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Childcare Chatboard

Places to sell curriculum materials besides Teachers Bargain

by Montana teacher

Jun 10, 2012

Hello

I have been trying to sell off my inventory of very nice Felt/Flannel stories. I have had no luck on Teachers Bargain basement and wondered if there is a site more directed at preschool/childcare to sell on?

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maureen On 6/10/12, Montana teacher wrote: > Hello > > I have been trying to sell off my inventory of very nice > Felt/Flannel stories. I have had no luck on Teachers > Bargain basement and wondered if there is a site more > directed at preschool/childcare to sell on?

I would suggest homeschooling groups. I have sold lots to pare...See More

Jun 10, 2012

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Jennine I am interested in buying some of your things!! We are a brand new daycare center and are in need of lots of different materials. Thank you for your consideration. Please feel free to email me!

On 6/10/12, maureen wrote: > On 6/10/12, Montana teacher wrote: >> Hello >> >> I have been trying to sell off my inventory of...See More

Oct 20, 2012

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New game, "Obstacle House" targets motor and more.

by Teachers.Net Gazette

Sep 6, 2012

Teacher Lisa wrote:

"I am always looking for new ideas for children to learn and have fun. I believe that I found BOTH options in a new product, called Obstacle House. Obstacle House’s target audience is preschool-aged children, ages 3 -6, who are in the midst of developing coordination and agility. However, after recently seeing this pr...See More

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2 year old that does not talk

by Kodie

Sep 9, 2012

I have a 2 year old in my Toddler classroom that does not talk at all. The parent says he says a few words at home but at school he does not respond, he shakes his head no for every question. What can I do to try to develop his speech besides a speech therapy referral?

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Laura Franck On 10/20/12, Tina/IL wrote: > My son did not start speaking until he was three. He stated > speech therapy through our state's early intervention program at > 18 months. > > Have you tried using simple sign language? (This could be > beneficial for all of your students). You can go online and look > up baby sign language. We us...See More

Jan 3, 2013

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msmichelle On 9/09/12, Kodie wrote: > I have a 2 year old in my Toddler classroom that does not > talk at all. The parent says he says a few words at home but > at school he does not respond, he shakes his head no for > every question. What can I do to try to develop his speech > besides a speech therapy referral?

Are the parents conce...See More

Nov 21, 2013

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NEED ADVICE with work situation!

by Seattle Pre-k Teacher

Sep 22, 2012

I have just started working for an amazing company and I'm teaching pre-k. I absolutely love it there. The pay is ok, started out at $12 and then it'll go up after my 90 days. I enjoy working with the teachers there as well, except for one little gripe. There are 3 of us as lead teachers. I love that we have a lot of help. One of the teachers is gr...See More

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Leah Just my thoughts... Since the trouble making teacher has only been there 7 months, is there a chance that the director is aware of her behavior and she will be let go? I wonder if you might talk descretly to the director after you have been there awhile.

The assistant director job could be awful. Cooking? Busing? How many children do the...See MoreJust my thoughts... Since the trouble making teacher has only been there 7 months, is there a chance that the director is aware of her behavior and she will be let go? I wonder if you might talk descretly to the director after you have been there awhile.

The assistant director job could be awful. Cooking? Busing? How many children do they have? OR, it might be great. You need to ask LOTS of questions and have them all spelled out in a contract.

On 9/22/12, Seattle Pre-k Teacher wrote: > I have just started working for an amazing company and I'm > teaching pre-k. I absolutely love it there. The pay is ok, > started out at $12 and then it'll go up after my 90 days. I > enjoy working with the teachers there as well, except for > one little gripe. There are 3 of us as lead teachers. I > love that we have a lot of help. One of the teachers is > great to work with and is flexible in changing things up > and doesn't talk about other teachers, the other teacher > can't stand her and told me this my first week in the > classroom. And she has only been with this company for > about 7 months and the other teacher has been there for 8 > years. I find it completely childish and is always trying > to get me on her side. It's so dumb! I just do my job and > thats all. I hate drama! Now, I was also offered a job with > another company and it would be for an assistant director > position. It is a salaried position, more than what I make > now ( it comes out to either 3,000 or 5,000 more a year). > I'd be doing more obviously and because the company got rid > of the cooks, I might be doing that job as well and busing > kids to and from school. All that fun stuff! lol! (tours, > enrolling, scheduling, payroll etc,,,) I'm wondering if the > extra money will be worth it in the end. Considering it is > probably more stressful and more work. So, I either deal > with childish behavior and ignore that and stay where I'm > at OR accept the A.D job. Any opinions???? Has anyone ever > worked as an assistant director or director and went back > to the classroom because it's less stressful. Of course I > look at the reason why I want the AD job and that is to > make more money so I can afford to live independently. :) > It's such a big decision and I have plenty of time to think > about it before deciding. I'd appreciate any advice! > Thanks!

