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FAMILY CHILD CARE TRAINING PROGRAM
FAMILY CHILD CARE TRAINING PROGRAM
LEVEL ONE - UNIT TWELVE
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
1. Understanding benefits
to children and caregivers of active community involvement.
2. Identifying a range
of possible resources and services in the community for children and caregivers.
3. Reviewing strategies
for undertaking successful outings with children.
"We live
in a town-house with a tiny yard. While taking the school-agers to
and from school every day we passed and admired a home with a lovely
garden. The children were always saying Hello to the home-owner, an
elderly woman who was often working in her garden. One day, we all
stopped to chat and she invited us into the yard to explore her garden.
She was so impressed by how well-behaved and interested the children
were, even the little ones, that she invited us to visit several more
times. The next spring, she invited us over and had established a
little garden plot just for the children. We've tended 'our garden'
for four years now and our garden, and our new friend, have added
incredible richness to all our lives."
Providing child care is rewarding work, but it is also hard work which will be made richer and more enjoyable for you if you tap into information, activities, opportunities and support which lay beyond your home. Every community offers many resources to aid you in your work and to provide children with wonderful opportunities to grow, develop and learn.
Children are a vital part of any community, and with the caring guidance of a caregiver, should have opportunities to explore their community. Sometimes your outings and adventures may be in the immediate neighbourhood of your child care home: the nearby park or the corner store. At other times you may venture into the larger community, the village, town or city. Through a variety of activities, you can introduce the children to the wonders of that bigger world and provide them with many opportunities to learn.
Getting involved in their community will provide many benefits for the children in your care. Some of these benefits are:
Exploring the world of work
One of the ways children learn about the world is by seeing others at work. It is important for a child to "try on" - in their imagination, through play activities, and through seeing, meeting and talking to people, the world of work. It teaches them about choices, and it instills a sense that they can do or be anything. Try to show children men and women in a variety of jobs, for example, male nurses and child care workers, and female construction workers and pilots.
"Sammy, a precocious three
year old in my care, was always declaring that he wanted to be whatever
it was he had learned about that day. If we went to the Fire Station,
he wanted to be a fireman; the Police Station - a policeman; the airport
- a pilot; the grocery store - a grocer. It really got to be a standing
joke with his parents: What did he want to be this week? His father
was a little taken aback when after a morning watching an all-female
crew doing renovations on a home on our street, Sammy announced at
pick-up time 'Dad, I've definitely decided. I want to be a woman!'
But it worked out all right, the next week he wanted to be a plumber."
Building Social Skills
Participating in outings allows children to experience new places and new faces. This encourages the development of their social skills, which in turn builds self-esteem, confidence and independence in children. For the caregiver, outings provide many teaching opportunities: children can practice the words and ways to ask for help in a store, ask questions about how things work, order in a restaurant, and learn about the world in an active manner.
Encouraging School Readiness
For preschoolers, participating in a drop-in or playgroup with circle time, snack time, tidy-up time and social interaction with a larger group of children, makes the child more comfortable with the environment they will experience in kindergarten.
Whether you are participating in outings with children, using resources and services in your community for parents and caregivers, or simply networking informally with other adults, you too will benefit from community involvement. Some of these benefits include:
Reducing Isolation
Even when you love caring for children, working all day with little or no adult contact can be isolating. Getting out and about in the community, with or without the children, offers you opportunities to meet and network with other caregivers and parents. Adult contact can provide opportunities to seek and give advice, support, encouragement and information.
Building Your Caregiving Skills
The community may provide access to training opportunities, information and resources relevant to your work. Seek out learning opportunities to help you in any weak areas, and take refresher courses even in your strong areas - you will benefit from the stimulation, encouragement and validation you will receive from participating in training opportunities. You'll approach your work with renewed energy, and everyone will benefit, especially the children in your care.
Participating with the children in outings also provides opportunities to enhance your caregiving skills. You'll meet other caregivers and parents, exchange ideas, learn new activities, and have an opportunity to see how others handle the situations, behaviours and the different personalities of children.
