Back to School as a Child Care Provider: The Essentials
Back to school time, the time of new folders, Kleenex boxes for the classroom, and stressed out parents and teachers trying to find enough time in the day to get everything done before that first bell rings on the first day of school.
For many people back to school time is just as crazy if not worse than the October to January holiday line up. If you are a teacher you need to make sure your room is ready before the first bell of the new school year rings, that everything and I mean everything is labeled, that meet the teacher night not only happened but you where able to say at least hello to all your new families, and lets not forget making sure you don't mix up the Mona and Frozen songs. :) On the other side of the field you have the parents you are trying to make sure their child or children have their school supplies, from the colored folders for each class, to the number two pencils. While also making sure their child(ren) have some form of current back to school clothes, and lets not forget the matching lunch bags and backpacks.
As a child care provider teacher I don't have the worry of in depth lesson plans, sticking to a strict daily routine, grading, meeting state/county mandated goals for each child. But we still have set goals and work we have to meet and do each and every year. We have to set up our classroom at the start of the program year for the new group of children, we have to keep record and observations of the kids in our classroom, and also change up our classroom each month to fit their current interests and developmental needs.
This may not sound like a lot to many but trust me it is. On top of the daily craziness that is child care, its a good craziness you do have the 'teacher' tasks that need to get done no matter what age you work with. Due to this I have found a few essentials that help to keep me on task and know what I need to get done and when its due. They include but for sure are not limited to:
-A Planner
-Some form of caffeine, for me tea
-Folder for new year information
-Co-teacher
-Pre-new year work
A planner is something that I use every day I am someone who likes making list and enjoys being able to have an idea of what is going on in any given day. I currently am enjoying my Happy Planner from Create 365 I really like the three different sections in it so that I can have a spot for home, work, and either school or if school for me is not in session than just and extra spot. I will use my planner to write down the big things I want to get done for that day, weather its check emails, do a project, clean something or type of something.
Caffeine is something that I think every teacher and almost every person needs to just get through their day. If you are someone that can go without caffeine please tell me how you do it. I drink tea once a day normally around lunch time and for me that is what I need to get through the day. It gives me the extra boost around 3pm or so and just keeps me going until the second wind for the day kicks in around 4:30pm.
A folder for the new year information is something that I used last year and loved. Being able to put all the kids copies of paper work in one spot until they can go where they need to is priceless. Also being able to keep everything else that we need for the new year in one place helps a ton when it comes to setting up the classroom. I keep all the labels, paperwork that we need in the room, and birthday board, and cubbie tags labeled and ready to go in the folder. Come our work days I can pull out the folder when its time to label things and get it all put up nicely.
A co-teacher is a god send when it comes to getting things ready for the new year and just in general. When I hear about child care centers where teachers are on their own I wonder that has to be nice for some stuff but I would not trade having someone with me for anything. Me and my co-teacher split the responsibilities when it comes to getting things ready for the new year and this helps a ton.
Lastly is pre-new year work, this is something that another teacher at my job recommended to me. She told me how on our work days the copier and laminator are crazy busy so do as much has you can now before then. And let me tell you she was right, I made sure to have our birthday board, cubbie tags, and any other copies and labels needed done as soon as I could. This also just helps on the work days because it is one less thing to worry about. I also found this year that going through cabinets before the work days helps a lot. Not only are you seeing what you have before hand and creating less work, but you really get to see what you did and did not use that past year.
The new school year can bring lots of smiles and happy moments as well as stressful moments. I find with using my essentials and doing pre-new year work the stressful moments are less.
Good luck to all the teachers getting ready for a new year, it will be great!
This may not sound like a lot to many but trust me it is. On top of the daily craziness that is child care, its a good craziness you do have the 'teacher' tasks that need to get done no matter what age you work with. Due to this I have found a few essentials that help to keep me on task and know what I need to get done and when its due. They include but for sure are not limited to:
-A Planner
-Some form of caffeine, for me tea
-Folder for new year information
-Co-teacher
-Pre-new year work
A planner is something that I use every day I am someone who likes making list and enjoys being able to have an idea of what is going on in any given day. I currently am enjoying my Happy Planner from Create 365 I really like the three different sections in it so that I can have a spot for home, work, and either school or if school for me is not in session than just and extra spot. I will use my planner to write down the big things I want to get done for that day, weather its check emails, do a project, clean something or type of something.
Caffeine is something that I think every teacher and almost every person needs to just get through their day. If you are someone that can go without caffeine please tell me how you do it. I drink tea once a day normally around lunch time and for me that is what I need to get through the day. It gives me the extra boost around 3pm or so and just keeps me going until the second wind for the day kicks in around 4:30pm.
A folder for the new year information is something that I used last year and loved. Being able to put all the kids copies of paper work in one spot until they can go where they need to is priceless. Also being able to keep everything else that we need for the new year in one place helps a ton when it comes to setting up the classroom. I keep all the labels, paperwork that we need in the room, and birthday board, and cubbie tags labeled and ready to go in the folder. Come our work days I can pull out the folder when its time to label things and get it all put up nicely.
A co-teacher is a god send when it comes to getting things ready for the new year and just in general. When I hear about child care centers where teachers are on their own I wonder that has to be nice for some stuff but I would not trade having someone with me for anything. Me and my co-teacher split the responsibilities when it comes to getting things ready for the new year and this helps a ton.
Lastly is pre-new year work, this is something that another teacher at my job recommended to me. She told me how on our work days the copier and laminator are crazy busy so do as much has you can now before then. And let me tell you she was right, I made sure to have our birthday board, cubbie tags, and any other copies and labels needed done as soon as I could. This also just helps on the work days because it is one less thing to worry about. I also found this year that going through cabinets before the work days helps a lot. Not only are you seeing what you have before hand and creating less work, but you really get to see what you did and did not use that past year.
The new school year can bring lots of smiles and happy moments as well as stressful moments. I find with using my essentials and doing pre-new year work the stressful moments are less.
Good luck to all the teachers getting ready for a new year, it will be great!
-Holly
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