Allow plenty of play time. Letting infants and toddlers spend the bulk of their days in unstructured play helps fosters mental development. It can also teach them new and exciting ways to think.
Provide youngsters with a wide assortment of age appropriate toys and materials for them to play with. Infants, for example can play with blocks, rattles, wooden cars, balls, etc. Toddlers can play with dress up clothes, blocks, pots, pans, doll houses, large cars, etc.
You can guide infants and toddlers when they play, just be careful not to dominate their playtime. If kids are to develop their creative selves, they need plenty of leeway to explore materials and use them as they see fit.

Don’t be afraid to let youngsters get a little messy. Messy sensory activities help support brain development in young children. Infants and young toddlers explore things by mouthing them, so any materials you use for creative sensory play needs to be harmless. You can put out small tubs of pudding, Jell-O, oatmeal or other safe materials for infants and toddlers to feel around in.
With older toddlers, you can also use dry beans, pasta, rice and sand. However, if you use these materials with older toddlers supervise them carefully to make sure they don’t put these items in their mouths.

Give infants and toddlers time to explore their surroundings. Don’t confine infants to cribs, bouncers and high chairs. Put them on the floor and let them crawl around and use their senses to explore their environment. Also, don’t just let infants explore things from they’re level, pick them up and walk around the room with them so they can explore the world from your height.
Toddlers are movers and shakers, so don’t confine them to small sections of the room, let them get around and explore the classroom so they can learn to develop their own unique perspectives and reactions to their environment.

Encourage infants and toddlers to try new things. Having the confidence to try something new is important for creativity. Encouraging a baby or toddler to try something new such as sit up for the first time or pet a bunny rabbit can build self confidence and make him more willing to try new things in the future.

Read and tell stories. Whenever you read or tell stories to infants and toddlers, you create the foundation for lifelong learning and creativity. Anytime you read or tell a story, alter your facial expressions, use sound effects, and animate your voice to distinguish moods and characters.

Use music and movement. Music inspires creative expression in children. When you play music, encourage your infants and toddlers to bounce around and move. There are no limits to the ways kids can move to music. You can also gently dance, twirl and sway with infants.
Don’t limit your choice of music to classical and kiddy bop, expose kids to a variety of music genres as long as the lyrics are age-appropriate. If you want, you can even use instrumental versions of popular songs.

Buying most of your fruits and vegetables from the local farmers market will save you a bundle of cash. Locally grown produce sold at farmers markets can be up to 50 percent cheaper than produce at the grocery store. Why? Because there are no additional costs tacked on for packaging, shipping or store overhead.
Don’t Buy Out of Season Fruits and Vegetables
In season fruits and vegetables grow in abundance, so they’re less expensive than produce that’s out of season. If you buy strawberries in the wintertime, you’re going to pay big bucks. Buy fruits and vegetables only when they’re in season. Your wallet will thank you.
Buy Whole Wheat Bread at an Outlet Bakery

You can buy whole wheat bread 30 to 50 percent cheaper at a bakery outlet store. This is because the bakery outlet sells either bread the company produced too much of, or bread that may be close to its expiration date.
Usually if the bread is about to expire, it is marked down by 50 percent. If you find whole wheat bread on sale, take advantage of it and grab several loaves. You can keep them fresh by popping them in the freezer until you’re ready to use them.
Buy Meat on Sale and in Bulk

Buying poultry and lean meat in bulk will save you money over the long haul. When you buy in bulk, freeze whatever you don’t use so that it stays fresh. You can find excellent sales on meat by scouring daily newspapers. Sure, this can be a little time consuming, but it is well worth the money you’ll save in the end.
Serve More Dry Beans

Beans are cheap, easy to prepare and full of protein and iron. You can serve beans as an alternative to meat or you can add them in soup, chili and salads. When you serve beans instead of meat, you can save a bundle. Change up the kind of beans you serve to keep kids from being bored.
Reduce the Amount of Sugar in Breakfast Foods

When you buy cereal and Pop Tarts, get the kind without the sugar coating. You can add sliced bananas or other types of fruit to the cereal to sweeten it. When you serve kids oatmeal, sweeten it with raisins or applesauce instead of sugar.
If you shop smart, buy local produce and reduce sugary foods, you can improve your menu without going broke. If buying healthier food is a serious struggle, you may need to boost your childcare prices just a bit.