Promoting Your Family Child Care Business
Word of mouth is one of the most successful means of finding child care clients. When people are looking for care, they often start by asking friends, neighbours, co-workers and local organizations to recommend caregivers they know. The people you meet, the programs, services, and activities that you participate in, even the businesses you patronize, are all possible sources of referrals. So the more people and organizations you connect with, the more possibilities there are of referrals to your child care business.
Making Referrals
You should be familiar with the services and resources your community offers that support and assist families and children so that you can refer parents to appropriate resources if the need arises. Such services might include government social service agencies, counselling services, children's aid societies, food banks, shelters, parenting support services and parenting workshops.
Enhancing the Image of Family Child Care
Participating in your community provides you with many opportunities to enhance the public image of family child care and to promote family child care as a valuable service to families and the community. Just being 'out there,' especially participating in activities with the children, conveys a positive image. Answering people's questions (even those silly ones like "Are they all yours?") helps educate people about what family child care is.
Every community, even the most isolated, is rich with resources, places to go and things to do. Your challenge is to seek out the resources in your community.
To identify places to visit or tour, or activities that you could participate in with the children, you'll need to do some research. Talk to friends, neighbours, your child care parents and other caregivers for ideas and recommendations. Scour your local newspaper, look in the phone book and yellow pages (start with the Child Care or Day Care section) for ideas, and take a tour around your town with "fresh eyes," by imagining the learning opportunities each building might hold for young children. See how many ideas you can add to the following lists:
Organizations that offer programs for children and caregivers include;
Other organizations/services that may offer tours or activities (and often have Open House events) include:
Don't limit yourself to finding places to visit. People are important resources too! Tap into the talents, interests, hobbies and professions of your friends, neighbours, extended family members and other people in your community. Invite people to visit your home to share their interests and expertise with the children or ask if you and the children might visit them. You will be amazed at how many people are flattered and pleased at your interest. Senior citizens in particular may have more time to share and are often eager to impart their knowledge and experience. Creating opportunities where young and older generations can interact is important for everyone; it fosters understanding, respect and tolerance in children. Here are just some of the possibilities:
Remember if you are visiting others, especially those unaccustomed to having young children around, you will have to be very alert to any potential safety risks.
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Make a list of people you know with a skill or interest they might share with the children. |
Some Popular Services and Activities for Caregivers and Children:
The Public library
Most communities have a public library or a mobile library that visits regularly. In addition to being an obvious source of wonderful books for children and caregivers alike, many offer special activities (usually free of charge) for children. The children will love story hour at the library, poetry mornings, special craft or music activities. library activities are normally well advertised in your local newspaper, or call the library and inquire about regularly scheduled and special seasonal/theme activities for children.
Play groups*
Play groups can often be found in community centres, church basements or other community facilities and are generally run on a voluntary basis by participants. Costs are usually covered with a small fee. Typically the routines include free play with sand/water tables and toys, crafts, circle time with music, poems and stories, snack time and clean up time. There may be play areas for the children such as dress-up/dramatic play, and a baby-toddler area. Some family resource programs offer regular play groups in rural communities.
Informal Play Groups*
An informal play group is often a small number of caregivers and/or parents and their children who come together on a regular basis to meet, socialize and play. Many informal playgroups meet once a week in each other's homes for a morning of socializing and activities. Many caregivers and/or parents enjoy an informal play group which rotates locations among the participants, and where the adults take turns providing snacks or activities for the children. Ask friends, neighbours and other caregivers if such a group exists in your neighbourhood and if not, consider starting one yourself. All you need is one other caregiver or at-home parent to get started.
* Check with your licensing office and/or agency to be sure that participating in a play group (whether formal or informal) doesn't contravene regulations in your jurisdiction and that your liability insurance coverage would cover any incidence.
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"A fellow caregiver and I have been doing a play group together once a week for two years now, in rain, sleet or snow. We take turns having it at each other's house and the 'hostess' has to provide the activities and the snacks for the kids (and for us). The kids really enjoy play group and have all become great friends. But to be really honest, I think the greatest benefit is to us. It's amazing how much I look forward to it each week." |
Drop-ins
Drop-ins (sometimes called Mom and Me or Mom and Tot programs) offer the same sorts of activities as play groups, but are offered in a permanent space (no taking out and putting away equipment every week!) and most often have staff present to help parents and caregivers operate the program. Although staff are present, caregivers/parents are normally required to stay with the children. Like play groups, drop-ins may be offered through child care agencies, family or community resource centres.
