Harbor Child Care’s Post

People Focus Solutions and Melissa can help with any HR needs. Especially the below! Reach out to Melissa or myself today if you want to know more how your business can have that HR support! #HR #HRSupport #HRConsultancy

Exploring Wisconsin's Flourishing Nature-Based Early Childhood Education Movement Nature-based early childhood education goes beyond merely spending time outdoors. While ample outdoor play is a cornerstone, it's also about fostering resourcefulness, nurturing imagination, and instilling a sense of stewardship towards the environment. Read More: https://lnkd.in/dTdcbeY5 #naturebasededucation #WisconsinEducation #outdoorlearning #earlychildhoodeducation #naturepreschools

The back-to-school season is usually a busy season for parents. Here are some tips for parents when preparing for kids to go back to school. https://ow.ly/n7E550SL4Bc

In a recent commentary on CNA, Dr Cynthia Lim from the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) explores the issue of overscheduling children during school holidays in Singapore. She argues that while parents often enroll their children in various structured activities to help them learn important skills, this can be counterproductive. Excessive structured activities may hinder children's self-direction, executive functions, and overall well-being. Instead, Dr. Lim advocates for allowing children to engage in free, unstructured play, which fosters creativity, self-reliance, and healthy brain development. How can parents nurture these play-full opportunities? Her suggestions will resonate strongly: 🧘🏻 Allow for downtime activities Activities like listening to music, reading a book, blowing bubbles, or quiet time with yoga poses allow time for reflection and mindfulness. 💡 Hold space for curiosity and imagination  Parents can join their children to look for bugs outdoors, see patterns in the clouds, or use recycled cardboard boxes to build a fort or anything they fancy. 💬 Offer encouragement and ask questions to show interest This keeps children motivated to continue creating, building, and coming up with stories using open-ended materials. 🤲 Embrace being unproductive together Spending time together purely to have joy in each other's company signals to the child that he or she is loved, appreciated, and "good enough". "We want the best for our children and for them to become well-adjusted, resilient, creative, and thriving adults. Let us give them permission, time, space, and freedom to play." How are you spending time with your child this holiday? Read the full writing here: https://lnkd.in/gXxbT5Yd #PlayOurEveryday #APlayfulSingapore #SUSSsg

Thrive at Five is helping children to reach a good level of development at age five by strengthening and coordinating early years systems, practice, and pathways of support from pregnancy to the end of the first year at school in the UK’s disadvantaged local communities. We know many children are not ready to start at nursery and school, and that transitioning into their first education environment can be difficult. A challenging start can both impact a child’s ability to start learning in their new environment and cause additional stress for parents who want a happy transition into school. Ready, Steady, Stoke (RSS) is an initiative to improve the transition of children into primary school, developed with local schools and parents after they identified that many children were struggling to adjust to the school environment. Ready Steady Stoke is a critical component of the broader pathway of better services and support that Thrive at Five are creating with our partners for parents and children.   Following on from the success of Ready Steady Stoke in 2022 and with Thrive at Five’s continued support, the second year of the project saw all seven partner schools in Bentilee and Abbey Hulton supporting parents of children due to join nursery or reception in September.     We are pleased the second-year evaluation shows that it is possible to improve the transition into nursery for parents, children and practitioners by putting in place a range of support including transitions events, stay and plays and summer holiday sessions for children and families that spans the period before children start school in September. Ready, Steady, Stoke helped nearly 500 children with their transition into nursery and reception and the the effect was stronger for children that attended sessions regularly.    In future years, thanks to recommendations from local parents as part of this second-year evaluation, we will be working to make sure even more children and families can access this full range of transition support.   When we work together and involve parents and carers, we can help children have the very best start in their education journey and develop strong foundations for life and learning.   Learn more about we can collectively support children’s transitions in the full evaluation report here: https://lnkd.in/ehG3QVuY #readyforschool #parentengagement #earlychildhooddevelopment #transition #thrivingtogether Stoke-on-Trent City Council Alpha Academies Trust

Every day I find myself thinking about the incredible potential within early childhood education and care (ECEC) spaces. What if every educator had the skills and confidence to seamlessly weave therapeutic qualities and playfulness into their daily interactions with children? The possibilities are endless. One of my favourite play therapy quotes is by Garry Landreth highlights exactly this- “We should begin focusing on how best to give our skills away… that is the way we change society… not by hiding our skills away behind our office door or playroom door” 🙌🏼 By embedding these elements into our teaching and caregiving practices, we can create environments that do more than just support growth—they can truly transform childhood trajectories. Imagine a space where every child feels emotionally secure, deeply engaged, and meaningfully connected to those around them? These are the environments where children don’t just learn—they thrive, grow, and become the best versions of themselves. If you share this vision, I’d love to connect and see how we can make it a reality 🤍

Find out more about why it is important for babies and toddlers to spend time outdoors in this blog - with links to a free Open Learn course and Research Report

Most research on access to child care and early education (CCEE) has not accounted for what families search for, prefer, and need. In this video, four parents describe their experiences finding CCEE. Their stories help bring the “Multi-Dimensional Framework of Access to Child Care and Early Education” to life and show how important all four of the dimensions are and how parents think about them when finding care for their children. Watch this preview and click to view the full video. https://buff.ly/48P9nJi

Kids clubs definitely have an influence on how families are booking their holidays. There is so much more on offer these days, in terms of activities, culture and education. Here are some of my top questions to ask when considering where you will be going on your family holiday... What is the adult to child ratio? What educational activities are offered? Are daily schedules viewable to help in your planning? Will multi-aged siblings be separated? Is pre-booking essential? Are there sign-in procedures for all age groups? Is a doctor’s certificate required before children can attend? #kidsclubs #holiday #familyholiday #familyholidayideas

Supporting the growth and development of under 5's in Mangere