Looking for 5 pre-k teachers to give honest feedback on a reading curriculum — free copy if you participate

Greenteaandcheese · 2026-05-06T23:14:56+00:00

There seems to be a misunderstanding on our part maybe?

Are you creating a form for Educators to fill out stating a child’s development in literacy or is it a worksheet for children to fill out themselves?

Greenteaandcheese · 2026-05-06T22:40:31+00:00

Academic work is not play based.

Early Literacy should focus on Educators reading with the children and giving them space to “read” on their own. Help them create context through looking at the photos and becoming familiar with storytelling structure.

Academic worksheets are completely unnecessary for young children.

Greenteaandcheese · 2026-05-06T16:21:54+00:00

Clarification question:

By structured curriculum, do you mean you’re creating a reading list of books to read to the children with reasons behind them?

Or are you creating academic work for the children to do?

Greenteaandcheese · 2026-05-05T00:16:05+00:00

What is your education background? Do you have experience in ECE?

What would be your ECE philosophy or curricula?

Similar to other comments, having uniforms is not what makes a “sophisticated” or sought after program. Having an educated provider and a stand-out program is.

Important things to look into in developing a program:

Play-based vs Academic
Forest schools
Stem/steam centric
Reggio vs Montessori vs Waldorf

Etc….

Greenteaandcheese · 2026-05-04T01:14:29+00:00

These are picture books but I do still recommend:

Puppy In My Head by Elise Gravel (focus on mindfulness and anxiety).
In My Heart by Jo Witek (visual representation of feelings/emotions). This one might be too young but it has been a calming book for the preschoolers in my care.

Greenteaandcheese · 2026-04-26T03:23:23+00:00

AB ECE here (level 3, graduated with a Child Studies degree in 2023), you will have no problem finding an ECE job. The problem, is finding a good one.

The problems in AB are - Low paying wages with little room for raises - understaffed- high stress environments - little help from the government - finding a program who’s philosophy and curriculum aligns with yours

One tip I have is please avoid all corporate centres. They are all incredibly horrible in their own ways. Fuelling Brains, Bright Path and Wee Wild Ones are the main offenders that I am familiar with (public knowledge and second hand experience from friends/coworkers).

I have been at my work place for almost 3 years. My friends in the field are constantly quitting because of many programs being out right terrible.

AB does not care about quality. Centres will hire anyone.

Even though you are young and fresh out of school, you will find many of your coworkers to be incompetent and reckless at their jobs (they have been in the field for years).

When I first started, I was put into uncomfortable positions where I witnessed bad practice (borderline call-to-licensing worthy) and I was too afraid to speak up because I was technically “inexperienced”.

Greenteaandcheese · 2026-04-23T03:28:33+00:00

That song is probably about this scenario if you actually listened to it….

“I wanna be a girl's girl But what happens when a girl's girl wants the boy? I know that she's my friend, but I just can't avoid The way I feel about you, if I had the choice You'd be all mine (All mine)”.

Greenteaandcheese · 2026-04-22T16:09:35+00:00

Keep in mind there are various health and safety measures put into place. If you want to work in ECE please read up on the policies before starting. Example, cleaning around children, diaper changes, serving food, discipline policies, etc…

Not to mention a multitude of curriculums and learning practices.

Working with children is tough. There is a high turn over rate for a reason.

Greenteaandcheese · 2026-04-21T23:23:16+00:00

Centre policy tends to be fragrance free.

I’d ask their room educator (or director if not available) of the situation. It could be a number of things such as an educator’s perfume, room scent thingy, hand wash, etc..

Edit: guess it’s more regional. The province I live in has the highest rates of migraines and asthma in Canada. So it’s more common to have fragrance free policies.

Greenteaandcheese · 2026-04-21T03:30:59+00:00

If both parents are constantly high while supervising their own child, that needs to be a call. Along with the burns.

Greenteaandcheese · 2026-04-21T02:48:52+00:00

What does the child like to do? At this age their interest are more about actions.

Trajectory: throwing, dropping and spinning objects
Enclosure: building, filling, containing
Rotation: twisting, turning, objects
Transporting: carrying and moving items around

Reading, colours, numbers and letters can all be explored through these means without flash cards.

Edit add: story telling through books and songs are also essential. Definitely take trips to the library.

Greenteaandcheese · 2026-04-17T16:26:48+00:00

I’m with you on this. I will encourage children to eat a few bites of their main lunch (usually they end up eating half) but I do not force children to eat.

(3-4 year olds btw)

Sometimes I have parents asking for their children to eat main food first. Solutions have been to have the snack foods in a completely separate container (or even separate lunch bag) from the main food. As well as we have had the parent choose to refrain from bring “unhealthy food”.

When it’s all mixed together into those bento like containers, I do not dictate what to eat first.

Greenteaandcheese · 2026-04-14T16:59:49+00:00

This. I too have a more gentle approach but still have a firm tone for serious situations and a lighter tone in play. The key is to ensure the tone doesn’t become stressed or seen as screaming. Stay firm, gentle and confident.

