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Sophia , Grant Specialist at Childcare Resources of Indian River Sophia Olsinski Grant Specialist Grants Joined Childcare Resources in 2023 Contact Back

Find out more about our early educator coaching program. Early Educator Coaching A coach is an empathetic, encouraging, and experienced educator who can help you with curriculum and classroom recommendations, program structure, interacting with parents and staff, and more! First, you’ll identify goals for your classroom or teaching style. Together, you and the coach will discuss strategies to help you reach those goals. After implementing the new strategies, you’ll meet with the coach again for feedback. Early education coaches also facilitate Communities of Practice , where educators come together to support one another and learn as a group. All Childcare Resources coaching staff is certified through the University of Florida Lastinger Center. Sign up for coaching View Flyer More from the coaches September 1, 2025 Our training focused on teaching what we practice, how Conscious Discipline starts with us. Read More July 1, 2025 Art is more than just a fun activity in the early childhood classroom. Read More June 1, 2025 It can be common for kids to lose some of their learning over the summer break. Read More More Newsletters

Routines can create a sense of safety Coach's Column Amanda Gooch August 1, 2024 Welcome back to another incredible beginning to the school year. To help you ease back to school, join us for our upcoming Conscious Discipline workshop on Saturday August 24th. We will be discussing tools such as visual schedule and routines and what the structure looks like in a classroom. With these take home tools and strategies, you will be able to implement them immediately with your students. These routines are essential as they provide us with a felt sense of safety and the opportunity to access the higher centers of our brain. Routines are the skeleton that supports the School Family and provides the structure for its success. Our job as early educators is to understand the complexity of our classrooms, break that down into regular routines and teach these routines to our students. Visuals never get tired of telling us what to do. Routines are the foundation for creating safe, organized classrooms where optimal learning can occur. The more children use visuals and visual cues, the more they become internalized images for the brain to govern future behaviors. Wishing you all the best, Amanda & Todd Back to Coaching Back to Newsletters

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Conscious Discipline's 5 Steps for Self-Regulation Coach's Column Paulette Maggiacomo May 1, 2021 As I was attempting to write this newsletter, I simply couldn’t put my thoughts into words and I had an ‘aha’ moment. I reflected on Kim Hughes’ presentation on Feeling Your Feelings - How to Get Unstuck with Conscious Discipline and I followed the 5 Steps for Self-Regulation she focused on: I AM: My body was telling me that I was angry by my clenched teeth. I CALM: I allowed myself the time to sit with this emotion and let it bubble up to the surface by being a STAR (Smile, Take a deep breath – or as many as needed, And Relax) . I allowed myself that moment of self-care that is so important to help us get unstuck. I FEEL: I realized that I wasn’t angry, but rather I was frustrated. I CHOOSE: By naming the feeling I was able to ‘Name it, Tame it, and Reframe it’ and move towards feeling optimistic. I SOLVE: I then was able to take responsibility and take action – hence (I just love that word) my thoughts became my words. As they use to say on the television show, The A-Team, “I love it when a plan comes together!” By effectively using this process I internalized it and can now model for others. As Kim said, “We can’t teach skills that we do not have.” If we are going to teach children how to self-regulate, we must be able to do it ourselves. We can either catch their crazy or download calm and be a STAR. In order to be a STAR, we must be aware of our triggers and remember that “no one can drive you crazy unless you give them the keys.” Use D.N.A. to help the children recognize their feelings: Describe: “Your (eyes, mouth, face, arms) are going like this....." Pause: When you have eye contact, download calm by breathing Name: "You seem_______________________" Acknowledge: "You wanted _____________________" or, "You were hoping __________________" Kim stressed the importance of allowing yourself the luxury, not the necessity, of self-care. You cannot give what you do not have. I know it feels overwhelming to find the time – you can do it, you must do it! Turn off those electronics (I was embarrassed when my phone notified me of how much time I spent on it, and no I was not just talking to people), lock yourself in the bathroom and savor that piece (or pieces) of chocolate, take that walk, but please, I implore you to find the time. You matter!!!!! As our year comes to a close, I would like to thank each one of you for your commitment to early childhood education. During this unprecedented time in our history, you have been the ‘Safe Place’ for the children entrusted into your care. You are indeed a Superhero. THANK YOU. Until next time, I wish you well, Paulette Back to Coaching Back to Newsletters

