ChildCareTraining News Feed

Phonological Skills

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 15:53:41 GMT

Phonological Skills

What is phonological awareness? It is the understanding that spoken words have a structure that can be played with and manipulated. Research has shown that how quickly children learn to read often depends on how much phonological awareness they have when they begin kindergarten. Phonological skills include:

Rhyming: knowing that h*_at_* and c*_at_* sound the same at the end.
Alliteration: knowing that words like *_b_*ug and _*b*_ike begin with the same sound.
Blending: hearing a word that has been pulled apart such as can – dy and saying candy.
Segmenting: saying the syllables in a word like kan – ga – roo and the sounds in a word like c – a – t.

Learn more in the ChildCareTraining.org course Literacy-Rich Child Care Environments!

Enroll today >>

$5 Off Your Next Course Purchase!

Wed, 12 May 2010 18:30:00 GMT

$5 Off Your Next Course Purchase!

Register for May’s Course of the Month, Handling Picky Eaters, and receive a coupon in the mail for $5 off of their next course purchase on ChildCareTraining.org!

Everyone has foods they do not prefer. This can be especially hard when you’re an adult feeding a picky eater. Tensions over food often arise because of a toddler’s need to practice her self-feeding skills. Children feel the need to establish themselves as individuals who make their own choices about what they eat, while adults try to use their knowledge of healthy eating habits to provide a nutritious diet. When met with resistance, adults can get overly concerned at times and patience can wear thin.

Instead of fighting over food with the children in your care, learn tips on how to deal with picky eaters and avoid power struggles over food in the course Handling Picky Eaters. “More course information >>”:http://www.childcaretraining.org/course/view.php?id=29

^{Students who enroll in the Course of the Month during the specified month will receive a $5 promotional coupon, which can be used towards any course purchase on ChildCareTraining.org. The coupon will be mailed the first week of the following month, after the specific Course of the Month expires. Instructions for redeeming the discount will be detailed on the coupon. ChildCareTraining.org courses must be completed within 90 days of registration.}

Environmental Cues

Mon, 10 May 2010 15:04:53 GMT

Environmental Cues

Children learn environmental cues. They learn that an outdoor playground is an acceptable place to run and be loud, while a church or library is usually not. Family, community and culture help children learn these expectations.

What expectations does your early care facility communicate to the children in your care? What environmental cues does it provide?

Check out the course, Early Learning Environments: Floors, Ceilings and Walls on ChildCareTraining.org for more information!

What's your profit?

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 17:35:00 GMT

What’s your profit?

Do you ever have a difficult time knowing exactly how much money you make in your child care business? You might know how much income you are paid from parents, but it is more important to track the actual profit you earn after paying expenses. The ChildCareTraining.org course Basic Bookkeeping Practices for Your Child Care Business can help you learn easy ways to ensure that you are running a profitable business. Once your finances are in order, you can have more time to spend on what is really important – the kids!

More course information >>

July Course of the Month

Thu, 01 Jul 2010 17:48:00 GMT

July Course of the Month

Register for July’s Course of the Month, Literacy-Rich Child Care Environments, and receive a coupon in the mail for $5 off of your next course purchase on ChildCareTraining.org!

Literacy development begins in the very early stages of childhood. Infants begin to learn about spoken language when they hear those around them talking, laughing, and singing. Young children begin to understand written language when they hear those stories read to them and see symbols in their environment. These early experiences with spoken and written language are the foundations for literacy development and set the stage for learning to read and write.

We have a wonderful opportunity and an important responsibility to nurture and teach our youngest children. What can we do to encourage and foster literacy development of the children in our care? Enroll in Literacy-Rich Child Care Environments and learn how to organize a literacy-rich environment and fulfill the role as an active facilitator of language.

“Enroll now >>”:http://www.childcaretraining.org/course/view.php?id=5

Learning to Read

Wed, 30 Jun 2010 21:27:00 GMT

Learning to Read

When does learning to read begin? Does it start with memorizing the alphabet and sounding out words? Actually, the fundamentals of reading begin much earlier. Adults lay the foundation for reading every day, when we point out objects and describe what we are doing, such as when dressing a baby, going on a walk with a toddler, or putting a puzzle together with a preschooler.

Learn more about how to encourage literacy in early childhood in the ChildCareTraining.org course Literacy-Rich Child Care Environments.

New Course!

Wed, 30 Jun 2010 23:31:00 GMT

New Course!

ChildCareTraining.org has a new course offering! Going City Green is now available! Learn the basics of ensuring your child care environment is healthy for the children in your care! Learn about unsafe products, chemicals, and plants that you should avoid using in your child care and home. Gain perspective on shopping and food preparation, washing produce, gardening and composting. Through these lifestyle changes, you can provide a safer child care environment!

This two-hour, beginning level course is even more relevant this summer! Learn about gardening with the children in your care. Get a green thumb and enroll in Going City Green today!

Enroll >>

Building Early Literacy Skills

Tue, 29 Jun 2010 19:24:00 GMT

Building Early Literacy Skills

Literacy skills and literacy awareness begins to form in the early years of childhood, well before a child can actually read or write. In order to encourage the development of those skills, try the following tips:

Be a model of literate behavior for your children: write notes, keep a calendar and daily planner, post lists of food and household needs and children’s responsibilities.
Allow the children to see you reading for pleasure.
Read to your children every day.
Introduce new vocabulary words during routine conversation and while reading.
Discuss printed text, words and sounds as objects that can be thought about, manipulated, altered, and explored. Sing songs, make up silly rhymes, read books, and play with words and sounds every day.
Help children build and use their ever-growing vocabulary.
Provide children with the tools of literate behavior: pens, pencils, markers, paper, envelopes, a stapler, paperclips, stamps, a dictionary, an atlas, telephone books, magazines, catalogues, newspapers, junk mail, or a chalk board (these suggestions may need to be altered, depending on the ages of the children).
Engage in daily literacy activities with your children: write thank you notes, mail birthday cards, look up phone numbers, find exotic destinations in an atlas, write lists, read books, or visit the library.

For more suggestions of building early literacy skills with the children in your care, register for the course Print in Preschool on ChildCareTraining.org.

Course of the Month

Thu, 17 Jun 2010 17:39:00 GMT

Course of the Month

What is the most appropriate way to introduce language to a young child? By reading aloud to them! Children’s natural love of books leads to numerous benefits throughout their early development. Through stories, a child can relate to a character and understand their emotions through the storyline, learning ways to express their own emotions effectively. Learn techniques for enriching your children’s learning experience through the process of storytelling in the June Course of the Month Read a Book.

Register for Read a Book and receive a coupon in the mail for $5 off of their next course purchase on ChildCareTraining.org!

Receive $5 off your next purchase!

Wed, 09 Jun 2010 17:46:00 GMT

Receive $5 off your next purchase!

$5 Off Your Next Course Purchase!

Register for June’s Course of the Month, Read a Book, and receive a coupon in the mail for $5 off of their next course purchase on ChildCareTraining.org!

What are the best ways to reach children through reading? Do you read aloud to the children in your care? The most appropriate way to introduce language to a young child is by reading to them. Learn techniques for enriching your children’s learning experience through the process of storytelling in the course Read a Book.