Journal 5

Staff Meeting Agenda Questions, Comments, Concerns from Last Meeting -We now have healthy snacks in the break room. -Working on clearance for Field Trip to Zoo. We will need parent volunteers to make this happen so be talking with your parents and get a feel for what parents are interested. New Kiddos-New Conditions -Joey...Trach -Ella...G-tube -Phoenix...Oxygen and Monitors Fundraiser -Need volunteers for Parent Night Out October 11th and 25th. Drills Next Week -Tornado, Fire, Evacuation next week. Be prepared. Parking -Please do not park infront of the doors. Those spots are for parents only. New Teacher -Julie, New grad will be working in the Infant room as the Lead Teacher. Please make her feel welcome. Questions, Comments, Concerns...??? Staff Meetings are important to inform all staff of what is going on in the center. Problems that have come about and how as a team or management we have decided to handle them. It helps the center to be on one page and to be able to voice concerns about things that may not otherwise be addressed at any other time. But if given the opportunity could be brought to light and a solution formed.

Journal 4

When someone doesn’t use my name it doesn’t bother me that much, but I will have to say when someone uses my name it makes me feel special and like I have done something for them to remember my name.  So I really push myself to make my self stand out to where people will remember my name, not by what I’ve done wrong but how I’ve made them feel or by what I’ve done for them. 

When someone gives me the cold shoulder it makes me feel like I have done something wrong and I need to fix it.  I am a pretty laid back person and get along with just about anyone, so when that happens I feel like it is me that has done something wrong and I do my best to try and fix it.  Sometimes it makes me very self conscious and I’m racking my brain trying to figure out what it was that I had done and in reality they were just having a bad day.

When someone doesn’t make eye contact and only greets me with complaints makes me feel less human.  That person is completely disregarding me as a person and only me as the disciplinarian or the thing to fix the problem.  When this happens I am not the person caring for the child.  It becomes less personal and I almost get on the defense.  I think it’s important, not to sugar coat things by any means, but to acknowledge the person you are speaking with as a person and not an object at your disposal.  

Journal 3

Activity 2.1 Creating Consistant Messages

Peanut Allergie Sinario I would explain to the parent that we have that policy in place for all of the children at the center's health and safety. Even though a child may not be in that class if they come in contact with that product they can have an allergic reaction. We want to protect all of our children and that they are welcome to bring something without peanuts/peanutbutter. I would then discuss with my teachers when approached about something that is against policy to reiterate that whatever policy the parents are trying to break.

Prefered Friday Shift Sinario I would tell her I understand the difficult situation she is in. But to allow everyone the same opportunity I can't allow her to be scheduled from 7-3:30 every Friday. I will however allow her to switch with someone if they will switch their Friday with her, as long as it doesn't become a problem where people feel pressured to do so.


Activity 2.2 Handling Confrontation

Stealing Lesson Plans Sinario
I would approach the teacher away from the children and say I see that she used my ideas.  I would state that I had talked to some of the other teachers about their projects and discussed mine as well.  I would express that I didn't appericiate her taking my ideas and using them as her own and if she would like to team up and do a lesson plan together I would appericiate that next time or if she needs help I would be willing to help her.

Furious Father Sinario
I would express that I see he is upset about the situation and I'm sorry his daughter got pinched.  I would inform him that I would be happy to speak with the director and have her call him or set up a meeting so he can speak with her.  I would also express that I keep a close eye on all of the children, but had I known she got hurt I would have let him know about it yesterday, that per policy we report all injuries to parents.  I would also, while the child is there discuss what happend that she got hurt and that if she ever gets hurt again she can always come and talk to me or any of the other teachers that we need to know if she gets hurt.

Journal Entry 2-DEFINING WHO I AM!

Define Who I Am

I visualize my business as a place of refuge where people can bring their children so they can make a living for their family. The families I will care for have been through so much just to have this child in their life. In caring for their child who has medical complications parents are very anxious, nervious, and stressed about having their child stay with someone who doesn't know how to adequately take care of their child's medical needs. I am in hopes of opening my doors to give those families comfort and peace that their child will be cared for and loved while they work.

I don't really consider myself to be affordable child care center. My rates will be higher than the average child care center, BUT we would be a specialized center with licensed nurses and medical staff to care for their children. When you pay more for your staff the tuition goes up. I am in hopes of being able to gain non-profit status and obtain grants to decrease the tuition for parents.

Being academically oriented is very important. Zero to three is an important stage for education and sets the stage for the rest of their life. So of course I will be an academically oreinted center.

Policies, programs, equipment, and curriculum I use to identify my program include: Our policies that will identify our program are policies that allow inclusion. Our program will include children with medical needs. Equipment will include medical equipment to adequately care for those children. Curriculum we will use the ELG's 0-36 months and our teachers will be certified to create lesson plans for the children and their needs.

The strenghts of my center will be a group of staff that genuinly care. The staff of my center will care for these children and their families to make a difference in their life. Our goal is to leave their life on a positive note. There will be a registered nurse on staff at all times to care for the children in the center with NICU experience.

At this point since Heaven's Little Stars is a vision of mine there is everything to improve on. We are just in the very very baby steps of becoming non-profit. At this point I would say improvement is to obtain a board so we can obtain Non-Profit Status.

Journal 1

My name is Lisa Sullivan. I am a Registered Nurse at OU Children's Hospital in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. I am taking this early care education class because I am on the Associate Directors Track. I am in hopes of one day opening a Non-Profit Child Care Center for children ages 0-3 with various medical complications. I am pretty technology savy, but I had no idea how to make a blog so this will be interesting and very helpful down the road when I do get my center up and running. I hope to gain a better knowledge of how to communicate better with parents as a center.