by Natalie Grebe Recently I attended a birthday party for a friend’s little boy named Cian. Cian was turning two and was all smiles as guests arrived and piled presents inside his red wagon. He mostly enjoyed playing with his cousins in the yard and luring his favorite “Grammie” to his sandbox to play alongside...Read More

Regina Wright The reason why I chose to write about this topic is because, I am asked often when visiting infant rooms and family childcare homes with only infants enrolled, “Why we require, “Keep out of reach of children” items, to be stored in locked cabinets?”  Many providers don’t understand the reasoning for locked items...Read More

By Angel Avery-Wright I often observe early learning settings that are missing musical instruments and activities. The instruments are not on the shelves. There is no music center.Read More

By Pam Schaffner The assessment team in PA is often asked if they have any tips to make meeting quality standards easier. Since they have experiences visiting many programs in their professional careers, they have seen many programs employ strategies to make things easier, more efficient, and more effective. Implementing quality can be stressful or...Read More

Natalie Grebe A key component of a program’s sustained quality that may not receive consistent attention is the director’s observations of classrooms. It is best practice for directors to observe classrooms and review their findings with teachers. Most directors will say the biggest reason for not being able to do this as well as they...Read More

By Lisa Mulliken I sometimes drive my five-year-old granddaughter to preschool early in the morning. During our short drive she usually starts off a conversation with, “Mimi, did you know….?” Recently our conversation started with, “Mimi, did you know that fairies are real?” I responded with, “Wow! I’ve never seen a fairy. What do you...Read More

By Regina Wright I may be confessing my age, but let’s let our imaginations wander. Think about the time in your life when you were a child. What made your free time fun time? When I imagine, I think about long summer days and how I spent endless hours jumping rope. I had so much...Read More

By Lisa Mulliken E-books are electronic books in digital form that can be read on a phone, tablet, computer or any other hand-held device. As e-books become more popular in classrooms and homes, there are many questions, and opinions, about using e-books instead of print books with children.Read More

Pam Schaffner Inclusion is a relatively new concept in the course of human history. Before the 19th century, those with disabilities were often considered cursed or even possessed and were largely removed from society. They were often institutionalized in hospitals or even jails. In recent decades how persons with disabilities are educated and treated in...Read More

Does changing a diaper seem daunting with all those steps that are needed? You may have been overwhelmed seeing those steps listed. The procedural steps that the Program Quality Assessment team follows was a collaboration between the authors of the Environment Rating Scales, The American Academy of Pediatric resource “Caring for Our Children” and our...Read More