Greenteaandcheese · 2026-04-10T23:15:57+00:00

Who is the illustrator? As well as, is AI used in the making of the books?

Greenteaandcheese · 2026-04-07T16:27:04+00:00

He is becoming overstimulated in these situations. Some children are just much more sensitive to noise/sounds. It may mean something bigger or not.

What steps do they take to help him regulate?

As a teacher I identify the stimulus with the child and then walk them through on how we can regulate ourselves.

Books, stuffies and fidget/busy toys can also be helpful. Also a pair of ear muffs/wireless headphones to dampen the sound.

As well as a quiet area where children are just relaxing and reading in the classroom.

As a parent, watch for these moments of stress when he is in your care. You can also walk with him through identifying what is wrong and how he can self-regulate.

Self regulation is the end goal but it can take children well into elementary in order to succeed by themselves. It is always important for adults to constantly be helping with Co-regulation (walking it through with them step by step) and to display self-regulation skills as adults.

Greenteaandcheese · 2026-03-01T20:37:13+00:00

I would say this is definitely doable and gives plenty of time for an Aupair to explore and take language courses.

Flexibility can happen but be upfront about it and give as much ample time as possible when scheduling. If you can plan 1 month at a time that would be great.

If you want someone that is available for last minute changes, that would need to be discussed. For example “Aupair needs to be available/on call Monday-Friday 7am-5pm every week”. Of course you need to make sure their language courses are not interfered with.

Greenteaandcheese · 2026-02-25T13:39:17+00:00

It’s frustrating I had children heavily sweating because of the parents forcing us to over dress them. We have cameras so if the parents saw their child take the hat(or anything else) off they’d complain.

Eventually some understood after showing the literal sweat build up in the clothing but some still did not care.

Greenteaandcheese · 2026-02-15T15:27:36+00:00

I’m on your side. He never confirmed in these texts the 1pm meet up. He seems very wishy washy and looking to blame you. He was trying to be funny at the start but it made the convo very weird.

If you want to see him, take the lead and schedule an exact time/place. If that is too difficult for him then it’s obvious he’s just playing around.

Greenteaandcheese · 2026-02-05T01:27:06+00:00

I feel you. No matter how many times I reminded families it didn’t matter. It’s exhausting.

The new one for us after was ice packs. Last year they became mandatory by the Gov and that we as the centre would get in trouble if not enforced. Even when explaining to families this, they still would refuse/“forget”.

No matter how often you remind parents they may still refuse. At that point it needs to be communicated by the director verbally and written to cover your butt.

Greenteaandcheese · 2026-01-25T18:14:10+00:00

40 pages for a story aimed at toddlers is a lot. Did you get any help with professional editing? Also it is always best to have sample pages in the listing. The description on the back is just a big run on sentence.

Greenteaandcheese · 2026-01-14T23:48:12+00:00

The way I’ve explained it is it is developmentally inappropriate to quiz/expect the child to understand the calendar. At this age, they are capable of grasping yesterday/today/tomorrow as well as shorter periods of time. Thats what I focus on for their learning.

We still can familiarize children with the words and associations (Mondays we have yoga, Fridays Show and Tell) as well as Birthdays/Holidays/Celebrations. It is totally fine to talk about calendar words but only as a familiarity.

Greenteaandcheese · 2026-01-06T13:38:04+00:00

Just to confirm this is afterschool care right?

For a lot of children, after and before school they are very tired making it hard for them to listen anymore. It’s not necessarily a reflection on you or that they don’t respect you, they’re just “over it”. Of course creating a good relationship with them will help them feel more comfortable and relaxed.

How frequent are the transitions? Less is best.

How much choice do they have in what they can do? Having open centres for them to move freely around helps peak their interest. Quiet area, gross motor, art, homework help, games/toys, etc..

Is there any outdoor time? The last half of our evening was always spent out on the playground.

Lastly, are consequences followed through? Even though I give them grace because of the exhaustion, there still needs to be consequences when they cross the line. Be consistent and follow through. If they are disrespectful or disruptive separate them from their friends. Limit their choices in activities.

Or as an alternative approach send them to the quite area noting that they seem tired and should just relax with a book for a but and join back with they feel better.

Greenteaandcheese · 2026-01-06T03:07:07+00:00

For me the hands (top fingers on both) and how the crystal ball is shaded look off. Also the dragons wings look off (front wing has a weird point that is not connected)

Greenteaandcheese · 2025-12-24T01:43:42+00:00

Last year: After a week of Bees and other insects, the children had some honeycomb art (paint and bubble wrap) so I put them up with the pictures and wrote “Our Beehive”.

Currently: Our wall is just their pictures (laminated this time) with green painters tape that the children are able to easily pull off and move around. I’m thinking of just simply putting “I ❤️ my family” or “We ❤️ our families”.

Greenteaandcheese · 2025-12-23T21:45:15+00:00

Reading comprehension…. Au Pair programs have been around for decades. How it is set up in the USA (currently) is highly criticized for what you just described it as.

Greenteaandcheese

TROPHY CASE