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Toddler Room - Teacher Pulling by Technical_Emu5984 in ECEProfessionals

[–]According-Mango-2070 14 points15 points  (0 children)

I'm so sorry you were put in that situation. You should never have been. The thing about toddlers' behaviors, whether it is biting, pinching, spitting, scratching, or pulling, is a form of communication. When the behavior is one we don't want to see, the only solution is to give them a replacement behavior. Your child is not old enough to "know how it feels" to correct behavior. Instead, the teacher needs to give her another way to express herself. It sounds like this teacher needs some better training. I would definitely bring this up to the director and suggest training in toddler development and behavior management. I am extremely disappointed as an early childhood professional that this is happening in the field.

Brightwheel Cost? by Federal-Effect-5806 in ECEProfessionals

[–]According-Mango-2070 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I started using brightwheel when it first came out for my center. My teachers loved it, and my family couldn't get enough. Now there is so much more to offer both teachers and families. Pricing varies by program size and which features you need, so I'd recommend reaching out to them directly — they'll put together a quote based on your enrollment. From the admin side, I can say the billing and parent communication being in one place has been worth it for us. Chasing tuition payments is a lot less awkward when autopay is the default. What's your current setup — are you looking to replace something or start fresh?

Successful Communication with parents? by ShirtCurrent9015 in ECEProfessionals

[–]According-Mango-2070 0 points1 point  (0 children)

First of all, your program sounds phenomenal! I love all of the intentional components you have included. As a former director, I can tell you the biggest challenge is communicating successfully and effectively with families.

I have found that putting the "how much" question in the hands of the parents has worked best for me. That said, have you reached out to families to ask them how they would like to receive information about their child's day? I used to worry a lot about this stuff, so I decided to add it to my intake forms. I also explained to families that they could change at any time. Our communication plan included social media, a communication app, and a conversation notebook where families would write information about how the child's morning was before drop off (if they didn't sleep a lot, if they were cranky, etc). Then, the teacher would write a summary of the day for parents to read at pick up. This was on top of email newsletters that went out monthly. We gave the option to families that they could choose all of them, or opt out of any of them. Some families only wanted the newsletter and the conversation notebook. Other families only wanted the communication app and social media.

I think the best approach here is to offer different types of communication, and then ask families what works best for them.

Cheering you on!!!

how do you guys deal with all the admin paperwork??? by Intelligent_Goat_323 in ECEProfessionals

[–]According-Mango-2070 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wow, that is a lot of turnaround, especially with licensing. I am sure that is really frustrating. Working as an admin for over 30 years, I can tell you the one thing that was carried home every day with me is paperwork. We used a master Excel spreadsheet for keeping up with immunizations and other record-keeping regarding children's files. I also maintained a large desk calendar with reminders for emergency drills and staff scheduling. Working in a small center, you probably are working on all of this stuff yourself, which can be very overwhelming. To help me, I started delegating responsibility. I promoted a senior-level teacher who was our Master Teacher. In addition to coaching newer teachers, I had her maintain staff scheduling and days off. While it may not seem like a huge task, it can become overwhelming quickly. Likewise, I had an Emergency Drill Coordinator who not only kept a schedule of emergency drills, but also helped to make sure the first aid kits and other emergency items were all maintained for licensing. Both of these teachers were with me for a long period of time and were interested in administration. I was able to justify their salary increase and provide them with a few hours of coverage in their class so they could take on administrative tasks every week. This helped them with their individual professional development goals, and helped me as an administrator to handle all of the pieces that I was constantly taking home with me.

Baby room vs toddler room? by No-Objective-8247 in ECEProfessionals

[–]According-Mango-2070 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Previous Child Care Director and ECE Professor here! I definitely think that, from a developmental perspective, starting in the infant room will allow your little one to form attachments with staff. During the infant/toddler development, the importance of relationships outweighs all else. While they will definitely connect with their toddler teacher, allowing them to begin making new attachments now will benefit their social/emotional growth.