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Hi!
I hope this note
finds you all well and enjoying the onset of summer! For many of
you this means more children in care and much more time spent
outside enjoying nature and gross motor activities. For those of
you who attended the I am Moving I am Learning sessions,
being able to spend more time outside may give you more
opportunities to get the children in your care moving!! Bring your
music outside and run, dance, hula hoop…whatever they are
interested in! Remember also that BCCCA’s Lending Library has
gross motor equipment available to enhance learning activities
such as parachutes, rocking cones, a rocking boat, balance beams
etc. For a complete listing visit our Lending
Library page.
Providers are
sometimes asked by parents and other providers to recommend
programs for their children for various reasons. Please feel free
to direct them to the BCCCA staff @ 447-3778 or specifically
Heather Sandquist @ 447-6938. They can also look on the BFIS
website –
www.brightfuturesinfo.org
– to find an inventory of licensed and registered providers listed
by town.
This next
announcement is bittersweet for me. This will be my last issue of
Connecting as I have accepted a position with a CCR in
Fitchburg, Massachusetts. As many of you know, I am moving back
to Massachusetts to be closer to my family. I will truly miss
working with all of you and with my BCCCA family and community
colleagues. It has been a pleasure and an honor being part of the
early childhood community in
Bennington
County.
I wish all of you the best in your personal and professional
endeavors.
 Peace,
Pam
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Vermont Fitting Stations and the
Vermont Discount Car Seat Program Certified child passenger safety
technicians check seats for:
~ Recalls ~ Correct fit of the
car seat to the child ~ Proper installation of the car seat to the
vehicle ~ Missing parts, i.e., do you need a locking clip?
A Fitting Station is held every 3rd
Monday of the month, from 3 – 7 pm @ the Bennington Rescue Squad,
McKinley Street, Bennington. Please call 447-5160 for more
information.
Make sure the children you are
transporting are safe!! This is a great service for both parents
and providers!! |
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Here are the
STARS incentives that Kaplan is offering to
providers: To get different levels of unprecedented discount
please do the following:
1. Send in or
Fax a copy of current STARS certificate
2. Once in the
system enjoy your Kaplan discounts
3. Discounts
are good until STARS certificate expires or you move to
another level. Then simply fax your new STARS certificate to
enjoy more savings
4. Contact
Kaplan if you want to use their online ordering with your
discount by setting up a custom MY KAPLAN account.
Vermont 1 Star:
Free UPS shipping, minimum order of $100
Vermont 2 Star:
10% off & Free UPS shipping, minimum order of $100 for both
Vermont 3
Star: 15% off & Free UPS shipping, minimum order of $100 for
both
Vermont 4
Star: 15% off & Free UPS shipping, minimum order of $0 for both
Vermont 5
Star: 17% off & Free UPS shipping, minimum order of $0 for both.
For more
information, go to
www.kaplanco.com |
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ALL ABOUT ECERS
(Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale)
ECERS
(Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale) is used to measure
quality in early childhood environments in terms of a child’s
actual day-today experience. A quality program must provide for
three basic needs all children have: Protection of their
health and safety - nutrition, sanitation, personal hygiene,
measures to reduce infectious diseases in group settings, parent
education materials, precautions to avoid injury mishaps,
supervision, prevention of abuse and neglect. Building
Positive Relationships – child to child, adult to child,
adult to adult; With Children – separation from parents,
continuity of care, positive approaches to discipline,
development of social skills; With Parents –
Opportunities for communications, building trust over time,
parent support and education, anti-bias approach, cultural
sensitivity, tuned-in to the child’s community. Opportunities
for stimulation and learning from experience (what is
accessible, how it is being used, how long
is it accessible) - Variety of hands-on activities, appropriate
activities for group and individual needs, many open ended
materials available, schedule that handles routines gracefully
and leaves time for activities, language related to activities,
concepts brought out of play. Each of these components has
implications for the program’s environment, policies, schedule,
curriculum, supervision and parent involvement. These are the
key aspects of process quality measured in the environment
rating scales developed by Harms, Clifford and Cryer. The
scales can be used as a tool in measuring and improving quality
regardless of curriculum or philosophy.
How is the scale scored?
Each item is described in four
levels of quality: inadequate (1), minimal (3), good (5), and
excellent (7). The inadequate and minimal ratings focus on
provision of basic materials and on health and safety
precautions. The good and excellent ratings require positive
interaction, planning and personalized care as well as good
materials. It is difficult, if not impossible to score a 7 in
all areas. A typical first time score tends to fall between 3.5
– 4.
How does the scale relate to
CDA competencies or National Accreditation Criteria?
The authors of the scales
collaborated on NAEYC Center Classroom Observation and
Accreditation Questionnaires and the CDA Classroom Observation.
The items on the scale help providers identify and organize the
necessary components required for reaching NAFCC and NAEYC
accreditation and CDA goals.
How are the Rating Scales
related to STARS?
STARS (Step Ahead Recognition
System) is a statewide program to recognize a provider’s
(program’s) accomplishments above and beyond regulatory
requirements in several arenas including: Licensing Compliance
History, Training and Qualifications, Administration, Family and
Community Interaction, and Program Assessment. ECERS is one
tool that can be used to perform a program assessment. The
scales can be used for self-assessment as well as outside
observations. Any program applying for 3 or more STARS and/or
desiring to partner with a public school system (under Act 62)
must have an outside assessment done and earn an average score
of 4.0 in all subscales and no subscale score below a 3.0 in
order to earn 2 points in the Program Assessment Arena.
Why use the scales in a
program?
The scales can be used to:
Measure the impact of your planned activities, schedule, and
routines or children’s experiences; Identify materials that
would enhance learning; Identify future training goals; Evaluate
child to child and adult to child interactions; Prepare for
accreditation; Isolate any gaps between
curriculum/policy and practice; Promote program achievements;
All around quality of care/program improvement.
There is a scale designed to
fit your program: ITERS-R - Infant/Toddler Environment Rating
Scale; ECERS-R - Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale;
SACERS - School-Age Care Environment Rating Scale; FCCERS-R -
Family Child Care Environment Rating Scale |