Special Community Events
Annual public events held in your community for your community can be found in most small towns and big cities, often arranged by a local government, agency or a charitable foundation. Heritage events, harvest fairs, teddy bear picnics and maple syrup festivals, are just a few examples. Participating with the children in these events provides the children with a fantastic opportunity to learn about the history of their home town and a great chance to get to know your neighbours!
Planning and preparing before outings and following up after outings can make them more enjoyable for the children and for you.
1. Nothing is more disappointing than an outing that just doesn't work. Get all the facts first before you decide on an outing. Find out:
2. Always discuss your plans for outings with parents so that they are aware of and consent to your plans. Tell them where you're going, how you'll get there, what you will be doing and seeing, when you will be leaving and returning and whether they are expected to share any costs.
3. If you work with a child care agency, or are licensed, a specific consent form is likely required. If you are not working with a system that provides or requires outing consent forms, develop one of your own that provides all the pertinent information and includes a space for the date and the parent's signature.
4. Prepare children for the outing. Talk to them about where you're going and what they might see. Provide books and play activities to help them learn more about the activity. Encourage them to think of questions they would like to ask, or things that they want to learn more about and write their questions and ideas down to bring with you.
5. Explain safety rules for the outing to children. Emphasize appropriate behaviours for travelling to and from your destination. REMIND CHILDREN THAT THEY MUST STAY TOGETHER AND ALWAYS HAVE YOU IN SIGHT.
6. Ask another adult to come along on your outing. Invite the children's parents, a friend or relative to join you. Or invite another caregiver to join you with her children. An extra pair of hands, ears and eyes is always helpful.
7. Take along any necessary supplies. Pack an outing bag with:
8. On the outing, make the trip active. As much as possible, allow the children to walk around, touch, smell, feel, taste and see things and to ask questions. Children need to use all their senses to explore.
9. After the outing, talk to the children about the experience and do some follow-up activities. Have children draw pictures of what they saw, visit the library to get books on the subject, provide materials for dress-up and imaginative play around the theme.
10. Encourage children to tell their parents about the outing.
If you are not used to outings
and feel daunted by the work involved in getting everyone out the
door, start small and gradually build your confidence: arrange something
close by in your neighbourhood, perhaps with a friend, neighbour or
another caregiver to help you out.
Make a list of possible
outings in your own neighbourhood. Don't forget to include parks,
school playgrounds, stores and the fire station.
To identify what services, organizations and supports might be available to you, start your search by talking to friends, neighbours, other caregivers and your child care parents. Then extend your search to local newspapers, the telephone directory and yellow pages, and flyers and notices posted in your community. Once you've found one service or organization of interest, ask them to recommend other services. Some sources of information, training, resources and support that might be available in your community include:
Caregiver Associations/Networks
Caregiver associations are run by caregivers for caregivers, and typically are involved in the development and delivery of information, training and other support services designed with the home child care provider in mind. Caregiver groups often offer newsletters, workshops and other training opportunities, social events for caregivers, planned outings for caregivers and the children, start-up information packages for those new to caregiving, bulk discount shopping opportunities and a parent referral service. Even linking with a small, informal caregiver group can offer you an opportunity for exchanging ideas, challenges and victories with others who have "been there."
Family Resource Centres/Programs
Family Resource Centres/Programs are community-based facilities typically offering a range of services to support caregivers, parents and families. Services may include play groups and/or drop-ins, book and toy-lending libraries, newsletters, workshops, caregiver and/or parent support groups and child care registries.
Toy Lending Libraries
A toy lending library may operate independently or as part of a larger facility or program, such as a family resource centre. The resources and toys available through lending libraries provide you with an excellent, inexpensive way to access toys, play equipment, books and videos without having to purchase them, or to try out a toy or large piece of play equipment before deciding whether to buy it yourself. (It is also an opportunity to teach children the concept of "borrowing!") Toy lending libraries often also offer excellent resources, including books and videos of interest to caregivers and parents.