< Back Meet Jamari When Jamari first entered the infant room at Childcare Resources, he was a happy baby. But soon, teachers noticed that he was struggling to engage. The Wellness and Early Intervention team reached out to his mother Judean to ensure he received the proper support. “Jamari was able to enroll in one-on-one speech, occupational, and physical therapy during school hours, on-site. I was thrilled to find out these additional services were available for him,” says Judean. Through Speech and Occupational therapy, Jamari soon gained the skills he needed to interact with others in the classroom. Now at the age of three, he can grasp and communicate while maintaining eye contact, something he was incapable of before. “I see a major improvement in his communication abilities,” says Judean. “He has learned and developed so much. It is amazing to see him engage with others in play and read through the picture books he loves.” While Jamari was receiving support at Childcare Resources, Judean was pursuing her nursing degree. With the early drop-off time, year-round schedule, and affordable tuition, Judean was able to focus on her professional aspirations. “Working full-time and going to school is hard enough, let alone as a mother. Childcare Resources played a tremendous impact in reaching this milestone since I knew Jamari was safe every day.” In the spring semester, Judean graduated and is now currently working in her field. The supportive environment at Childcare Resources enriched Jamari’s early development and enabled his mother to pursue her career, supporting the entire family. “I am so grateful to Childcare Resources for providing a safe place for my child to learn and grow. Thank you for your passion and the phenomenal role you play in Jamari’s future!” Previous Next

You are the key factor in providing STREAM experiences for your children. Coach's Column Susan Roberts May 14, 2020 STREAM in an early education setting involves bringing together knowledge of developmentally appropriate practices in literacy, math, science, technology and art to help children increase their understanding of the world. You are the key factor in providing STREAM experiences for your children. Relationships are critical for children to feel safe enough to explore their environment. Mistakes will happen and your response will help children accept mistakes and move past them. Mistakes are an opportunity to adjust, try again and learn. This builds resilience. By listening, questioning and expanding on previous knowledge and experiences you are guiding your children to reach beyond their knowledge and form deeper understanding. Children naturally ask questions and we often provide answers instead of having children investigate to find answers on their own. STREAM involves doing. The teacher needs to provide the opportunity for children to safely experiment with a variety of materials. This allows children to go beyond recall and reproduction to creatively applying what they have learned, thinking about it and making adjustments. How do you do this in an early childhood setting? By integrating science, technology art and math and planning a wide range of explorations. Follow the interests of your children. In the picture above a child has planted a seed in an egg shell. What can be done to move this one activity into a STREAM experience that will help the child expand their knowledge? Here are some ideas: Science - Grow a lima bean seed in a baggie with a damp paper towel. While observing daily use correct vocabulary for parts of plant. Recycling is involved since the egg shell can be planted in the ground with the plant. Composting scraps from lunch provides food (fertilizer) for plants. (Why are water droplets forming in the bag? That is another science concept dealing with precipitation and weather.) Literacy – Provide a variety of picture books about plants and gardening. Have child draw a plant and “label” the plant parts. Correct formation of letters is not the goal. Knowing that words are used to convey information to others is what is important. An older child may get some beginning sounds correct or try to copy labels on their own. Good for them! Have child cut out pictures of plants from a magazine or provide the pictures for them. Sort the pictures by color, flowers/no flowers, plants/trees, leaves/no leaves, etc. Encourage discussion and the use of a variety of words. Mathematics - Measure plant daily and record results on a chart. An older child can make “log book”. Let the child make the choice of how they want to record the plant growth. Engineering - Make card board seed starting pot from a toilet paper roll. Technology – At a young age “sharing” technology is probably the best approach. Have two children look at a website of plants they might not be familiar with such as desert plants. The tablet is a tool, other tools may be a magnifying glass, ruler, tweezers, etc. Art – various found materials should be available to experiment with-paper, twigs, rocks, leaves, sand, glue, coffee filters, pipe cleaners, string, crayons, magazines, etc. This is just one example of a STREAM experience. The block center can have tractors, the dramatic play center can be a garden shop, make a planting station with small cups, dirt and sunflower seeds to work on fine motor skills. These activities are all intertwined. The teacher is the guide that brings the appropriate materials together and provides the guidance, feedback, and assistance needed for each child to grow. Be confident enough to follow a child’s lead. Show enthusiasm, joy and curiosity yourself. And remember, we are all learning together! Back to Coaching Back to Newsletters

Early Childhood Educator of the Year Join Childcare Resources in celebrating the incredible impact early childhood educators have on our community! In its inaugural year, this award will recognize the outstanding contributions, remarkable passion, and true dedication of early childhood educators across Indian River County. Complete the short form below to nominate someone for early childhood educator of the year. Be sure to include your name your center your email and phone numbers why you are nominating this early educator Winners will be announced at the Conscious Discipline professional development workshop on Saturday, August 23, 2025. VIEW FLYER (PDF)

