Infant-Toddlers

CCSA
CCSA Staff

Observations and Meaningful Change

When working with one of our skilled Birth-to-Three Specialist (B-3S) coaches, Practice-Based Coaching (PBC) participants get the benefit of supportive and constructive feedback related to their teaching and administrative practices. This feedback has the potential to not only improve quality in the child care facility, but increase professionalism and a sense of wellbeing for staff, children and families through development of a warm and nurturing environment. An essential part of the feedback process is regular PBC participant observation to understand the impact of classroom change as it occurs. Many participants ask for the reasoning behind our diligent observation efforts. In this article, we unpack how these observations work logistically, what they are intended to do and why they are essential to helping our project enhance our coaching services.

Read More »
CCSA
CCSA Staff

Resilience in Early Childhood Care and Education Spaces

Resilience is generally understood as the ability to bounce back or recover quickly from adversity. It can be difficult to describe the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECE) space without using the word resilience. This was true before child care centers and family child care homes were devastated by the

Read More »
NCB3QI
CCSA Staff

Healthy Child Celebrations: Drop the Sugar!

Can you remember a birthday party that did not have cake, cupcakes, or some kind of sweet treat? Food can be a great way to bring people together for fellowship and to celebrate the joys of life. Unfortunately, our society’s preference for sugary treats at celebrations could be one of the contributing factors to childhood obesity.

Read More »
Infant-Toddlers
Savion Thorne

What is Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health?

According to the North Carolina Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Association (NCIMHA), infant and early childhood mental health is the developing capacity of the child from birth to 5 years old to form close and secure adult and peer relationships; experience, manage, and express a full range of emotions; and explore the environment and learn all in the context of family, community, and culture (Brunton, 2023). Shaped by cultural expectations and community resources, these skills are built in the early years within relationships with nurturing, consistent and responsive caregivers.

Read More »
NCB3QI
Savion Thorne

Planning with a Purpose: Lesson Planning FAQs

In Planning with a Purpose, a cohort-based learning community, we have spent our first couple of sessions together discussing the purpose and process of lesson planning. As a result of these conversations with birth-to-three providers, we as a project want to share with you some planning-related issues that have come to light.

Read More »
Infant-Toddlers
CCSA Staff

NC B-3QI’s First Year Using Practice-Based Coaching (PBC)

In the past year, NC Birth-to-Three Quality Initiative (B-3QI)’s statewide team of Specialists began using a Practice-Based Coaching (PBC) approach in their support for the birth-to-three workforce throughout the state. This intensive cyclical change model required in-depth training, piloting, and learning through experience. Specialists met weekly in a virtual format

Read More »