Volume 9, Issue 8

Professional Development Coordinator

Beginning teachers, experienced teachers, and teachers of different age groups have different training needs. Infant teachers should attend training geared towards infant development. Experienced teachers should attend training that meets their needs, interests, strengths, and weaknesses.

As teachers grow professionally, they move through developmental stages, just as children do. Lillian Katz differentiates four developmental stages of teachers.

The teacher’s main concern is surviving during the first year. Feelings of inadequacy are typical. During this period, teachers need support, guidance, and encouragement. On-site training, observations, and training on child development, behavior management, and appropriate activities are helpful.

The teacher begins to focus on individual children, problem situations, and identification of atypical development. On-site training, self-assessment, opportunities for observation and discussions with experienced colleagues, and access to resources are important for the teacher in this stage to grow.

During the third and fourth year of teaching, the teacher begins to tire of doing the same old things and searches for new, innovative ideas and approaches. Teachers in this stage find it rewarding to meet with colleagues from other programs to share ideas, to attend regional and national conferences and workshops, and to experiment with developing new strategies.

At this stage, the teacher asks deeper and more abstract questions and develops a commitment to the child care profession. Teachers in this stage need professional journals, opportunities to attend seminars and institutes, and opportunities to pursue recognition and to join professional organizations.

Adapted from The Early Childhood Mentoring Curriculum, by D. Bellm, M. Whitebook, & P. Hnatiuk, 1997.

April is Child Abuse Prevention month. People are encouraged to wear a blue ribbon to show their support for children. Why a blue ribbon? In the spring of 1989, a Chesapeake grandmother began what was to become the Blue Ribbon Campaign. It was a testimonial to her three-year-old grandson, who was murdered by his mother’s abusive boyfriend. Bonnie Finney was the grandmother whose misgivings about the way her grandchildren were being treated were confirmed in the most tragic way. She spoke to a Richmond newspaper reporter about her feelings. "One day I was just thinking about all the bruises I had seen on my grandchildren. I just decided I was going to tie a blue ribbon on my van. Why blue? I intended never to forget the battered, bruised bodies of my grandchildren. Blue serves as a constant reminder to me to fight for protection for our children."

How can you help? Wear your blue ribbon to show your support for Kentucky’s children. Take time for a child or parent who could use a friend. Encourage civic groups, business leaders, schools, churches, and government officials to be a voice for children.

To receive parenting information or crisis support you can call the Parent Helpline at 1-800-432-9251. To report suspected child abuse, call the Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-752-6200. Both these numbers are available 24 hours a day.

Don’t forget to help enroll a child in free health insurance! For more information call 1-877-KCHIP-18.

The Child Care Resource & Referral Office would like to take this opportunity to thank our trainers who have provided training to you since January.

Thank you to:

• Beth Schaeffer
• Theresa Shutt
• Stephanie Elliott
• April Grace
• Kim Ashby
• Abbe Sewell

We would also like to thank the following individuals for donating their time and efforts to provide training for the Child Care Resource & Referral:

• Colleen Mendel
• Dr. Susan Yorde
• Dr. Carl Myers
• Luis Hernandez
• Sheila Atwill

The Child Care Resource & Referral, the Regional Training Center in Franklin, and the Warren County Extension office will co-sponsor training for experienced child care providers on Tuesday, April 10, 2001 in Bowling Green at the Warren County Cooperative Extension Office. The Cooperative Extension Office is located at 3132 Nashville Road in Bowling Green.

The Child Care Resource & Referral and the Stevenson Elementary School in Russellville will co-sponsor training for experienced child care providers on Tuesday, April 17, 2001 in Russellville at Stevenson Elementary School at 1000 North Main Street.

The workshops will be worth three clock hours of training each evening. Registration forms for April have been previously mailed. Registration is limited. If you have any questions about registration or any of the workshops, please feel free to contact the CCR&R office and ask for Lesley

Following is a list of upcoming conference and workshop opportunities that will be held in Indiana and Kentucky.

• April 19 through 21, 2001

13th Annual Conference of the National School-Age Care Alliance, Indianapolis, IN. For more information, call 1-800-606-0061 or e-mail at conference@nsaca.org or visit their website at www.nsaca.org

• April 21, 2001

The Healthy Start Program of Barren River District Health Department will be hosting workshops for child care providers on health and safety issues. For more information, contact the Barren River District Health Department before the 11th of April at 270-781-8039, extension 171.

• May 21, 2001

"Feed Me–I’m Yours" feeding training for parents and caregivers of children with diagnosed feeding issues will be sponsored by the District Early Intervention Council (DEIC) in Bowling Green, KY. For more information or to register call Taylor Tucker at 800-621-5908 or 745-2216.

• June 18 through 20, 2001

15th Annual Early Childhood Summer Conference "Early Childhood: Leading the Way Into the 21st Century" will be in Louisville, KY. For more information, call the Anderson County RTC at 502-839-2513.

• June 15 through 17, 2001

"A Weekend of Fun and Learning" for families of young children who are deaf or hard of hearing will be held in Danville, KY. For more information call Christi Bailey at 859-426-8036.

Want more fun with bubbles? All young children, even babies, love bubbles. For some added interest, add food coloring into the bubble solution so that the children can more easily see the bubbles.

Be sure that the bubbles do not pop on very young children’s faces to avoid contact with the eyes.

Out of bubbles? Well make your own. Following are easy bubble recipes:

Mix: 1/4 cup of liquid dishwashing detergent with 1/2 cup of water, 1 teaspoon sugar and a few drops of food coloring.

Another recipe to try is: 6 cups of water, 2 cups of Joy or Dawn dishwashing liquid and 3/4 cup corn syrup.

Enjoy!