We know that all behavior is a form of communication and it is up to us to teach our children the necessary skills to successfully communicate their needs. Coach's Column Paulette Maggiacomo September 1, 2021 As you are reading this newsletter you have completed the first month with your new Class, building your Conscious Discipline® skills. Connections are being made, and relationships built. Hopefully you begin each day with a greeting for every child, have posted your visual schedule, started posting visual routines, and have begun your Brain Smart Start which includes your Daily Commitments and Wish Well Board . (If you have any questions on these activities please refer to last month's newsletter in which Susan Roberts so beautifully reviewed these). While these strategies are important in your classroom management, the key strategy is a choice that you get to make: Are you willing to choose to see the best in each child? It is easy to do this when a child is behaving, but what about when a child hits, kicks, yells, is defiant, or has a full blown fit. Are you still willing to see through this behavior and realize the Brain State that the child is in and work on strengthening the missing skill or skills needed? We know that all behavior is a form of communication and it is up to us to teach our children the necessary skills to successfully communicate their needs. Alex is busy building a tower in the Block Center. Jay walks by kicks the tower down and laughs as he continues walking. Alex uses the only skill he knows and starts crying inconsolably. Our first instinct might be to go to Alex and tell him to stop crying and rebuild the tower, after all, it is no big deal. As you pause by taking your 3 deep breaths, the crying turns to wailing. When a child is in this state and has no words, the way to help him self-regulate is to simply sit near him and breathe. No words, no lectures, simply be present and breathe with him. Once he makes eye contact with you (it may take some time – teachers often give up because they feel they don’t have the time to waste. I assure that you are not wasting your time. You are letting Alex know that he matters and modeling empathy for the other children to observe) use: Describe "You are crying” Notice “You seem sad” Acknowledge “You did not like it when Jay knocked down your tower” “You are safe” “Keep breathing” “You can handle this" Alex says, ”I worked so hard and that stupid Jay knocked down my tower and laughed at me. He is not my friend anymore”. When Alex uses his words you have helped him move up to his Emotional State by acknowledging his feelings and showing him empathy. At this point he is ready to engage with you and work on solving the problem. A conversation may go something like this: “You didn’t like it when Jay knocked your tower. It hurt your feelings. You wanted to see how high your tower could go. Let’s practice what you could say to Jay: Repeat after me: 'Jay, I don’t like it when you knock my tower down. Next time, ask to play with me.' Let’s practice it together. Do you want to go by yourself to tell Jay or do you want me to go with you. Remember to tap Jay on the shoulder, look him in the eye and tell him. Which do you choose?” Follow the child’s lead. It takes practice, practice, practice, and more practice to help guide a child to their Executive State. There may even be some oops moments along the way. Remember to give yourself and the child grace as you navigate this journey together. Dr. Becky Bailey always stresses these important points for the adults: The child should never be in a higher brain state than the adult and always remember that our internal behavior dictates their behavior. As your school year continues its adventure, remember to take the time to take care of yourself. Until next time, I wish you well, Paulette Back to Coaching Back to Newsletters

Repetition in Play Coach's Column Amanda Gooch July 1, 2024 Did you know that repetition in play is one of the secret superpowers in early childhood education? In the following video, Sally Haughey from Wunderled - Fairy Dust Teaching, reviews the top five reasons repetition is beneficial for play based learning. In this video she teaches us how repetition helps give young children a sense of security, deepens learning and understanding and supports executive functioning and language development. YouTube: Secret Superpower of Learning: Repetition Rasmussen University gives us six reasons why play, specifically dramatic play, matters in early childhood education. Dramatic play teaches self-regulation and gives them an emotional outlet to have teachable moments for conflict resolution. Dramatic play also supports literacy and helps to develop your student’s creative thinking and storytelling ability. Dramatic play creates opportunities for you as the educator to support your students individually and encourage their own ideas. To learn more about how to encourage dramatic play in your classroom, click on the following link below: Why Dramatic Play Matters In an age when play is often seen as frivolous or unproductive, Rae Pica's book ”Why Play?” explains the importance of play in early childhood education. Each chapter focuses on a specific type of play, includes suggestions for putting theory into practice, and offers recommendations for language and information educators can use to help parents understand that play is not separate from learning. ”Why Play?” highlights some of the most popular types of play, such as dramatic, cooperative and construction. This book shares why different modes of play are beneficial and how educators can facilitate these different types of play in early childhood settings. Whether used as a tool for advocacy or as a guide on how to use play, “Why Play?” is for everyone who believes children should have the chance to be children, and that child development should guide all our practices. Wishing you the best, Amanda & Todd Back to Coaching Back to Newsletters

Trauma-Informed Practices to Benefit All Children | Dr. Peg Oliveira | Gesell Institute at Yale Trauma-Informed Practices to Benefit All Children January 2021 Dr. Peg Oliveira Gesell Institute at Yale Handout (PDF) Workshop Photos Back