😁 UCDC Developments 😁

May/June 2020

UCDC Developments

Director's Corner

Dear Families,

It was quite a struggle to decide what to write about for this edition of the newsletter. In this inexplicably unpredictable time of uncertainty, topics seem either trivial or too deep. It was really hard to find the happy medium.

To help me with my decision, I used a “call a friend” and asked the question, “What should I write about?” Of course my call a friend (and colleague) had exactly the right answer. “Talk about your wonderful staff!”

Early childhood teachers are by far some of the most resilient and flexible human beings on the planet! That sounds like an exaggeration but it really isn’t. I can give countless examples of how flexible our UCDC staff are in the classroom with their schedules, with the children and their needs, with families and their needs and even with their own personal families. I may ask, “Can you come in early?” to be followed by a resounding “Yes!” Or we may say, “Can you take a later break?” and with no hesitation, “Sure.” Or very often, “Would you be able to help in another room?” to be followed by a very adamant “Absolutely!” These teachers are flexible and adaptable!

Recently, given the unprecedented need to leave the familiarity of the center and the certainty of a daily routine including teaching and taking care of children all day, the UCDC teachers and staff have proven that, once again, they are one of the most flexible groups of individuals on campus. This current situation is certainly not what any of us anticipated, but here we are working through a new set of standards and expectations in a world that we really don’t have any control over.

The teacher’s ability to continue to connect with families and children has been seamless and creative. Every one of the teachers have contributed to the continued partnership with families and children in some way. It might be in a visible way or in a behind the scenes capacity. In order to keep in touch with families, teachers are reaching out to children and families in various ways that best meets the needs of all. They might be doing something that they are familiar with or sharing something new that they learned (like learning sign language, Spanish and German!).

Also, all of our teachers have stepped up their technology game significantly. They have also become masters at seeking out the best and most informative professional development opportunities available. They are growing as professionals and will easily be able to implement this vast amount of knowledge when they are reunited with the children.

Our teachers are also participating in book clubs, team meetings and all staff meetings in order to share information and keep abreast of all of the new information coming out in the area of child care and child development. We also have three of our teachers creating online programming for the University by participating in the Kids Clubhouse-ULearn with UCDC every Thursday at 9:30 am.

Our teachers are not only taking care of themselves and our UCDC families, but we also have staff that are volunteering. Some are making masks, others are helping at food banks, and some are creating learning materials for organizations through the United Way. We also have the little things covered that you may not have thought of but matter very much! For example, Marlene is lovingly taking care of ALL of the UCDC plants and Laurie, one of our preschool teachers, weeded our garden beds and planted sunflowers with growth markers that she made.

Many of our teachers are also working from home with their own small children (and older kids) or engaging in eldercare. I’m fairly certain that we are all juggling things that are sometimes bigger than ourselves.

I know that each day brings new obstacles for families and for staff. I also know that we can get work together and be together to manage those obstacles. There is no guidebook on how to do any of this correctly. We are all stepping up and doing our best. Remaining gracious, kind, supportive, forgiving, and hopeful are the tools that we need to use more than ever. Thank you to our teachers for being there, sharing their strengths and being great!

Be safe, be strong,

Mary Beth

Curriculum in the Classroom: Toddler Two

Music is something children love from an early age. From the mother’s heartbeat in the womb, to their own breathing patterns, children seem to have a natural sense of rhythm. Studies show that music has a lot of influence on the developing brain and is significant in a child’s development. Children who are exposed to music have found to have better language skills, fine motor skills, and even better basic memory recall. Learning to read and play music offers even more mental and physical benefits.

In our classroom, we expose the children to music and music play all day long in an active way. In the beginning of the day, we start with classical music because its calming and as the day and activity level increases we move to music with a stronger beat. Brass music is a favorite of toddlers. The Semper Fidelis March is a good way for the children to march to the beat of the music. We also use the song Baby Shark to allow them opportunities to play with rhythm through the movements. The Flight of The Bumble Bee is another way we get the children moving to the rhythm of the music. They flap their wings rapidly to the music. We use familiar nursery rhymes like Itsy Bitsy Spider to teach rhythm. Children can tap out the rhythm with a hand drum, maracas, or by just clapping their hands. A traditional polka is another fun way get the children dancing to the rhythm of the music.

By providing children with a rich musical playground early makes for a good foundation for instrumental learning. The Royal Academy of Music recommends gradually introducing young children to the idea of instruments by listening to music and trying to identify the instrument and also going to an orchestra family concert . Locally, we have Fiddlesticks with the Pittsburgh Symphony.

The Greater Pittsburgh Suzuki Institute uses a teaching method that resembles the process a child goes through in learning to speak. They begin by listening to the music that they will eventually play. By walking with children through this journey and letting them enjoy rich musical experiences through rhythm they will have a good foundation to lead this journey of discovery.

A good book for reference is The Right Instrument for your Child by Atarah Ben Tovin. This is a great step by step guide toward choosing a musical instrument to suite the temperament and skills of your child. In the meantime, get out the pots and pans and enjoy banging out the rhythm of some favorite songs and nursery rhythms.

Curriculum in the Classroom: Toddler Four

In a toddler classroom, it is easy to have ideas and activities planned for the day. In fact, we always have ideas for activities that we plan to do that day. But, as many of you know, planning with toddlers is hit or miss. Some days they may engage in an activity for long periods of time while other days the same activity will only provide minutes of entertainment.

The learning moments that we love at UCDC are the ones that are unplanned. They sometimes pop up when a planned activity goes into an unplanned direction or something new is discovered. On one particular morning at UCDC, our children found a spider in the classroom. Obviously, this wasn’t our planned activity, but we were able to adapt quickly and make it a learning experience for the children. We immediately scooped up the spider into a bug box and from there we had a morning of learning about spiders. We sang songs, made observations, and looked up facts about spiders. At first some of our toddlers were hesitant to get close to the box and it was obvious that they were little scared. However, after watching their friends get close, they decided it was safe. The toddlers were lifting the box up to get a better look and even laughing as it moved around in the box. We talked about how it was important to keep the spider safe and that the spider might be scared so we decided it was best to keep the box still and not shake it.

When it came time to go outside to the playground, we brought our spider out with us. Many other children from different classrooms came over to observe our spider. Some stayed for a long time and others just had a quick look. At the end of our playground time, we let our spider go in the garden box. Many of the children watched as it crawled through the dirt and eventually crawled out of sight.

Our toddlers had such a wonderful experience this particular morning. It was great to see that the children that were hesitant at first were guided by their peers and they were soon confident and even wanted to touch the spider. This is a great example of how we at UCDC truly let our children lead us on their path to learning.

COVID-19 Resources

The administration and teachers have been extremely busy learning about the new look of childcare during a pandemic. We thought that it could be beneficial to share some of the resources that we are utilizing to inform our new guidelines and practices. Please take some time to familiarize yourself with the sites below so that you can better understand how and why we are formulating our new policies, practices and programming.

CDC Guidance

AAP

The Pennsylvania Key

Fun Experiences to Try at Home

Working from home with a little one can be challenging! Here are some links for some favorite activities that typically keep the attention of a child for an extended period of time.

Be cognizant of the materials offered to your child based on their age - smaller items can be choking hazards.

UCDC Philosophy

UCDC utilizes a child centered, extended family approach that is fostered by supporting the developmental needs of all children. We foster children's self esteem, creative abilities, sense of belonging and success by implementing a developmentally appropriate curriculum based on NAEYC and Keystone STARS standards, through a play-based approach to learning. We support families and partner with them to provide an environment that welcomes their collaboration and supports both cultural and family preferences.