When you do business with friends and relatives, the lines between personal and business interactions can get blurred. Loved ones may feel entitled to preferential treatment, and feel they’re exempt from the rules. Dealing with attitudes of entitlement from friends and family can get old . . . fast. This is why some people refuse to do business with loved ones. However, if you have a friend or relative who’s willing to pay for your childcare services, why not give her a chance. Just be sure to take measures to keep your relationship in tact.

Get it in writing. The old “handshake and smile” way of doing business is overrated. If you rely on this method, especially with your loved ones, you might get burned. Make your friends and family sign the same contract you give all your other clients. When you do this, they’ll know you mean business, and they’re less likely to break the rules.

Nip it in the bud. When your loved ones break the rules, address it immediately. Don’t sit on your thumbs hoping the situation will get better. If your friend is 45 minutes late picking up her child, refer her back to the agreement she signed, charge her the late fee, and explain to her that it can’t happen again. Your bud may be a little bent out of shape at first, but if she’s a true friend, she’ll get over it.

Talk it out. In addition to your signed contract, reiterate to your loved ones that you expect them to give you the same respect they would give a provider they don’t know. This means adhering to the rules, picking their kids up on time, and making timely payments. If you sense any hesitance on the part of your loved ones, refer them to another provider.

Don’t play favorites. No matter how tempting it is to pull your niece out of the classroom and let her eat ice cream in your office, don’t do it. Parents and children notice when things like this happen. Giving a child preferential treatment will cause the other kids to feel inadequate, and make their parents angry enough to withdraw them. Save yourself the drama and treat all of the children the same.

If you aren’t careful, doing business with friends and relatives can get sticky. However, if you let loved ones know from the start what you expect; you can minimize problems and keep your relationships in tact.

Embrace Technology

There’s no point in running from technology; it’s not going anywhere. In fact, if you want to keep your business competitive, embracing technology is a must. If you don’t already have a website, get one. If you don’t already have software to help simplify your administrative tasks, consider investing in some. A website can save you time by making all of your childcare information available to existing and potential clients with the click of mouse.

A website also serves as a round-the-clock marketing tool; so even when you’re snoozing, your website is working to boost your business. Investing in childcare software can help streamline mundane tasks like bookkeeping, record-keeping, and payment tracking. Software can also help you keep track of employee records and payroll hours.

Get Some Business Training

Knowledge is like money. You can never have too much of it. Consider taking some marketing or business workshops, seminars or classes. Business training can help you learn how to target your marketing efforts, keep accurate records, screen employees, and other things related to operating a business. Business concepts are universal, so the workshops don’t necessarily have to be related to childcare. You can tweak any information you learn to fit your needs.

Get Serious About Your Health

Your health has a direct impact on the way you do your job. If you’re tired, stressed, and weak all the time, there is no way you’re going to be effective at any job you do. Making the following lifestyle tweaks will help you feel healthier and allow you to do your job more effectively:

Being healthy, beefing up your business knowledge, and using technology to streamline your business will help you improve yourself and make your job easier in the New Year.

Decide where you will host the event. Hosting the dinner at your childcare facility or your home is the cheapest option.  However, consider whether or not you have enough room for all the people who will attend.  If the space you already have is not big enough, consider hosting the event at a local community center, or a small banquet hall.

Decide on a day and time. Obviously, you won’t have the staff dinner on Christmas – most people already have plans to spend time with their loved ones on this day.  Consider having the event several days before Christmas at a time that won’t interfere with others’ holiday plans.

Get a head count. Will the event be for staff members only, or will they be allowed to bring a friend, spouse, or children?  Whatever you decide, it’s important to get a general idea of how many people will attend so you will have enough food for everyone.

Decide what dishes you will serve. Christmas dinner for staff members doesn’t need to be elaborate.  Simple traditional Christmas dishes like ham or turkey and dressing, veggies, macaroni and cheese, and a couple of desserts will suffice.  Remember, it’s the thought that counts.

Decide who will prepare the food. If you don’t feel like spending all day in the kitchen, consider having a potluck.  Each employee can sign up to bring a covered dish to the dinner.  If a potluck is out of the question, consider having the event catered.  If catering is too expensive, you can buy premade desserts, and go to a grocery store deli and pay them to prepare the most time consuming dishes.

Ask for volunteers to help with cleanup. Most people will be more than happy to help with cleanup duty.  Make cleanup hassle-free by using disposable plates, flatware and cups.  If you’re concerned about the environment, buy disposables that are biodegradable.

