While some educators may not see creative thinking as a pure skill, Miriam Clifford touts in her article “30 Ideas to Promote Creativity in Learning” that creativity is “less a trait and more a proficiency that can be taught.” If you are thinking that you’re not creative and this is not a skill you’ll easily pick up, don’t be fooled. We all have the potential to be creative. So, let’s be part of this paradigm shift in not only how we teach but also in how we ourselves think. If you’re feeling anxious about stepping out of your comfort zone, Janelle Cox of the TeachHub.com says that know ..read more

Regardless of our role or position, a common theme among most early childhood educators is the idea that we love being around kids. We love seeing that light bulb go off when our students learn something new or click that puzzle piece into place. We love watching them discover. But it isn’t all rainbows and puppy dogs. Teaching and caring for children is a grind. Parents complain and struggle with their own kids, which on average is 1.9 kids per household, according to Statista. Imagine 12-15 or even 20 at a time. Try wrangling all of them into jackets to go outside or opening 20 juice b ..read more

So your child care center culture is struggling to retain employees, and staff member turnover is at an all-time high. Don’t worry! The good news is that recognizing and admitting there is a problem is the first step. In a hiring climate like the one we're in now where there's an enormous shortage of talented childcare workers, you should never EVER ignore your team when they tell you there's a toxic culture at your center. Letting a toxic culture persist, or being dismissive of childcare worker complaints about colleagues or the work environment will lead to employee attrition, under-per ..read more

Free White Paper Best Practices for Managing Difficult Parents Whether you are a veteran teacher, center director or staff member, at some point in your career as a childcare worker, you will encounter difficult-to-please parents.  Learn how to handle tough conversations about a child’s behavior, build healthy relationships, and avoid unpleasant interactions with even the most difficult-to-please parents. Enter your email address for a free copy of the PDF: First Name* Last Name* Facility Name* Email* Entity Type* Unknown Lead Status* TOFU/Nurturing (Not Ready for Sale ..read more

Money is such a sensitive subject. No one wants to have to ask for it, but many people simply don’t want to part with it. It is one of the more challenging issues child care center administrators and owners face. To run a business successfully, you must carefully balance your cash flow both in and out of the business. Whether you are a new or well established daycare, preschool, or after school care center, the key to ensuring timely payments from your parents requires 3 important things ..read more

Peanuts. Gluten. Ants. Bees. Grass. Pollen. Mold. There is no shortage of allergens affecting our kids today. Whether these allergens have always existed or we are just becoming more sensitive to them, it is more important now than ever that we bring awareness and prevention to the table as child care providers to ensure the health and safety of our students. This challenge is not something we can take lightly. However, it is just that… a challenge. With so many children and so much movement within a center from classroom to playground to another classroom or even teacher to teacher’s aide ..read more

Do you consider the parents of your preschool, day care center, or after school program to be enemies or allies? Have you ever even thought about it? Maybe you have some of each. The ultimate goal is to make them all allies. Going to war with a challenging parent is a battle you will never win. Yet, how do you win over the tough ones? Ask for their feedback. That’s it. Provide all parents (especially the challenging ones) an opportunity for feedback. At the end of the day, we all want to be heard. If you regularly take time to listen and then make and execute an action plan, you can have ..read more

Learn how to cut through the confusion surrounding electronic payments processing in an effort to make the right options for your childcare business more clear. With off-the-shelf options like PayPal and Square, in addition to the myriad other choices flooding the market today it's easy to get confused. However, with knowledge of just a few basic terms and concepts your choices will become much simpler ..read more

The benefits of moving to a child care management system are numerous and well documented. What is far less well known is how to prepare. Transitioning from traditional processes to digital tools and electronic records can be a significant challenge for some organizations and their staffers. However, there are some simple practical steps child care professionals can take to prepare their people and businesses for the move ..read more