< back to welcome page 1 Recruitment 2 Eligibility 3 Selection 4 Enrollment 5 Receiving (or Providing) Services

5.1Screening & Compliance Requirements

5.1.1Prior to Day 1 5.1.230/45/60/90 Day 5.1.32.5-Year-Old 5.1.4Education Staff Yearly Timelines 5.1.5Family Worker Yearly Timeline

5.2Center/Classroom Startup Planning

5.2.1Language Services 5.2.2Family Orientation

5.2.2.1Siblings and Non-Enrolled Children

5.2.3Child Files 5.2.4Center/Classroom Environment Set up 5.2.5Daily Schedules 5.2.6Curriculum Planning 5.2.7ECERS/ITERS Rating Scale

5.3Classroom Engagement

5.3.01Opening Checklist (EHS/HS) 5.3.02Set up Morning Environment 5.3.03Pedestrian Safety 5.3.04Drop-Off/Pick-Up Procedures 5.3.05Greeting Children & Families 5.3.06Daily Health Check 5.3.07Daily Logs (EHS) 5.3.08Child Supervision 5.3.09Handwashing Procedures 5.3.10Attendance Policy & Procedures 5.3.11Meals (EHS/HS)

5.3.11.1Special Dietary Needs

5.3.12Bottle Feeding/Introduction to Solid Foods (EHS) 5.3.13Bathroom Procedures 5.3.14Diapering 5.3.15Tooth Brushing 5.3.16Free Choice Time 5.3.17Small Group Time 5.3.18Large Group Time 5.3.19Outside Time 5.3.20Facilitating Lessons 5.3.21Napping Procedures (EHS/HS) 5.3.22Cleaning & Laundry 5.3.23Closing Checklist 5.3.24Challenging Behavior Tracking Packet

5.3.24.1Behavior Incidents

5.3.24.2Referral for Observation/Consultation 5.3.25Planning Activities

5.3.25.1Creative Curriculum Studies

5.3.26Unusual Incidents/Accidents (Ouch Report) 5.3.27Administering Medication 5.3.28Off-Floor Planning Time 5.3.29Center-based Program Year Shutdown Checklist

5.4Ongoing Assessment

5.4.1Observational Notes 5.4.2Desired Results Development Profile (DRDP) 5.4.3Individual Child Goals (ICG) 5.4.4Portfolio Collection

5.5Family Engagement

5.5.1Home Visits 5.5.2Family Conferences 5.5.3Parent Center Committee Meetings (PCCM)

5.5.3.1Web Planning Process

5.5.4Family Partnership Process

5.5.4.1Family Opportunity and Interest Assessment (FOIA) 5.5.4.2Family Partnership Agreement (FPA) Family Goals

5.5.5Parent Cafes 5.5.6Positive Behavior Support and Child Success Team 5.5.7IEP/IFSP Meetings 5.5.8Inclusion Planning (Disabilities Plan of Action)

5.5.8.1Service Providers at Center

5.5.9Attendance Study Teams (AST) 5.5.10Raising a Reader 5.5.11Make Parenting a Pleasure – Parenting Groups 5.5.12Records Request and Enrollment Verification 5.5.13Policy Council 5.5.14Name and/or Family Change Procedure 5.5.15Registered Sex Offender Procedure

5.6Weekly Home Visits

5.6.1Home Visitor Timeline 5.6.2Preparing for Weekly Home Visits 5.6.3First 11 Weekly Home Visit Records 5.6.4Personal Visit Planning Guide and Record 5.6.5Home Visit Tracking Form 5.6.6Developmental Domains 5.6.7Home Visitor Curriculum Planning and Training 5.6.8Travel File 5.6.9Parent Binder 5.6.10Scheduling Home Visits in Outlook 5.6.11Home Visits in Child Plus

5.7Home-based Socials

5.7.1Socialization Site 5.7.2Group Socialization Plan 5.7.3Home-based Socials: Meals

5.9Reporting

5.9.1Family Worker and Home Visitor Monthly Summary Report

5.9.1.1Using Childplus To-Do Lists 5.9.1.2Supervising ChildPlus To-Do Lists 5.9.1.3Family Worker and Teacher/Caregiver Monthly Family Staffing

5.9.2Reporting Suspicion of Child Abuse 5.9.3Head Teacher/Site Supervisor End of Month Checklist

5.9.3.1Site Meetings

5.10Prenatal Services

5.10.1Prenatal Enrollment 5.10.2Prenatal Home Visits 5.10.3The Postpartum Visit

5.12Internal Monitoring

5.12.1Child File Monitor 5.12.2Teaching Pyramid Snapshot 5.12.3Monitoring Chronic Absenteeism 5.12.4Personal Visit Observation Tool and Home Visit Rating Scale (HOVRS)

5.13Food Service

5.13.1Kitchen Basics 5.13.2Menu and Menu Planning 5.13.3Foodservice Shopping 5.13.4Food Safety and Handling

6 Transition 7 Admin/Operations 8 ChildPlus 9 Learning Paths

5.3.16

Free Choice Time

During free choice time (also called center time or work time), children choose an interest area in which they would like to work, with whom they want to work and what materials to use. During free choice time, most interest areas are available to children including blocks, dramatic play, toys and games, sand and water, library, art and so on. When children are finished in one area, they are free to move to another.

Making choices is such an important skill. It helps children build autonomy and makes them feel like they are a valued member of the classroom community. At a meeting, before choice time you can talk about which activities will be available in each interest center.

For more helpful information on free choice time, see Choice Time (pages 76-77) in The Creative Curriculum – Volume 1: The Foundation.

Free Choice Time:

Applies to both EHS & HS
Typically lasts 1 hour or more
Includes all children
Interest areas may include blocks, dramatic play, toys and games, sand and water, Library, Discovery, music and movement and art
Interest areas need to be introduced by Teachers and explained at the beginning of the year
New activities in the interest areas should be introduced before free choice time
Planning boards can be used to in each area. This gives children a concrete method for planning choice time. If they are used, give each child a name card to place on the planning board to indicate where he or she will work

Teachers observe children actively during free choice time and:

Take note of what children are doing
Decide whether to get involved
- Ask open-ended questions
- Make suggestions
Facilitate play between children
Facilitate problem solving techniques

References

The Creative Curriculum for Preschool –
- Volume 1: The Foundations
  - Choice Time (pages 76-77)
  - The Daily Schedule (pages 81-88)
- Volume 2: Interest Areas (whole volume)
The Creative Curriculum for Infants, Toddlers and Twos
- Volume 1: The Foundations
  - Chapter 4: Caring and Teaching (page 102)
    - Specifically, see “Guiding Children’s Learning” (page 123)
  - Volume 2: Routines and Experiences (whole volume)
- ECERS and All About ECERS book
  - See Subscale: Activities – Items 19-28
    - Fine motor
    - Art
    - Music/movement
    - Blocks
    - Dramatic play
    - Dramatic play
    - Nature/science
    - Math/number
    - Use of TV, video, and or computers
    - Promoting acceptance and diversity
  - See Subscale: Program Structure – Item 35 – Free Play
- ITERS and All about ITERS book
  - See Subscale: Activities – Items 15-24
  - See Subscale: Program Structure – Item 30 – Free Play