Search Results

Let’s take some time to review the Conscious Discipline Brain Smart Start Coach's Column Amanda Gooch August 1, 2023 Welcome back to another incredible beginning to the school year. We are starting the year strong with Conscious Discipline. Conscious Discipline utilizes everyday events to cultivate emotional intelligence through a self-regulation program that integrates social-emotional learning and discipline. Let’s take some time to review the Conscious Discipline Brain Smart Start and what that structure looks like in the classroom. The Conscious Discipline Brain Smart Start of the day consists of four activities: An activity to UNITE, an activity to CONNECT, an activity to DISENGAGE stress and an activity to COMMIT. Conscious Discipline designed this combination of activities using current brain research in order to promote an optimal learning state. The Brain Smart Start should be conducted in the classroom daily. Let’s review these four components that make up the Brain Smart Start: 1. Unite: The activity to unite as a School Family involves everyone doing something together. It builds connection, fosters a sense of safety and releases endorphins. These activities can be combined, for example, a School Family chant involving music and movement with a partner would both unite and connect. 2. Disengage: The activity to disengage stress involves deep breathing and stretching. It prepares the brain for cortical learning and turns off the stress response. The four core calming activities used in Conscious Discipline to help disengage are S.T.A.R., Balloon, Pretzel and Drain. The calming activity S.T.A.R. stands for Smile, Take a deep breath And Relax. Taking three deep belly breaths helps to shut off the fight, flight, or freeze response in the body. 3. Connect: The activity to connect the students to the teacher and to each other helps to maintain focused attention and the motivation to learn. It also releases oxytocin, which promotes connection and reduces aggression. Eye contact, presence, touch and a playful setting are the four core components required to truly connect with others. I Love You Rituals are an effective way to incorporate connection in the classroom. Classrooms benefit from I Love You Rituals in routines like the Brain Smart Start, during circle time and after transitions. Teachers and individual students benefit from scheduling regular one-on-one I Love You Rituals with children call for help through difficult behaviors like aggression, tantrums or withdrawal. 4. Commit: The activity to commit oneself to learning involves affirmations and positive thinking. It produces serotonin, teaches responsibility, promotes mindful attention and develops the prefrontal lobe. Making commitments and following through on them builds self-esteem, neurologically bathing the body in feel-good chemicals. These chemicals help focus attention and achieve goals. Commitments help us shift from being unconsciously stimulus-driven to becoming consciously goal-oriented. Commitments can be individual, like having each child take a clothespin with his name on it and place it beside a class agreement. The class can make a group commitment with the teacher stating, “Today I’m going to use kind words with friends,” and the children would signal their commitment with a thumbs up. Provide a time at the end of the day to invite children to evaluate their commitments. The children respond with either, “I did it,” or, “Oops.” An Oops is an opportunity to try again tomorrow. Some children may have difficulty keeping their commitments. Check to see their commitments are specific, narrow in scope and realistic. Instead of, “Today I will be nice all day,” coach them to say, “Today at recess I will invite a friend to play with me.” A Brain Smart Start also offers opportunities to practice social skills. It also provides many chances to model acceptable behavior, reinforce, redirect, or remind. The investment returned on time spent with a Brain Smart Start is repaid many times over. This teaches a sense of belonging, as well as develops skills of listening, attention, expression and empathy. A Brain Smart Start sets the tone for the day. It is not an add on or something extra to make time for, but rather an integral part of the day's planning and curriculum. Wishing you the best, Amanda Back to Coaching Back to Newsletters

