Types of Early Childhood Programs

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Types of Early Childhood Programs

• Chapter 2

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Vocabulary Terms

• Family child care home
• Child care centers
• Custodial care
• Montessori approach
• Head Start
• School-age child care programs

• Checking-in services
• Parent cooperatives
• Laboratory schools
• Universal pre-kindergarten (UPK)
• Accredited

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• Use pie graph on pg 37, 2-2

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In addition

• Family child care homes
• Child care provided in a private home with a
  small number of children
• Child care centers
• Facilities that offer full day childrens
  programs
• Most popular type of care and education
• Some centers simply provide custodial care, care
  focusing primarily on childs physical needs

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In addition

• Kindergarten
• First Kindergarten opened in 1837 by Frederick
  Froebel in Germany.
• Stressed play
• First American Kindergarten opened in
  Watertown,WI in 1856

• 3 basic scheduling patterns ½ day, full day and
  full day/alternating
• Emphasizes the growth of the whole child
• Basic objectives to develop positive feelings
  about school, develop independence, develop
  positive self-concept

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In addition

• School-age Child Care
• Provide care for children before and/or after
  school
• Sponsored by schools, houses of worship or child
  care centers
• An alternative is checking-in services, where
  workers call home to see if child arrived safely.
  This option is only for mature children who can
  take care of themselves until parents arrive.

• Parent Cooperatives
• Formed and run by parents who wish to take part
  in their childrens preschool experience
• Parents make administrative decisions
• Fees are often less here than at other programs
• Parents serve as classroom aides

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In addition

• Laboratory Schools
• University and college affiliated programs
• Located on a college campus
• Serve as a study group for research
• Most have a highly qualified staff, well-planned
  curriculum and up-to-date facilities

• High School Child Care Programs
• Help train future child care professionals
• High school students plan and present the
  curriculum under supervision of a teacher

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In addition

• Universal Pre-Kindergarten
• Sponsored at the state level
• High quality, literary rich environment is
  provided.
• Designed for 3 and 4 year olds.

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Montessori Schools

• Maria Montessori
• Developed the theory that children learn best by
  being active

• Montessori Approach
• Children learn how to learn
• Children were allowed to explore materials that
  were meant to instruct
• Stressed independence
• Teachers provide little help

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Head Start

• Nutrition
• Many do not receive nutritious meals at home
• At least one snack and one hot meal is provided
  each day
• Food is served that reflects the childs ethnic
  and cultural preferences.
• Designed to help children make healthy food
  choices and develop good eating habits.

• Developed in the late 1960s by the federal
  government
• Designed to overcome the negative effects of
  poverty on young children
• One of the most successful preschool and family
  support programs in the country
• Curriculum
• Designed to build self-esteem
• Variety of learning experiences to meet the
  childrens needs in all four areas of development
• Parental involvement is at the heart of the
  program

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Head Start

• Health
• All children given a total health plan
• Dental, medical, mental health services provided
  for
• Children who have not had childhood immunizations
  prior to enrollment are given them

• Parental Involvement
• Recognizes the parent as the childs first
  teacher
• Parents are encouraged to help recruit new
  children, assist in the center, and take part in
  policy meetings

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Sponsorship in Early Childhood Centers

• Public Sponsorship
• Funded by federal, state or local governments
• Some funds come through school districts
• Federally funded example Head Start
• State funded example laboratory school, high
  school child care program

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Sponsorship in Early Childhood Centers

• Private sponsorship
• Rely on parent fees to cover most of operating
  expenses
• May be operated by a house of worship, hospital
  or charitable organization

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Sponsorship in Early Childhood Centers

• Employer sponsorship
• Reduces conflict between family and work
  responsibilities
• Several options
• company-owned on site care
• contracting out to childcare chains or firms
• vouchers

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Selecting a Child Care Program

• Find a program that welcomes the child and
  promotes all areas of the childrens development
• Cost
• Location
• Quality
• What are the programs goals, activities and
  schedule?
• Variety and balance
• Child to teacher ratio

• Training and experience of staff
• Staff turnover rates
• Safe Environment
• Security system
• Smoke detectors
• Fire extinguishers
• Evacuation plans
• Clean
• Well maintained
• As a teacher, your role will be to give parents
  the needed information to make an informed
  decision

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Center Accreditation

• Being accredited certifies that a set of
  standards has been met by an early childhood
  program.
• To be eligible, a center must
• A self-evaluation on 10 categories
• A validation visit conducted on-site by trained
  professionals
• A decision by a team of experts representing the
  National Academy of Early Childhood Programs

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Chapter 2 Review

• Describe one aspect of each type of program
• Know about Montessori and Head Start
• Give one example of each sponsorship
• What are factors to consider when choosing a
  child care program?
• What is center accreditation?
• Study your vocabulary terms