The Era of Disruption
I hope everyone had a fun and safe 4th of July! It is HOT HOT HOT out there, so I also hope you are staying hydrated and enjoying the outdoors in manageable increments. I don’t know if your family is like mine, but when it gets really hot, we often retreat indoors to the comfort of our nice, cool living room. Do you know what my favorite part of the living room is? The couch and TV of course! Although this touches on a variety of topics, I want to share with you what I feel like impacts you most about this scenario as a childcare provider. Nurul Zahriani Jf published a research article earlier this year entitled “Problems of Early Childhood Development in the Era of Disruption.” Now, this title alone peaked my interest for a number of reasons so let’s dig in!
According to Zahriani, “The future of a nation or country is largely determined by its success in preparing future generations that are useful and valuable for the benefit of national development.” As an early childhood professional, you know this firsthand; this is the reason for the hard work you put in each and every day. However, there are some inhibiting factors to consider, one of which can be explained as an era of disruption.
An era of disruption is categorized as a time when there are many rapid changes and great leaps of development for a culture. In this case I am referencing the impacts of lock downs due to COVID and advancements in technology. Lucky for us, these advancements have been foundational to our ability to stay connected despite distance and germs. However, as adults, parents and teachers are charged with understanding technology fully so they can best instruct children on the appropriate uses of it. This instructing often takes place in the form of modeled behavior for littles and appropriate boundaries for the big kids.
Furthermore, in early childhood education, this era of disruption has both positive and negative effects on children. Technology means mass amounts of information that children are exposed to and the task of understanding the ways they have had to rely on technology. And as a caregiver, you balance licensing protocol to understand what is and isn’t acceptable for the children you serve.
Some of the negative effects are addiction to screen time, inability to interact with peers, preference for loneliness, weak familial bonds, inattentive caregivers and concentration struggles. Most of these you probably observe on a daily basis. Not to mention, COVID has exacerbated these concerns further by creating a greater need for technological connection, therefore further mitigating the importance of face-to-face connection.
So here is some good news, as someone who gets the privilege of working face-to-face with children each and every day, it is important that we show them through our actions the importance of interacting meaningfully. We show them eye contact in a loving way, we show them how good it feels to make their friends smile, we show them how to be helpful and involved. Each of these little interactions compounds into something profound, mind-opening, inclusive, empowering, and rewarding. Keep up your hard work, your labor is not in vain, and you truly are making a difference!
Research article by Nurul Zahriani Jf: “Problems of Early Childhood Development in the Era of Disruption (2022)”
QRIS and Your Taxes
Are you considering applying for the new QRIS levels, but worried about the payments putting you into a higher tax bracket? That is completely understandable, but please consider doing it anyway. There are ways you can minimize the impact that the payments have on your tax situation. Here are just a few ideas. First, just a little disclaimer! I am by no means a tax expert. For tax advice, talk to your accountant. If you are a family child care provider, check out Tom Copeland’s blog. Even though Tom has retired, a group has taken over the website and will maintain it to help benefit family child care programs. Read more to get 7 tips for helping you with your taxes!
The Book Corner
School Age Coping Skills for Kids Workbook: Over 75 Coping Strategies to Help Kids Deal with Stress, Anxiety and Anger by Janine Halloran  |
Fun and Healthy Summer Activities
What better way to make some indoor fun on hot summer days! Creating delicious, nutritious snacks with children!
Doing these activities with the children in your care helps them to build many basic skills. They are practicing math skills by doing something as simple as counting eggs or pouring water into a measuring cup. They are learning to explore their senses with new tastes, smells, textures. Science, sequencing, following directions are all part of cooking as well. Parents will love it as it encourages children to be more adventurous eaters and just by offering the fruits and vegetables you will see how their ideas blossom. The skills they sharpen such as fine motor will boost their confidence and creativity-you never know which child might be inspired to become a chef!
Embracing the Mess
Please take a minute to reflect on your own childhood, playing in the mud or jumping in rain puddles is probably one of your favorite memories. Here are just a few reasons you should embrace messy play in your child’s classroom every day. Messy play provides hands-on learning experiences. Reading about something is a very different thing than your children being able to experience something in person and having the opportunity to touch, feel, smell and observe it. For example, you can read about rain in books, watch it fall, and measure how much rain has fallen, but you can’t really understand what rain feels like until you feel raindrops on your skin or you’re jumping in puddles of rainwater. Messy play gives children the freedom to be creative. Messy play allows children to be children. If messy play is unrestricted (within reason), children have the freedom to express their thoughts, build creations they’ve been wanting to build, try new things, and experiment with different materials and textures. These are things that children may not have otherwise been able to do if they weren’t presented with messy play opportunities. Messy play enhances children’s sensory development. One important thing to remember is that messy play is also sensory play. Children get to feel clumps of dirt between their fingers, feel paint dry on their skin, feel and smell flowers, and take part in a variety of other sensory experiences. Helping children develop their senses by sensory learning through messy play will ultimately provide them with a solid foundation of knowledge for the years ahead. Messy play supports kinesthetic/tactile learning. Kinesthetic/tactile learners need to move their bodies and touch or write things to understand and focus on what they’re learning, which is why messy play supports this type of learning. By encouraging children to write the alphabet in shaving or use dough cutters to make numbers out of dough or clay, you can help kinesthetic/tactile learners excel in their education while also reinforcing concepts for other types of learners.
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Ivy Learning Resource & Referral serves the North Central and Northeast Regions of Oklahoma, which includes 19 counties. For more information and to contact your regional representative, expand the section below.
North Central Region: Kay, Lincoln, Logan, Noble, Nowata, Osage, Pawnee, Payne & Washington Counties
Northeast Region: Adair, Cherokee, Craig, Delaware, Mayes, McIntosh, Muskogee, Okmulgee, Ottawa & Sequoyah Counties
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918-977-3600 Scholars for Excellence in Child Care Program 866-343-3881 Insure Oklahoma/OEPIC 888-365-3742 Oklahoma Child Care Services Oklahoma Professional Development Registry View the Statewide Training Calendar Child and Adult Care Food Programs (CACFP) | Centers for Early Childhood Professional Development (CECPD) 888.446.7608 FREE phone support and consultation for child care providers regarding behavior, development, health, andsafety issues. Mon - Fri 8am - 5pm Automated system available 24/7. Questions? Email: warmline@health.ok.gov Information, Resources, & Trainings Oklahoma Child Care Resource & Referral (OCCRRA) 888-962-2772 |
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