Toy lending libraries operate much the same as a public library with items available on loan, usually for two or three week periods. Most toy libraries charge an annual membership fee but this may be waived if it presents a financial hardship. Some may have a mobile service that picks up and delivers toys to your home or to a community play group on a regular basis. Many have evening and weekend hours of operation.
Family Day Care/Family Day Home/Home Child Care Agencies
If you choose to provide care through a family child care agency, a number of services may be made available to you including referrals of client families, parent/caregiver mediation, workshops and training opportunities, newsletters, play groups and/or drop-ins, toy and equipment lending, provision of arts and crafts supplies and materials, networking with other caregivers, organized outings and social events and support from agency staff. The services offered by agencies vary as do the requirements of the agencies.
Child Care Resource and Referral Programs & Child Care Registries
Child care registries and child care resource and referral services, immigrant services and multicultural centres provide services for both parents and caregivers. These programs may maintain lists of caregivers and information on other child care options in the community for parents seeking care. There may be a fee for the parent and/or the caregiver to list with the service. Some programs offer ongoing support services similar to those of associations or agencies, such as newsletters, home visits, consultations, toy lending, play groups and drop-ins, first aid courses and other resource materials.
Community Colleges and Local Boards of Education
One-time workshops or full or part-time courses of interest to caregivers may be available through your local college or school board. These might range from a Saturday seminar on starting up a home day care presented at the local high school site, to a certificate program in home/family child care, or a diploma in Early Childhood Education from your local community college. Watch the newspapers and contact the school boards and colleges directly to find out what is offered.
Public Health Units
Your local Public Health Unit is a valuable source of information and advice on such topics as nutrition, dental care, common childhood illnesses and communicable diseases, dealing with asthma and allergies and a whole range of child health concerns. In addition to providing free printed materials, public health nurses are available by telephone to answer your questions and in some communities, may also be able to visit your home if you have specific health concerns.
Fire Departments and Police Services
In addition to being great sites to take the children on outings, fire and police departments are good sources of information for you as a caregiver. You can obtain guidance on how to develop an evacuation plan in case of a fire and have an assessment done on the fire safety status of your home. Police services can provide information on topics such as street-proofing children, and upon request, may be able to perform a criminal reference check on you, providing you with a certificate of proof for the child care portfolio/résumé you present to prospective parent-clients.
While many caregivers may be able to access or create opportunities to go out into the community, for some caregivers these opportunities may be limited or restricted because of family responsibilities, geography, weather, cost or lack of transportation.
Whether you have limited or boundless opportunities to get out and about, all caregivers can access printed and/or video materials and even training opportunities on a broad range of topics in child care, and home child care in particular. Child care and caregiver associations and agencies offer newsletters for their members. Distance education materials are available across Canada from some community colleges, and countless books and videos on a broad range of topics are available through public libraries and other sources. Whether you want information on child guidance or development, health, craft and activity ideas or age-appropriate books for the children - resources are abundant. Be selective. A magazine like Interaction, produced by the Canadian Child Care Federation, regularly provides reviews on child care resources and children's books and is an excellent source of information. Ask other caregivers what books and resources they have found useful. Go to the public library, or borrow books and videos from your family resource centre. Your local public health unit or government agency responsible for child care is likely to have free fact sheets and other literature on child care topics. If you have access to the Internet, do a search on the child care topic of your choice. Make note of quality websites that other caregivers, parents, or teachers have successfully used - good websites are often reviewed in newspapers and magazines. The Internet also provides opportunities to network with other caregivers without leaving your home!
Be resourceful, be persistent, be creative and be involved. If a service or activity that you feel is important isn't offered in your community, get involved in developing it. Start your own play group, develop your own caregiver network or work with your neighbours to lobby local government for a children's playgroup in your neighbourhood. Our communities are as rich with resources as we make them!
OPTIONS:
Develop a list of resources in your community. Your listings might include formal (e.g. associations, agencies, resource and referral programs, resource or community centres) or informal (e.g. playgroups, parks) resources that you can use yourself, or visit with the day care children. You could also include sources of written resources you could receive by mail, Internet resources, or people.
Your listings should include:
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