as well as give policymakers, educators and parents the information on an effective school program. This book gives information on how to transform schools into multi-age classrooms. This book is divided into four parts that explain both the theory and the practice of effective strategies for the multi-age school program: Organizational Practice, Building Culture, Learning Processes, and Assessment and Systemic Improvement. There are specific basic principles and practices that are integrated into a quality and effective framework discussed in the chapters of this book. Each chapter begins with a vignette based on my experiences in multiage schools and concludes with an educator’s reflection to recap the concepts in the chapter. Each chapter also integrates snapshots that are short real-to-life passages that bring to life concepts discussed in the chapter. Although this book discusses multi-age schools, these ideas may be applied to all school environments. To accommodate all school programs, at the end of each chapter, a section titled Application for All Schools is a framework that discusses just how to apply chapter concepts in any school or classroom program. It is recommended that the reader review the book one time in sequence and then reread each chapter as needed, to give meaning to the reader’s purpose.
The "Caring for Preschool Children" program was designed as a personalized training program to help adults working with preschool children acquire the skills and knowledge needed to provide a high quality preschool program. This two-volume training manual is comprised of 13 modules corresponding to the areas of the Child Development Associate Competency Standards, each containing an overview, self-assessments, learning activities, answer sheets, and a glossary. The modules are: (1) "Safe," preventing, and responding to accidents and injuries; (2) "Healthy," including promoting wellness and reducing the spread of disease, and helping children develop habits that promote good hygiene and nutrition; (3) "Learning Environment," encouraging play and exploration, and planning and implementing schedules, routines, and transitions that meet children's needs; (4) "Physical," providing materials, equipment, and opportunities for gross and fine motor development and encouraging physical fitness; (5) "Cognitive," encouraging children to explore and construct knowledge about their world, and helping children to develop confidence in their ability to think and solve problems; (6) "Communication," helping children use language meaningfully and providing materials and experiences that support emerging literacy skills; (7) "Creative," encouraging exploration and experimentation, offering materials and activities, and showing respect for children's ideas; (8) "Self," developing positive relationships with children and helping them accept and appreciate themselves and others; (9) "Social," helping children develop social skills, get along with others, and express their feelings; (10) "Guidance," encouraging self-discipline and using positive methods to guide children; (11) "Families," sharing information with parents about their child's experiences and development, supporting families, and offering several options for parent participation; (12) "Program Management," learning about each child, following policies and procedures, and teaming; and (13) "Professionalism," assessing one's performance and applying professional ethics. The trainer's guide provides a detailed description of the trainer's role in guiding teachers through the learning activities and includes suggestions for providing feedback and encouraging teachers to extend their learning. Answer sheets and observation forms for assessment, and tracking forms to record each teacher's progress are included. Chapter 1 of the guide discusses the need for an organized system for staff development, the components of a professional development system, and the importance of linking training to professional development and program improvement. Chapter 2 gives an overview of the training materials, content, and approach. Chapter 3 presents suggestions for managing the training programs, including completing an orientation and providing feedback. Chapter 4 discusses strategies for effective group training sessions. Section 5 presents information on assessing teachers' progress through the modules. Appendices contain forms for the trainers' use. (KDFB)