Sep 26, 2012

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writing activities for 4 y.o. class

by Caitlyn

Sep 22, 2012

What kind of writing activities would be appropriate for 4 year olds? How often do you offer it or do you have a writing center? I thought about having a writing center with different writing tools, paper, letter stencils, small teacher made books for them to "write" their own stories. Any other ideas would be very helpful! thanks!

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Extended Day Programs

by overwhelmed

Oct 20, 2012

I recently accepted an extended day position at a private school and I am really concerned about how the program is run. I am trying to gather as much information as possible on how similar programs are run. There are two of us, making the same hourly wage. We were able to get a third person on board to help us out on days with high enrollment and ...See MoreI recently accepted an extended day position at a private school and I am really concerned about how the program is run. I am trying to gather as much information as possible on how similar programs are run. There are two of us, making the same hourly wage. We were able to get a third person on board to help us out on days with high enrollment and when one of us will be out for the day. She is also making the same hourly wage. This program has a drop in option for kids that are not on a regular schedule which means we don't always know how many kids we will have.

When I was hired I knew what the hourly pay was, but I thought the job consisted of helping with homework, planning activities for the children, providing a safe environment, and communicating with parents. I was under the impression that the school principal was the point person for anything related to policy and the person we would contact in emergencies arise.

What I discovered is that the principal wants nothing to do with the program. The school secretary (who is the one who did the "research" and determined what the going rate is for our position) get's defensive whenever we ask her questions about how the program was run in the past for the sake of consistency. She says there has never been a set policy because nobody ever stayed in the position for more than a year (Hmm, I wonder why that is). She told me she wants nothing to do with it, yet when it is time for her to go home at the end of the day, any kid that was not yet picked up gets sent to us even if they are not enrolled in the program.

We are responsible for all billing, curriculum building, and pretty much all policy. I generated an email to parents to remind them that their child must be enrolled in order to join us for extended day. Before sending it out to the parents I wanted to run it by the principal and the secretary since they are the ones parents will call with questions (we are not on the clock until 2:30pm). The principal sent a snippy email within minutes saying "You handle this" and the secretary got defensive saying she has enough work to do.

When I was hired the headmaster made it clear that I will only be paid for the hours outlined in the contract. Yet the emails come in all day long and there is no way we can get any planning or paper work done while the kids are present. We were told that since Friday's are our slow days that is when the billing and planning should be getting done. Even on slow days we have at least 4 kids under 5 years old and 7 or more kids in K-5.

On our busiest days we have 7 children who are 3 or 4 years old and about 15 in grades K-5.

I have ideas about how this program can be successful but all of them require having one point person in a salaried position who sets policy and is on call for emergencies. At least one teacher developing the curriculum and the structure for how the afternoon is run and works with all of the students and generates the attendance list for the day. And at least 2 assistants, one for early childhood and one for elementary age kids.

It seems that the two of us are expected to do all three rolls but only get paid for the hours the kids are present. I found job postings for SCOPE positions in neighboring schools and they advertise the teaching assistant salary as being only $1 less per hour than what we are making.

I am considering resigning (I kind of walked into this position because I wanted to help out so I have no real investment in staying). However, I before I do I want to present information to the principal about how similar programs are run and why they are having trouble retaining a staff to run this program successfully.

Any information or resources you can give me will be greatly appreciated. Thanks

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overwhelmed Thank you for your feed back. Your program seems similar to ours and it is good to hear that you get paid for work done outside of the program hours.

Do you have a drop in option for your program or are all of the children enrolled for specific days? If so are you notified ahead of time that those students are coming? We ask for 24 hour n...See MoreThank you for your feed back. Your program seems similar to ours and it is good to hear that you get paid for work done outside of the program hours.

Do you have a drop in option for your program or are all of the children enrolled for specific days? If so are you notified ahead of time that those students are coming? We ask for 24 hour notice for drop ins, but the secretary will bring anyone down who is not picked up on time so that she and the principal can go home.

I think I might start logging in the hours of work I do outside of the extended day hours. I would be concerned having only one adult with all of those students for 2 hours, especially with early childhood present. Are most of the children already picked up by then?