Take the time to set the culture in your classroom that empowers your children to self-regulate and to show empathy towards those who are struggling. Coach's Column Paulette Maggiacomo September 3, 2020 You did it, you completed the first week of the new school year while in the middle of a pandemic! You navigated CDC guidelines to keep your children, your classroom, your outdoor areas, and most importantly, yourself, healthy and safe. If there were moments of “oops”, I hope you allowed yourself the grace that you would give to others. Perfectionism during a pandemic is not the goal – helping children navigate during this time using their self-regulation skills should be your goal. Dayna Abraham was a presenter at the virtual conference Transforming Challenging Behavior 2020 . She stressed the importance of taking the time to set the culture in your classroom that empowers your children to self-regulate and to show empathy towards those who are struggling. The time you put into it now will make all of the difference down the road. In order for this to occur, there must be a sense of connection between you and the children, and the children with each other. An opportune time to build this connection is during your circle time each day where you could discuss struggles that might occur during the day. Dayna presented the following scenario: I know that we are all learning to share – pinpoint a struggle Sometimes that can make us really angry – identify the emotion What can we do when we start to feel that way – empowers the children to come up with ideas She front-loaded the class in order to prevent meltdowns and/or tantrums. Imagine the impact this can have on your classroom! Next, Dayna provided some wonderful insight illustrating to me that I had been going about handling this type of incident the wrong way. Let’s say that two or three children are having struggles at the same time in different parts of the classroom. Her suggestion is to go to the child who is in the least of their fight, flight, or freeze state. This is the child who is the least stressed and/or overwhelmed. Assist them first. Then go to the child who is struggling the most so you can put all of your calm, focus and attention on that child. You now have the ability to sit, breathe, and model for them. Often it is easy for us to jump to conclusions as to why a certain behavior is happening. I am sure there have been times when you have thought, “Oh, he/she is trying to push my buttons”, or “Here we go again”, or “I am getting really tired of this child’s behavior.” This is when we need to put on our detective hat to find out what is the root of this behavior. Dayna said that it is like peeling an onion one layer at a time. She suggested asking the “Four W’s”: Who, What, When, and Where . Also ask yourself if the child’s four basic needs are being met: Food, Sleep, Water, and Safety . By doing so you can gain insight and understanding as to the source of the behavior. By being Jessica Fletcher, Nancy Drew, or Veronica Mars you can be that person who empowers your children to learn how to self-regulate! Please remember that we can’t do this without you . Make it a priority to find time each day to do something just for you. As always, until next time, I wish you well, Paulette Back to Coaching Back to Newsletters

The number of children growing up in financial hardship in the U.S. is drastically higher than is widely reported Coach's Column Amanda Gooch October 1, 2023 Over the last few weeks, we emphasized on our most recent technical assistance following our training with Kristen Balhoff. We have had multiple interactions on the importance of supporting neurodiversity in the classroom with a Brain Smart Start. Together we explored the role of adults during children’s significant “brain building” years. We discovered the positive impact of shifting our perceptions from unconscious reflexes and emotional reactions to conscious, wise responses. We also reviewed practical strategies to nurture a felt sense of safety. We are really enjoying hearing more and more success stories of how you have used our follow up technical assistance in the field. As we continue to move through our fall season, we wanted to include more in-depth conversations on our upcoming professional development day led by Tammy Pawloski, Professor of Education and Director of the Center of Excellence to Prepare Teachers of Children of Poverty at Francis Marion University. Tammy is an expert on children in poverty and will guide us as we learn more about bridging the socioeconomic needs of our students and the incredible role we all play in that progress. ALICE is an acronym for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed, and represents the growing number of families who are unable to afford the basics of housing, child care, food, transportation, health care, and technology. These workers often struggle to keep their own households from financial ruin, while keeping our local communities running. The number of children growing up in financial hardship in the U.S. is drastically higher than is widely reported. According to the outdated Federal Poverty Level, 16% of children in the U.S. lived in poverty in 2019. Yet United For ALICE data shows that another 33% — twice as many — were also growing up in hardship, in households that earned above the poverty level but less than what is costs to afford the basics. To learn more from United Way and the ALICE in Focus Series, please click on the link below United Way: ALICE It’s going to be an incredible and interactive time at our next professional development day. We welcome Tammy Pawloski as she presents “Why Poverty Matters - How WE Can Matter More” on Saturday October 14th 2023. Together we will understand the potential negative impact of financial poverty on brain development and school and life success; redefine poverty as the absence of any resource (financial, socio-emotional, physical, cognitive, or spiritual) that creates barriers to school and life success; and take away authentic strategies for removing barriers that emerge when resources are absent. I can’t wait to see you all there. We thank you for your dedication and willingness to pour into the next generation through education as we elevate and promote the highest quality early childhood development and education in Indian River County. Wishing you the best, Amanda & Todd Back to Coaching Back to Newsletters

