The Value of Routines
As spring turns to summer, our ECFE classes begin discussing their planned activities for the warm weather. When asked about this, most parents will say that their children are enrolled in dance classes, summer sports, or YMCA activities. Parents know the value of routines in a child’s life. Even though summer is a time of relaxing and enjoying the simple pleasures, routines provide structure and security to children and parents.
Young children need and want to know what to expect at various times during their day. Routines can help toddlers accept transitions more easily, reducing resistance as they switch gears. For example, two-year-old Billy knows naptime follows lunch and; once he awakens, there will be playtime with Mom. This daily routine gives Billy comfort and contentment. The preschool years of rapid growth and learning can be a trying time for children as they navigate their world.
Daily rituals also strengthen the bond between parents and children. Children begin to understand what it is to trust and cooperate. Some daily rituals that encourage this include: reading books together, snuggling under the covers, picking up toys together, singing favorite songs or dancing to music.
Some important things to keep in mind when establishing routines is to offer choices when you can (to enhance independence), set limits like the number of books to read and time to go to bed. Remember to have fun and go with the flow sometimes. Often routines need to be fine-tuned periodically to meet the needs of an ever-changing toddler. When a child moves from crib to a regular bed, the bedtime rituals will change somewhat. While the specifics of a routine may change, the need for one never does. Children never really outgrow the desire for structure and security in their lives.
Jill Phillips
ECFE Parent Educator
End of Session @ the Capitol - Monday, May 17
From Ready 4 K
The weekend was marked by fits and starts of floor sessions, conference committees and leadership meetings. Disagreements and clarifying of positions between all bodies over early enrollment of childless adults from General Assistance Medical Care to Medical Assistance, which would qualify for federal matching funds, was at the crux of the debate. As negotiations continued, the House and Senate passed an Omnibus Supplemental Budget bill late Saturday/early Sunday morning, which included a mix of cuts, K-12 payment shifts, medical surcharges and no tax increases. This set in motion a series of offers and counter-offers by the DFL-controlled legislature and the Republican Governor throughout the day on Sunday.
At nearly 11:45pm, legislative leaders and the governor announced a deal requiring a brief special session, which was called at 12:01am on Monday, to pass the contents of the agreed-upon bill. The bill was approved by both legislative bodies at 10 AM today and is headed for the Governor’s signature. In the end, child care fared pretty well, given the challenges of the budget deficit and the legislative-governor politics. The legislation will take the Basic Sliding Fee underspending, but that is only a one-time move and no permanent cuts were made to child care. In addition, no reductions were made in other early childhood programs.
A successful albeit messy legislative session. We’ll get out a complete legislative wrap up in the coming days!
Look for an end-of-session summary the early part of next week. And thank you for all you’ve done this year. Early care and education certainly wouldn’t faired as it has thus far without your support!
What a weekend! You’ve probably read in news reports that the 2010 Legislative Session wrapped up this morning, with a brief special session called in order to complete the work in a timely matter. The good news for early care and education is that there were no permanent cuts made to early childhood programs, most notably to child care assistance. A brief update is below, and we’ll send out a more complete summary soon.
Saturday’s session of the Legislature began with the good news that the Governor had signed the Early Childhood Policy bill into law, despite some heavy lobbying to veto the bill by key Republican members. For once, common sense and a commitment to continue to build an effective high quality early care and education system prevailed. See our Omnibus Bill Tracker for a complete summary of the new law.
Omnibus early childhood bill to governor - May 11, 2010
On its way to the governor’s desk is the omnibus early childhood bill.
The House passed the conference committee report 103-30; the Senate did so 57-10 Monday.
Sponsored by Rep. Nora Slawik (DFL-Maplewood) and Sen. Terri Bonoff (DFL-Minnetonka), HF2760/ SF2505* would direct the State Advisory Council on Early Childhood Education and Care to make recommendations on three proposals. The council would appoint a task force to study and make recommendations on creating an Office of Early Learning.
The task force would consider a series of objectives related to delivering, measuring and improving quality of early childhood services. If established, an office could streamline oversight of education and child care services now administered by three departments: education, health and human services.
The council would also make recommendations on creating a statewide school readiness report card, and developing a plan to screen and assess 3 year olds and entering kindergarteners for school-readiness.
The conference committee report adopted by both bodies moved proposed screening and assessment plans to 2012.
- Kris Berggren, Session Daily
House passes early childhood omnibus bill - May 5, 2010
On a 104-27 vote, the House passed an omnibus early childhood bill that would help child care providers improve the quality of their facilities and curriculum, expand screening and assessment for young children to see if they’re on track for kindergarten and move toward establishing a state Office of Early Learning.
Kris Berggren, Session Daily - More -
Contact your State Senator - Vote No on Head Start Cut
From Ready 4 K
- …Some estimate an immediate elimination of 200 preschool children from Head Start classrooms, totalling over 840 in the next biennium.
