October, 2015
Consultants Connection
In This Issue
Social Stories
Quick Links


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Dear Great Start to Quality Providers,

This is your monthly touchpoint with the Great Start to Quality Consultants! The focus will be a shared topic that will provide support to each of you in your daily work with young children and families.  Enjoy!

Angie 
Quality Improvement Consultants - Eastern Region

 

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Using Social Stories to Support Social Emotional Development

Supporting social emotional development by using social stories is one of the best ways to individualize instruction for your classroom.  

Social stories are teacher created personalized short stories (books) about classroom routines, social interactions or the individual needs of a child. 

Using social stories in the classroom (homes and centers) can support children with anxiety around transitions, discuss classroom expectations, and teach children how to solve conflicts.   

Social stories are beneficial because they support young children in memory development and self regulation.  For memory performance, stories offer general information of what will happen and when it will happen. Social stories can help the development of empathy by providing children with stories that show different  points of view.  These stories help children organize and interpret daily events and can help to develop language and vocabulary skills.  

Social stories support toddler development as it provides the language and guidance on how to behave or what to expect in a given situation.  Preschool children can learn self regulation by listening to stories, observing adults and imitating their actions. Social stories provide a model for children; they are always written to reflect positive social behaviors and outcomes. 

The Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning (CSEFEL) has a variety of social stories that you can download for free.  We encourage you to download the stories and edit them using pictures of your classroom environment and photos of the children in your care. 

Click here to view social stories on the CSEFEL website. 


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Resource NAEYC, and CSEFEL
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Interested in learning more about Great Start to Quality?

Take advantage of quarterly webinars hosted by Great Start to Quality!  The webinars will keep you informed about Michigan's tiered quality rating and improvement system.

Catch up on past webinars by clicking the link below: Did you miss a webinar?  You can view recorded webinars anytime at: 

If you haven't already, please sign up for the Great Start to Quality listserv at  http://greatstarttoquality.org/ .  Click the "Sign Up" link at the bottom of the home page to get updates and answers to frequently asked questions.


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Need help with the Great Start to Quality STARS system?
Please contact the Resource Center's support team.
  • Toll Free support is available:  1-877-614-7328
  • Our Quality Improvement Specialists are available to help you! 

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 The PQA...

The PQA,  Program Quality Assessment is the assessment tool identified by the Great Start to Quality program to be used when assessing a program/provider.  The standards listed in the PQA identify high quality program practices for all children. 
 
Infant Toddler PQA: 
II.  Schedules and Routines
  E. Transitions flow smoothly from one     
  interesting experience. 
 
 
 



Preschool PQA:
II.  Daily Schedule
       I. During transition times, children have reasonable       choices about activities and timing as they move               from one activity to the next.  

 
Family Child Care PQA:
I. Daily Schedule
    A. Providers establish a consistent daily schedule or         sequence of events, and children are aware of the           schedule. 



Click the link below to learn more about the PQA: 

 

Tackling Program Quality 

 

***Check your PQA booklets for all Level 5 Indicators***

 ***Contact your local Lending Library to check out a PQA booklet***

Early Childhood Standards of Quality

This is a publication which explains the purpose, history and application of the the Early Childhood Standards of Quality endorsed by the Michigan Department of Education. Standards were developed to guide infant/toddler, preschool and pre-kindergarten programs across the state to ensure all Michigan children come to Kindergarten with similar early education experiences.  

Each standard is followed by a description of what children typically can be expected to demonstrate. Also listed are some examples of experiences and strategies that facilitate children's development with respect to each standard. 



The Early Childhood Standards of Quality connect the high quality experiences that we provide to children with many of the curriculum and assessments that we use.   Listed below are the connections between plan-do-review and the Standards of Quality. 

Infant and Toddler Early Childhood Standards of Quality:
Strand E: Environment of Care and Learning
Program Standard 20. The daily schedule, routines, and transitions are predictable, yet flexible, and supportive and responsive to individual needs.  
f.  Consistently prepares children for and provides smooth transitions and daily routines that are unhurried and purposeful with one-to-one nurturing interaction between primary caregivers and their children.  


Prekindergarten Early Childhood Standards of Quality:
Early Learning Expectation: Learning Environment 
Program Standard 9:  Routines and transitions between activities are smooth and kept to a minimum. 
b. Supports and plans for children who find transitions difficult.  





Pin of the Month....




       Find this idea on Pinterest 


 
Looking for Training? 


Trainings are being added often so for more detailed information and to register, go to:
  • click the third yellow box named "Professional Development"
  • follow the directions to register. 


 

 
Have you visited your Lending Library lately?

 
The Eastern Resource Center's Lending Library is a FREE educational resource available to parents and early childhood professionals. We offer  themed bins and CARES bags full of learning materials to enhance   y our classroom or childcare environment for children birth to age 5. Stop by your local Lending Library to check out something new today! 

Not sure where your local Lending Library is located? 
  • Click on "Great Start to Quality Resource Centers". 
  • Click "Eastern Resource Center" on the map to find the Lending 
     Library near you!                                                                                                                young-girl-studying.jpg

 
Featured Lending 
Library Resource
Teacher Resource 

  


 The Transition Tips and Tricks for Teachers book is full of creative and quick transitions that you can easily do in your classroom. 

  


 


We will soon be featuring new materials that have been added to the Lending Library.  Contact our friendly staff if you would like to try out the materials and we will feature your feedback on our Facebook page.  


 

 

 ~Click the following link to view our entire Lending Library catalog:

Lending Library Catalog
 


 

 

 
How to contact your Consultant:

Angie Pearcy
Cell:  989-280-0979
  

  



Funding from the Office of Great Start within the Michigan Department of Education supports the implementation of Great Start To Quality