Employees are not only the heart of your childcare business; they are like a second family.  Show your staff members how much you value them by using the tips above to plan a special Christmas shindig in their honor.

With the end of the year just around the corner, now is the perfect time to take a look at your written agreement to see if it needs to be updated. This way, you can have it ready to hand out to your clients just in time for the New Year.

So How Do You Revamp Your Contract Without Causing an Uproar?

When businesses revamp their policies and procedures, the changes are not always welcomed by their clients, but they do it anyway.  They don’t do it because they are trying to “stick it” to the customer (not usually, anyway), but because the changes are necessary to protect interests, ensure survival of the business, and keep confusion to a minimum.

The good news is that if contractual changes are reasonable, people who get bent out of shape over your revamped policies will usually get over it. Of course, you’ll have an occasional parent who will pack up her tyke, and hightail it to another facility, just to teach you a lesson. However, as long as you provide outstanding care for children, most parents won’t waste their energy searching for another childcare provider.

Parents show a positive response to respect and common courtesy, so don’t just spring contractual changes on them, and expect them to conform overnight. Notify them in advance about the changes to give them time to get used to the idea.

If you only plan to make minor revisions to your contract such as adding a small fee for providing wipes and diapers for kids when parents forget to replenish these items, a two weeks notice is appropriate. However, if you make major changes such as raising childcare fees, tacking on late charges, or changing business hours, parents should receive at least 30 days notice.

Businesses change, and sometimes written agreements have to change with them. If your policies and procedures are outdated, now is the perfect time to overhaul them so they line up with the way you want to do business.

There’s no doubt, Christmas is a magical time for families across the globe. However, this is not the only important celebration that happens in December – Hanukkah and Kwanzaa also go on during this time of the year. 

Hanukkah is also referred to as the festival of lights, and is observed by Jews all over the globe. Hanukkah is celebrated for eight days with a menorah that holds eight candles. On each of the eight days, a candle is lit to celebrate the taking back of the temple of Jerusalem. During this time, Jews participate in family-based and communal rituals.

Kwanzaa begins on December, 26, and lasts for seven days. Kwanzaa was started in 1970, and is generally celebrated by African Americans. During each day, families light a candle and talk about one of the seven principles the holiday is based on:

1.  Unity

2.  Self-determination

3.  Collective work and responsibility

4.  Cooperative economics

5.  Purpose

6.  Creativity

7.  Faith

On the seventh day, the families get together, feast, and exchange simple (often handmade) gifts. Unlike Christmas and Hanukkah, Kwanza is not a religious celebration, so some families who observe this holiday may also celebrate Christmas.

While it’s tempting to only focus on Christmas in December, it’s important to recognize the diversity of the month so that every child feels special. Even if you don’t have kids in your class who celebrate Kwanzaa or Hanukkah, teaching youngsters about these festivities is a great way to incorporate social studies into your curriculum.

Teaching young children about diversity is important. When they are exposed to the diverse celebrations that take place in December, they learn to respect others’ cultures and beliefs, and they are better able to function in an increasingly diverse society.

Some simple ways you can celebrate the diversity of December in your classroom is to:

• Read books about Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanza.

• Invite parents of the kids who celebrate these holidays to come in and share a simple traditional cooking or craft activity.

• Encourage children to talk about how they celebrate their special holiday.

• Talk to kids about some of the differences and similarities of all the holidays.

December is a festive time for people who celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanza. Don’t let this month pass by without taking the opportunity to expose kids to other cultures, and teach them about tolerance and respect for others.

• Take advantage of training opportunities. The more you know about child development, the better you’ll be at your job. When you’re good at your job, your confidence will soar. To find childcare training opportunities, check out local community colleges, early education workshops, childcare associations, and literature geared towards early childhood educators.

• Carry yourself like a professional. If you dress, and act like a professional, parents and coworkers will have no choice but to respect you. Having the respect of peers can be a huge confidence booster for you.

• Be open to constructive criticism. When others offer well-meaning critique on your job performance, it allows you to step outside of yourself and look at the way you do things. Maybe you can organize your classroom better, and get more done if you manage your time differently. Even if constructive criticism rubs you the wrong way, or hurts your feelings, be open to listening, and learning from it anyway.

• Don’t dwell on your mistakes. If you replay mistakes over and over in your head, it’s just going to beat your self-esteem down. Just remember, mistakes are a part of life – everybody makes them. Every time you make a mistake, count it as a lesson learned, and move on.