The belief of The Phoenix Cup is that we are responsible for filling our own cups, and people can’t empty your cups Coach's Column Paulette Maggiacomo June 4, 2020 Hi everyone, Transform Challenging Behavior 2020 was a virtual conference created by Barb O’Neill. She literally went worldwide in search of outstanding presenters in the early education field. Barb was the host for each session. The way she actively engaged with each presenter, I felt as if I was actually there! As I continue to work my way through the conference sessions, I am amazed at the quality of presenters and the knowledge I am gaining. It is so interesting to learn about different behavior management programs and how they align with Conscious Discipline. My toolbox is rapidly filling up and I look forward to sharing my insights with you over the summer months. Today I will speak about a program that knocked my socks off! Sandi Phoenix is the Director and Principal Facilitator at Phoenix Support for Educators in Australia. She spoke on Children Who Use Behavior When They Want Attention….or Connection. Her framework, The Phoenix Cups (a model for understanding human behavior) is based upon the work of Dr. William Glasser’s Choice Theory. It states that we are constantly choosing behaviors to meet one of our needs (to fill our cups). These 5 basic needs each have their own cup: Fun, Mastery, Freedom, Safety, and Connection. Very often the behaviors that challenge us come from a child having an empty cup. Sandi explains that if a child doesn’t eat or drink anything all morning then their safety cup will be empty and they are likely to be cranky and uncooperative by the afternoon. The child will attempt to fill up that empty cup using whatever skills they have at their disposal, including choices you may not like. The role of the teacher is to help a child develop the skills to fill their own cups. When the child has lots of skills at their disposal, then they are able to self-regulate. I know that I am preaching to the choir when I say that the secret of good teaching is to control the environment, not the child. By observation, you can determine what the dominant cup profiles are of your children and which tend to be empty. How can you use this information to: Alter your classroom environment from cup – emptying? Front load strategies to lead to less stressful days for you and your children? The Freedom Cup is the most difficult cup to keep full at school. Our children need time to explore and play, especially outside. Barb gave an example of what happens when there is a child who is running around the classroom – the teacher feels this is a sign of disrespect. What if we were able to re-frame this and think of this running around as a sign of a dominant Freedom Cup. How could we address this situation and fill up their cup? Right now I know that many of you are thinking: No way I am going to let this child run around my room! Have you ever seen a teacher chase a child and try to catch him? We all know how that turns out. How can we give these children more freedom? Sandi provided the perfect answer by suggesting that this child could be the Messenger. With another adult, have him go to Classroom A with a note, ask the teacher read it and send him to Classroom B and so on until the child has walked all around the building and has filled his Freedom Cup. When a child grows up in a home that has abuse, trauma, or a small number of high quality connections in their life, their Connection Cup is empty. This results in low self–worth. This child will also have a limited selection of skills to choose from in trying to fill that cup. What can we do to help this child? Sandi turns to Dr. John Gottman's research which shows that you need a 5:1 ratio of positive genuine interactions to 1 negative or 1 corrective one. Instead of saying, “How many times have I told you to not run?” Try this: Julie, you really wanted to be first in line. Remember, Joe is our line leader today. We use walking feet to be safe. I know you can be safe. Show me what to do if I want to get on line. You did it. You used your listening ears. You walked to the line. Sandi also suggests using micro-connections with the child: Giving them a thumbs up. Looking at them like you’re delighted to see them. Greet them warmly. Have a secret handshake. Have a one on one sustained conversation with them. To neutralize negativity, say what you saw and then ask a question. "You pushed Samantha so you could get there first. What could you have done instead?" The Phoenix Cup framework sounds very familiar to a popular ‘bucket filling strategy’. The belief of The Phoenix Cup is that we are responsible for filling our own cups, and people can’t empty your cups. How often do we hear a child say, "He made me mad!" As a teacher, we can teach the child the skills to fill their own cup, called Skill to Fill . When an environment fills all five cups there is little misbehavior. The teacher does not have to use stickers, reward charts, or other classroom management systems that reinforce people pleasing and not teaching the skills the children need. The children are able to fill their own cups and self-regulate. Isn’t that what we all want? As I mentioned in the beginning, this presentation touched my heart. I went to the website www.phoenixcups.com.au and did two things: I took the quiz to see what my dominant cups were and the results were spot on. Can you guess what mine are? Have fun and take the quiz! I ordered Sandi's book, The Phoenix Cups – A Cup Filling Story . Don’t freak out when the total comes to $50.00 – that is Australian currency! Based on the transaction rate of the day, my total came to $33 including shipping. I hope that I have tweaked your interest as The Phoenix Cup framework is another tool you can add to your tool box! Until next time, I wish you well! Back to Coaching Back to Newsletters