After weeks of little progress at the Legislature, the trickle of activity is turning into a downpour. Yesterday we sent an action alert to call your House members to support the Early Childhood Policy Bill when it comes up for a vote on the floor of the House this afternoon.
Meanwhile, the Senate has proposed over $1.3 million in cuts to Head Start funding. Head Start is a critical program for many families to ensure their children start kindergarten fully prepared for learning success.
Problem:
An amendment to SF 3028 was proposed last night in the Senate Finance Committee that proposes significant and long-term cuts to Head Start in Minnesota. The amendment includes $1.345 million in cuts for 2011 and $2.2 million annual cuts each year of the 2012-2013 biennium.
While the state is facing significant budget challenges to resolve in coming weeks, balancing the budget at the expense of the education of our youngest, most vulnerable citizens will have long-term negative consequences for Minnesota’s future.
The magnitude of these cuts will mean hundreds of young children across Minnesota will lose services, teachers will be laid off, and small communities will lose valuable early education infrastructure. Some estimates of the impacts would be an immediate elimination of 200 preschool children from Head Start classrooms, with additional cuts of 320 children in 2012 and 2013. This means that over 840 children will enter school less prepared for learning than their peers.
Action Needed:
Please call AND email your Senator TODAY and tell them to reject these cuts to crucial Head Start programs in their community.
Deadline for responding: Please take action by May 5.
ACT NOW!
Call your State Representative - Support the Early Childhood Policy Bill
Early Childhood Policy Bill Set for House Vote on May 5
From Ready 4 K
We’re heading into the final days of the 2010 Legislative Session, and your help is needed today!
Update:
We are tracking several key pieces of legislation, including an Omnibus Early Childhood Policy Bill and budget bills for Education and Health & Human Services. The House and Senate HHS budget bills “capture” $7.5 million of Basic Sliding Fee “unspent” funds from 2009 that were slated to be redistributed to counties with child care waiting lists. The Senate also adopts the governor’s 5% cut to the base funding of Basic Sliding Fee child care assistance. We are pleased, however, that neither of the bodies recommended a cut to child care provider reimbursement rates. Most of the provisions in the Early Childhood Policy Bill are also included in the budget bills.
To view more details about the bills, and to track their progress, check out our omnibus bill tracker. You can also track our activity by following Ready 4 K on Twitter. As the budget bills make their way through the conference committee process, we will fight to ensure that deeper cuts to early childhood are not made, and will be calling on you to contact the members of the conference committees. So stay tuned for another Action Alert on that issue.
Action Needed:
The Early Childhood Policy Bill will be up for a vote on Wednesday May 5 on the House floor, and your Representative needs to hear from you! Since the vote is coming up right away, please CALL your Representative. Click the Act Now button for more details and a sample message. Then, when you click on Send Message, your Representative’s phone number will appear. You can also find out who represents you here. THANKS FOR ALL YOU DO FOR OUR YOUNGEST CITIZENS.
Deadline for responding: Please take action by Wednesday May 5th.
ACT NOW!
MN Senate has proposed over $12 million in cuts to child care assistance for Minnesota families
From Child Care WORKS
Child Care WORKS is following this closely and will keep you up to date as this proposal moves forward. Sign up for their e-updates to stay informed!
Parents Managing Stress
As parents, we have a lot of demands on us! We deal with family, work and the daily business of paying bills, grocery shopping, doctor and dentist appointments, chauffering children, etc. I could go on and on! All of these things pull us in different directions and stress becomes a big part of our lives.
What are some causes of stress in parents? Probably the most common one is outside pressures. We worry about money, illness, our parents’ issues, tensions at work and other everyday problems. Isolation and lack of support can lead to parental stress as well. When family or friends don’t live nearby, we may not get a break. Change is another cause. Such things as moving, divorce, death of someone close, loss of a job or arrival of a new baby are difficult adjustments for everyone to cope with. Another main cause of parental stress is the lack of parenting knowledge. We don’t get an instructional booklet when we have a baby. (How wonderful it would be if we did!) No parent has all the answers and sometimes we have unrealistic expectations of what our children are capable of doing at different developmental ages.
Now that we have looked at causes of parental stress, let’s consider some suggestions to make it manageable. One important thing to keep in mind is to be realistic. Stress will always be a part of life. Give yourself a break and accept this reality! Forgive yourself for mistakes and go on. Anticipate stressful situations. If mornings are a bad time of the day, plan ahead and do some things the night before or get up earlier to have time for yourself. Prioritize daily activities. What things on your “to-do list” absolutely have to be done today? Can you let other things go until tomorrow? Another great suggestion for handling stress is to keep yourself healthy. Take time to get exercise and eat a well-balanced diet. Try this for peace at bedtime: At the end of the day, think of three good things that happened. Let that be the last thing you do as you drift off to sleep.
Managing stress is a lifelong struggle for all of us! Unfortunately we can’t control when we get stressed, but we can learn ways to cope to make both our own and our children’s lives more balanced and productive.
Jill Phillips
Parent Educator