• Join a childcare organization. What better way to build your confidence, and cement your role as an early childhood pro than by being part of a professional childcare organization. These types of organizations are designed to offer support, improve industry-related knowledge, keep you updated on childcare trends, and give you the tools you need to grow as a professional.

• Build on your talents. Everyone has something they shine at. Are you creative? Are kids naturally drawn to you? Are you the type of person who goes above and beyond when it comes to caring for your charges? Are you great at classroom management or lesson planning? Once you realize your strengths, build on them and watch your confidence grow.

Gaining confidence as a childcare professional is not easy, but if you carry yourself like a pro, join a reputable childcare organization, build on your strengths, learn from constructive critique, and continuously educate yourself, over time, your self-esteem will blossom and you’ll become the confident early education professional you were meant to be.

 
Boost your immune system. Your immune system is your first line of defense against those pesky flu germs. When your immune system is weak, your body has a tough time fighting off viruses. Strengthen your immune system by eating foods rich in vitamin C and zinc, exercising regularly, drinking plenty of water, and getting plenty of rest.

 
Wash your hands often, and encourage your charges to do the same. Hands are one of the main methods of transport for flu germs; so the importance of hand washing can’t be stressed enough. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests washing your hands with soap and warm running water for at least 20 seconds. If water is not available, use an alcohol based hand sanitizer.

 
Keep your hands away from your face. When you touch a surface that has flu germs on it, the germs transfer to your hands. When you put your hands in your face, the germs can travel from your hands to the openings in your nose or mouth, and make you sick.

 
Enforce your sick policy. Lay down the law when it comes to your sick policy. When parents bring their children to childcare sick, it puts you and the other children at risk for becoming ill. If a child gets sick while he is in your care, move him away from the group, and call the parent to pick him up immediately.

 
Consider getting a flu shot if you work with infants. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests people who work with children younger than 6-months-old get an annual flu shot. Since infants younger than 6-months are not candidates for flu shots, this makes them more vulnerable to getting the illness. If a baby in your care catches the flu, the close contact required to care for him makes it highly likely you’ll catch it too.

 
Sanitize toys and surfaces often. Depending on the type of surface, and conditions in the room, flu germs can survive for 48 or more hours outside of the body. To rid toys and surfaces of flu germs, sanitize them regularly with a fresh bleach-water solution.

 
Encourage kids to cover their noses and mouths when they sneeze and cough. Instead of having a child use her hands to cover a sneeze or cough, encourage her to use a tissue. Keep boxes of tissue in the most frequently used areas of the classroom. This way, kids can easily access them when they need to.

To make matters worse, when 27-year-old Mrs. Morgan stooped down to play with the rabbits on the farm, one of the workers noticed her struggling with her balance, so he took her by the arm and helped her up. When the outing was over, Mrs. Morgan vowed she would never take her class to the pumpkin patch again – it was just too much for her to handle. Is this really the best solution?

Getting winded, suffering with creaks and pains, and not being able to keep up with the kids doesn’t just happen to Mrs. Morgan on field trips; these things happen to her to some extent everyday – even when she’s performing routine childcare duties. If this teacher were physically fit, she wouldn’t have to swear off field trips, or struggle with simple everyday tasks.

Physical fitness should be a priority for every childcare professional. Not just for the obvious health benefits, but because it can make you better at your job. When you exercise regularly it:

• boosts your energy

• improves your range of motion and the pliability of the spine

• strengthens the muscles and stabilizes your core

• improves your mental sharpness

• relieves stress and improves your mood (no more yelling at the kids)

Think about how much more enjoyable working with children would be if you could sit on the carpet during circle time, and not have to worry about how you’re going to get up. Wouldn’t it be nice to lift babies without your back giving out? How about being able to take a nature walk with your class, and have energy and endurance to spare when it’s over?

Providing care for children is physically demanding – and being out of shape doesn’t help any. If you want to perform your childcare duties better, you can easily improve your level of physical fitness simply by exercising regularly.

Doing just 30 minutes (more is better) of moderate to rigorous cardiovascular exercise 5 days a week is all it takes to get fit. Cardio exercises can include things like brisk walking, dancing, jump rope, playing sports or biking. In addition to cardiovascular exercise, it is recommended that you lift weights at least two days a week.
The results of exercise are cumulative, meaning you don’t have to do it all at once to get results. You can break your exercise sessions up into three or more 10 minute increments throughout the day.