Discusses ideas for establishing rituals and celebrations to ease enrollment and staffing transitions during the child care center school year. Recommends ways to make transitions part of the curriculum through the use of daily routines, picture books, celebrations, and gift giving to mark significant events and changes. (JPB)

Discusses important considerations when designing early childhood facilities, including adequate space, design features that work for both small children and adults, floorcovering, color, and technology. (EV)

In 2006, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation launched the Early Learning Initiative (ELI) to improve the school readiness of Washington State's children through three main strategies: (1) development of high-quality, community-wide early learning initiatives in two communities; (2) enhancement of statewide systems that support early…

As Arizona strives for a first-rate educational system, the foundation of care and education for our youngest children remains far too weak. This new report, "A Decade of Data: The Compensation and Credentials of Arizona's Early Care and Education Workforce," marks ten years of data on trends in the wages, benefits, and education levels…

This report presents selected data on the nonparental care arrangements and educational programs of preschool children, consisting of care by relatives, care by persons to whom they were not related, and participation in day care centers and preschool programs including Head Start or Early Head Start. It focuses on children under age 6 who have…

In this article, a group of five preservice teachers and a teacher arranged to try a few activities at their campus day care. Together, they created and tested a series of learning centers involving rocks and minerals. Since minerals occur in such a wonderful variety of colors, they formed the basis for an engaging lesson on color sorting. This…

Helping staff get along with each other can sometimes be more challenging than helping young children get along. A director can feel like a referee instead of a leader of professionals when staff bicker with each other. Many directors find that efforts made to strengthen everyone's skills in giving and responding to feedback help a great deal.…

More children than ever are in care centers, and child care experiences of infants and toddlers are believed to have a powerful and lasting impact on children's well-being. A team of researchers from the FPG Child Development Institute created a study to examine the effects that transitions have on children's behavior and observable stress when…

This book is intended as a resource for those who create, adapt, and cope with settings for young children. It focuses particularly on all-day child care settings. Part 1, "Understanding Children's Settings," explores the power of the environment, or the "landscape" of children's lives--the array of settings they inhabit--and analyzes the…

In response to the need for guidance, this manual provides assistance for faith-based communities as they decide whether licensed child care fits within their ministry. The manual covers steps for getting started, key factors in determining budget, performing a needs assessment in the community and for the facility, the administrative structure of…

As the number of campus child care centers increases to meet the needs of a growing and diverse student and faculty population, many college campuses are struggling to recruit and retain faculty and staff. There are currently about 2,500 campus child care centers, and almost 35% are managed by an academic unit of the university, with another 30%…

Notes the overuse of antibiotics and the resulting resistant bacterial strains. Describes how to control and prevent staphylococcal infections specifically, and almost all infectious diseases generally. Specific sections address: (1) what are staph infections; (2) preventing staph infections; (3) caring for wounds; and (4) controlling staph…

Drawing on the latest research on child care, Bright Horizons Family Solutions convened a group of child development experts to discuss the findings and implications of studies for parents, providers, and investors in child care. This summary presents questions put to the panel during the roundtable discussion and participants' responses.…

Discusses the process of organizational change for early childcare education centers, focusing on preparation and planning. Provides suggestions for examining the source of change; the way staff, children, and parents are affected; the center's philosophy; practical considerations; staff training and development; the timetable for implementation;…

Describes common mistakes to be avoided by child care directors in early childhood catalog purchasing. Notes roadblocks to successful purchases, including failing to check out seller's reliability, comparing prices without including shipping costs or considering product quality, failing to anticipate needs, ordering from outdated catalogs, failing…