On 10/20/12, Tina/IL wrote: > I teach in a private school and also work in our extended day > program. Our after school program runs from 3:00-6:00. On any > given day, we have 25-40 students. We have two adults working > for the first hour. After the first hour, one adult leaves. We > do not have to plan any educational activities. The first 45 > minutes are spent in the gym doing physical activity. After > that the students are offered a snack and drink. Students can > then work on homework. When they are done with homework, they > may play one of the various games we have in storage (cards, > board games, etc) > > 1. The hourly rate of pay is $13. 3. I do the billing for the > program and am paid the same rate for the hours I spend doing > the paperwork. 4. If there is an emergency, we contact the > parents. The principal is usually in the building as well, if > not, we call her cell phone. 5. The principal sets the policies, > and any billing questions are directed to me, or the > administrative secretary who collects the payments in the office. > 6. Age range of students is preschool through eighth grade. 7. > We have separate play areas in the gym for younger and older > students to keep the little ones safe. We also try to keep the > little ones separate during homework time so the older ones can > concentrate. > > I think it is horrible that you are not receiving more support > from administration. There should be clear policies and > procedures, as well as set discipline and emergency procedures. > >

Oct 21, 2012

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Tina/IL Enrollment is open and varies from day to day. Parents are asked to fill out a calendar each month noting the days they expect their child to be with us. Many families use the program every day. Students who are not picked up by a certain time after school dismissal are brought to us. Most of those get picked up within 15 minutes of coming to us. P...See MoreEnrollment is open and varies from day to day. Parents are asked to fill out a calendar each month noting the days they expect their child to be with us. Many families use the program every day. Students who are not picked up by a certain time after school dismissal are brought to us. Most of those get picked up within 15 minutes of coming to us. Parents can also use it as a drop-in service without giving us prior notification.

Usually by the time the first adult leaves, ther are only two or three early childhood students left. I would not feel comfortable being left with those students either. I just work that first hour.

On 10/21/12, overwhelmed wrote: > Thank you for your feed back. Your program seems similar to ours and > it is good to hear that you get paid for work done outside of the > program hours. > > Do you have a drop in option for your program or are all of the > children enrolled for specific days? If so are you notified ahead of > time that those students are coming? We ask for 24 hour notice for > drop ins, but the secretary will bring anyone down who is not picked > up on time so that she and the principal can go home. > > I think I might start logging in the hours of work I do outside of > the extended day hours. I would be concerned having only one adult > with all of those students for 2 hours, especially with early > childhood present. Are most of the children already picked up by then? > > On 10/20/12, Tina/IL wrote: >> I teach in a private school and also work in our extended day >> program. Our after school program runs from 3:00-6:00. On any >> given day, we have 25-40 students. We have two adults working >> for the first hour. After the first hour, one adult leaves. We >> do not have to plan any educational activities. The first 45 >> minutes are spent in the gym doing physical activity. After >> that the students are offered a snack and drink. Students can >> then work on homework. When they are done with homework, they >> may play one of the various games we have in storage (cards, >> board games, etc) >> >> 1. The hourly rate of pay is $13. 3. I do the billing for the >> program and am paid the same rate for the hours I spend doing >> the paperwork. 4. If there is an emergency, we contact the >> parents. The principal is usually in the building as well, if >> not, we call her cell phone. 5. The principal sets the policies, >> and any billing questions are directed to me, or the >> administrative secretary who collects the payments in the office. >> 6. Age range of students is preschool through eighth grade. 7. >> We have separate play areas in the gym for younger and older >> students to keep the little ones safe. We also try to keep the >> little ones separate during homework time so the older ones can >> concentrate. >> >> I think it is horrible that you are not receiving more support >> from administration. There should be clear policies and >> procedures, as well as set discipline and emergency procedures. >> >>

Oct 23, 2012

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Cinnamon applesauce dough for ornaments

by Teachers.Net Gazette

Dec 12, 2012

Make cinnamon applesauce dough ornaments! The first recipe seems to produce a more long-lasting product. Fun, and they smell really nice. Link below.

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Transitions

by Ash

Dec 20, 2012

I've been in education/childcare for too long (need higher pay, insurance opportunity to grow), what is the best way to transition into IT from childcare?

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How TV affects Brains of Young Children

by Leah

Jan 22, 2013

This is an extremely important video for all childcare professional to view.

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NEED TO KNOW!!What is the ribbon used for in The Red Ribbon:

by j

Feb 23, 2013

What is the ribbon used for in The Red Ribbon: A Book About Friendship? What do the bears use the ribbon for and in what order? I need this for a lesson plan but I forgot the book at school! Please help!!

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