TKW Consulting

In an idea they believe will move Hawai'i closer to universal preschool for 4-year-olds, several leading educators and childcare advocates have recommended the state Legislature create a new authority that would make policy for and direct early-childhood education statewide.

The Early Learning Authority would be governed by a public and private board and could oversee as much as $160 million in state spending after a decade. It would help guide the work of a new institute to promote the training of preschool teachers and providers. A new nonprofit group would assist the authority with planning and early-learning districts on each major island.

"If Hawai'i does this, it will put us on the cutting edge of the country," said Randy Hitz, the dean of the College of Education at the University of Hawai'i-Manoa.

The recommendation, from a task force established last year by the Legislature,
presents some thorny issues. The task force did not specifically address, as state lawmakers wanted, the immediate need to give parents greater access to quality preschool. Instead, it proposed a new layer of government that could take years to gel and could control policy decisions normally handled by lawmakers and the governor.

Here is a common question I receive from child care and early childhood professionals.

Question: How can I promote positive behaviors among the children in my care?
Answer: It is important to remember that each child comes into the family child care or center-based program with different experiences and perceptions. This makes it important for us to create a nurturing environment that promotes positive behaviors.

The following are some tips that you may find helpful as you strive to create an environment that welcomes and provides each child and family with a positive experience.

• Be a positive model. We all know that children learn by what they see and hear from others around them. Most communication is nonverbal, so it is important for us to be aware of our facial expressions, eye contact, tone of voice, touch, and other forms of body language that convey feelings and attitudes. We need to make sure that we are communicating a positive attitude and behaviors in our words and actions.
• Develop simple rules that are based on appropriate developmental expectations for the children in your care. Communicate these rules to the children clearly and consistently. You could even have the children help you develop these simple rules. Knowing and understanding the rules for the child care environment can help children and families feel more secure and confident about the experience they will have in the environment you have created for them.
• Make sure you give attention to each child as an individual. Free play is a wonderful time to notice what each child is doing. Provide positive feedback to children when they are interacting and playing appropriately.
• Plan ahead so you can act rather than react. Communicate to children what to do when communicating to them what not to do. Often we find ourselves telling children what not to do and forget to let them know what they can do. The children in our care are just beginning their journey of social experiences and need our guidance to help them experience success.
• Be consistent in enforcing rules for all children.
• Use encouragement to build on praise. Praise provides children with an external source of pride while encouragement helps them to move to an internal source of pride and self-esteem. Praise describes an outcome or behavior. An example of praise is “What a beautiful picture you painted.” Encouragement focuses on the child’s effort and process of learning. An example of an encouraging statement is “You really used many colors in your picture. You must have been thinking very hard as you made so many choices about the colors to use.” Encouragement helps children to think about their behavior and promotes a sense of accomplishment and pride.
• Plan and include activities that promote cooperative planning and play among children such as small group projects and games that are not competitive.

If you would like to speak to a CICC Consultant, contact me, Dea Anderson, by emailing dea@fraser.org or call (612) 998-0409. Consultation Services to child care providers and
all other early childhood and school age professionals in Minnesota is FREE.

Penalty for failure to furnish TIN.—TINs are needed to carryout the Internal Revenue laws of the United States. Section 6109(a) requires a provider of dependent care services to give to you a valid TIN, even if the provider is not required to file a return. The IRS uses the TIN to identify the provider and verify the accuracy of the provider’s return as well as yours.
A care provider who does not give you his or her correct TIN is subject to a penalty of $50 for each failure unless the failure is due to reasonable cause and not willful neglect.

• Get a copy of the W-10 form, fill it out and give a copy to each parent
• Give parents an end of the year receipt even if you give receipts during the year.
• Add end of the year payment information to W-10 and have parents sign a copy.
• Keep the copy with parent’s signature for your tax files.

// posted by Tammy Wachter @ 8:42 PM 0 comments

The seeds of creativity live in everyone. Some individuals are fortunate — their sprouting imagination was nurtured and grown into strong creative thinking abilities. Their parents and teachers nourished them with creative experiences and confidence building responses to their attempts, throughout their childhood.

Creative people invent, imagine, problem-solve, create, and communicate in fresh, new ways. Every business requires creative thinkers in the form of scientists, engineers, medical researchers, technology innovators, business entrepreneurs, artists, performers, writers and illustrators, designers, inventors, educators and parents. Those with the ability to "think outside of the box" will lead the future and make special things happen

// posted by Tammy Wachter @ 4:52 PM 0 comments

Tantrum Trials

Imagine you and your child are spending an enjoyable afternoon together when you decide to stop at the grocery store for a few things. At the store, it happens: your child has the mother of all breakdowns. Other shoppers stop to witness your child's artistic display of emotions and you feel like crawling into a cooler to avoid their stares. Why is this happening? Why me? Why now?

Childhood tantrums are not uncommon, especially in young children. These tantrums happen for a variety of reasons, some of which include:

• Over-stimulation to a situation or environment
• Exhaustion or fatigue
• Expression of frustration or anger
• An act of trying to get his/her way

No matter how shocked, embarrassed, or even angry these “shows” make you, remember that this may be your child's only way of communicating with you at that particular time. Think about the above-mentioned triggers and what might be setting your child off. When your child is having a tantrum, as hard as it might be, don't join in. The more upset you get, the more upset your child is likely to get. Stand your ground, be firm, and remain calm.

Here are a few other tips for stopping a tantrum from the editors of Parents magazine, with Marge Kennedy, in their book The Parents Book of Lists: From Birth to Age Three :

• Practice prevention. Making sure your child is well-rested and not unduly stressed can prevent many tantrums.
• Distract him. Before a tantrum reaches full throttle, your child may be responsive to a change in scenery or another distraction.
• Help undo frustration. If your toddler is frustrated, for instance, because he can't put on his shoes, help him master that art so that he can feel a sense of accomplishment instead. In cases of safety, acknowledge your child's desire, for example, to climb a ladder, but restate your rule firmly: "I know you want to climb up high, but that's not allowed." Offer an alternative, if possible: "Later we can go to the park and you can climb the slide ladder."
• Don't give in to demands. Public tantrums cause some parents to give in simply to reduce embarrassment, but this response will only serve to ensure that your child will repeat the tantrum the next time you're out. Ignore what others may say or think in such cases, and focus on your child. As calmly as possible, state your rule and get on with business: "You will not get what you want by crying and kicking. When you calm down, we can talk about it."
• Discuss the tantrum. After your child has calmed down, talk about what made him so upset. Don't dwell on the outburst, however. Instead, assure him of your love with a warm hug, and join him in a pleasant activity.
• Don't take your child's behavior personally. Don't allow yourself to feel guilty or out of control because your child has had a momentary breakdown. Though having your child shout "I hate you" can be hurtful, it's important to keep in mind that your child's actions are not so much directed at you as they are simply a show of his own frustrations.

For more of these tips and additional resources regarding working through temper tantrums and your child:

How to Stop a Tantrum Fast
AskDrSears.com
American Academy of Pediatrics