< Back Meet Naomi Naomi is just one of our amazing 2022 graduates! While that means the end of her time at the Childcare Resources School, it means she is beginning her journey into elementary school and beyond. Because of your support, Naomi has been able to attend our high-quality early childhood education program since she was just seven months old. Naomi excels at meeting all of her developmental milestones and we can’t wait to learn about her future successes! From her infant class with Ms. Kathy, through her one-year-old class with Ms. Colleen, twos with Ms. Fio, threes with Ms. Sadie, and finally her four-year-old VPK class with Ms. Marilyn, Naomi has been provided with high-quality learning experiences. These experiences culminated in Naomi exceeding expectations and being ready to begin kindergarten with a solid foundation prepared to take on any future challenge with confidence. “Childcare Resources provided me with the stability I needed to advance in my career. I am currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in nursing, says Kayeshia, Naomi's mother. "From the school staff to the class families, I have received so much encouragement and support. Childcare Resources helped my child find a home away from home. We love the staff and the families we have grown to know over the last five years.” Previous Next

Why Poverty Matters - How WE Can Matter More | Dr. Tammy Pawloski | Francis Marion University Why Poverty Matters - How WE Can Matter More October 14, 2023 Handout (PDF) Back Dr. Tammy Pawloski Francis Marion University Learn more about briding the socioeconomic needs of your students and the incredible role you play in that progress: Understand the potential negative impact of financial poverty on brain development and school and life success Redefine poverty as the absence of any resource (financial, socio-emotional, physical, cognitive, or spiritual) that creates barriers to school and life success Take away authentic strategies for removing barriers that emerge when resources are absent

Reggio Emilia with Dr. Angela Eckhoff | Angela Eckhoff | Old Dominion University Reggio Emilia with Dr. Angela Eckhoff October 5, 2024 Handout (PDF) Back Angela Eckhoff Old Dominion University Make learning and teaching visible in early learning spaces. Investigate the nature of learning in early childhood environments Discover what your image of the learner is and what your role is as the teacher Learn what it means to document learning, and how documentation can help you become a more effective educator Available at no cost to early educators in Indian River County Certificate of in-service provided CEUs available from FLAEYC Breakfast and lunch will be provided Join us for the opportunity to network with your colleagues Workshop will be held at First Presbyterian Church

Simple interactions provide opportunities for children to safely explore, test out, and try new things Coach's Column Amanda Gooch February 1, 2023 Human interactions are an active ingredient in child development. As early childhood educators, there is a basic level of communication that we draw upon when we have simple interactions with children. Together let’s explore these simple interactions and what importance they play in early childhood development. Simple interactions are playful, respectful, enjoyable and rewarding interactions and experiences for young children. Simple interactions with children are an important aspect of early childhood education and are a building block for many skills including problem solving, social and emotional intelligence and self-regulation. Simple interactions provide opportunities for children to safely explore, test out, and try new things. By establishing these simple interactions through connection, reciprocity, and inclusion, we are developing positive relationships with young children and an opportunity for them to grow and thrive. On our next professional development day, we will welcome Dr. Dana Winters from the Fred Rogers Institute as she presents “Simple Interactions.” Simple Interactions (SI) is a practice-based, strengths-focused, and community-driven approach to support helpers who serve children, youth, and families. The following link will provide you with a video which demonstrates the idea of how systems and communities can work together to support a relationship-based vision. Simple Interactions Video Did you know that February 11th is National Make a Friend Day? It’s absolutely incredible that on our next professional development day we get to honor the legacy of Fred Rogers by being compassionate, gracious and kind hearted to those around us. In one of Fred Rogers’s final good-bye messages, he addresses his “television neighbors” directly, “… I’m so grateful to you for helping the children in your life to know that you’ll do everything you can to keep them safe. And to help them express their feelings in ways that will bring healing in many different neighborhoods. It’s such a good feeling to know that we’re lifelong friends.” (The Good Neighbor: The Life and Work of Fred Rogers by Maxwell King pg. 352) The message from Fred Rogers still resonates today and I “simply” can’t wait to make friends with you all. As always, I thank you for your dedication and willingness to pour into the next generation through education as we elevate and promote the highest quality early childhood development and education in Indian River County. Wishing you the best, Amanda Back to Coaching Back to Newsletters

Learn more about our educational outreach programs including professional development, coaching, and credentialing. Programs for Educators Professional Development Find out more Coach ing Find out more Credential ing Find out more Past Trainings Find out more

Explore the local childcare centers that we currently contract with. Contracting Centers Childcare Resources currently contracts with two additional privately-owned childcare centers throughout Indian River County. All centers are accredited through NAEYC. Current Contracting Centers Community Preschool 1901 23rd Street Vero Beach, FL 32960 772-562-3633 Visit Community's website Learning Nest 1088 Barber St Sebastian, FL 32958 772-589-3288 Visit Learning Nest's website

With quality early language acquisition, by age five, a child is capable of learning up to 2,000 vocabulary words. Coach's Column Amanda Gooch December 1, 2022 Our team of Early Childhood Education Coaches are here to help you concentrate on child engagement and work as a collaborative team to enhance your practice. We continue to work on ways in which to create child led activities, be flexible in our plans within those activities, and make an effort to emphasize children’s interests which facilitates learning. We are on hand to help demonstrate and model best practices in early childhood education and support you in your classrooms. Over the last few weeks, our technical assistance has emphasized key take aways from our recent training with Alan Guttman. We had multiple interactions on the importance of play and engagement in learning. We also discussed developmentally appropriate emergent literacy and nurturing pre-reading and pre-writing in early childhood education. As we continue to move through our fall season, I wanted to include more in depth conversations on emergent literacy activities for preschoolers and how to boost early literacy and writing in young children. Are you aware of some of these stunning child literacy statistics? How incredible is it that in the first three years, infants and toddlers begin acquiring the first of thousands of words they will use throughout their lives? With quality early language acquisition, by age five, a child is capable of learning up to 2,000 vocabulary words. Remember, emergent literacy takes place within the child. It is a gradual process that takes place over time. Literacy develops from real life situations in which children are provided many opportunities to see how reading and writing are useful and meaningful within those experiences. When thinking about emergent literacy and writing, how can we look at our learning centers and add meaningful writing materials and literacy props for our early learners? Let’s take a deeper look at some of the stages of emergent writing. Pay special attention to the stage, description and example of what emergent writing looks like as it progresses from drawing all the way through to conventional spelling and sentence writing. To learn more about promoting preschoolers’ emergent writing, learning centers, and books that promote writing; click on this NAEYC link: Emergent Writing I am looking forward to hearing more success stories of how you have used our follow up technical assistance materials and see how your students have responded to those resources. If any of you need additional assistance in implementing, I am available for you in enhancing your practice. It’s going to be a wonderful and interactive time at our next professional development day. We welcome Dr. Dana Winters from the Fred Rogers Institute as she presents “Simple Interactions” on Saturday February 11th 2023. Just a friendly reminder, the workshop will be hosted at Indian River State College Muller Campus, Richardson Center. Together we will gain an deeper understanding of the role of interactions in human development; identify ways that human interactions can be encouraged across all levels of a system; and apply the conceptual foundation of developmental relationships to the everyday practice of supporting the learning and growing of children, families, and colleagues. I can’t wait to see you all there. I thank you for your dedication and willingness to pour into the next generation through education as we elevate and promote the highest quality early childhood development and education in Indian River County. Back to Coaching Back to Newsletters

Art is more than just a fun activity in the early childhood classroom. Coach's Column Amanda Gooch July 1, 2025 Summer is here, bringing with it longer days, warm sunshine, and a perfect opportunity to reflect, recharge, and get inspired for the upcoming school year. As we enjoy this season of growth and exploration, it's a great time to think about the creative opportunities we offer our youngest learners, especially through the power of art. So why is art important for early childhood development? Art is more than just a fun activity in the early childhood classroom. It's a vital tool for cognitive development, emotional expression, and fine motor growth. When young children engage in open-ended art experiences, they learn to make choices, solve problems, and express themselves in ways that words alone can't capture. Whether it is finger painting, sculpting with clay, or experimenting with collage materials, every mark they make tells a story of exploration, learning, and identity. Incorporating daily art experiences encourages creativity, fosters imagination, and build confidence. Art also supports early literacy and math skills, think of all the counting, measuring, patterning, and storytelling that naturally happen through artistic play. And most importantly, it gives children the freedom to be themselves in a nurturing, expressive space. Art exploration is not only fun and entertaining, but also educational. Here are some tips from Michigan State University for growing your budding artist: Educational Art Tips As you prepare your classrooms for the fall, consider how you can make art even more accessible. Stock your art centers with a variety of materials, display children's work proudly, and allow time for uninterrupted, child-led creativity. Remember, it's the process, not the product, that matters most. Together we are wishing you a summer filled with joy, inspiration, and a splash of color! Wishing you all the best, Amanda & Todd Back to Coaching Back to Newsletters