October 7, 2013
Consultants Connection
In This Issue
Anecdotal Notes
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Dear Great Start to Quality Providers,

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

Dawn and Heather
Quality Improvement Consultants - Eastern Region

 
     

Why do I need to write Anecdotal Notes?

Anecdotal notes are written records of what children do or say during an everyday activity.  Anecdotal records are a useful way to collect ongoing child assessment information. Other reasons for taking anecdotal notes include, but are not limited to:

  • observing and planning each day for each child and the class as a whole 
  • sharing developmental information about children with their parents
  • summarizing and documenting student progress for administrative reporting purposes  
  • monitoring children's progress toward their goals
  • answering questions about how children are learning
  • deciding how to make changes in order to help children progress
  • helping teachers and families support children's learning and development outside of the classroom.

The best way to facilitate planning, serve children's developmental needs, and communicate with parents and administrators is to take regular notes on children.


Anecdotal notes should be completed on an ongoing basis throughout the year. This allows you to look back on your notes throughout the program year and decide where you need to fill in notes on a particular child or area of development.
It is suggested to plan for note taking while interacting with children throughout the day in order to document more in-depth and meaningful notes.  Jotting down quick notes while interacting with children does not interrupt your play with the children, allows you to use those notes to go back to for more intentional planning time and provides much more in-depth developmental information, such as growth in cognitive and social development.

Examples of how to take anecdotal notes include:
  • sticky notes
  • a clipboard in each area of the room
  • sticky labels with each child's name listed to jot down children's actions, behaviors and conversations
  • index cards for each child on a ring/clip.
When choosing which method to use for recording anecdotal notes, keep in mind what is easy and most convenient for you and least disruptive for the children.
 
Anecdotal notes must be objective and free of opinions, judgments and biases. When writing down the facts of what you see or hear children doing or saying, ask yourself:
  • Can I see it?
  • Can I hear it?
  • Would another person agree about what occurred?
For more information on anecdotal notetaking, use the following resources:


Interested in learning more about Great Start to Quality?

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

The next webinar is scheduled for 
Wednesday, October 16th
1:00 - 2:00
Topic:  Quality Improvement Planning

To register, click this link:

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 using the Great Start to Quality STARS system?
Please contact the Mosaic Network's support team.

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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 have identified high quality program practices for all children.  The following sections identified in the PQA provide guidance for anecdotal notetaking:
 
Infant Toddler PQA:
IV.  Curriculum Planning and Child Observation
IV-B.  Caregivers observe children.
Throughout the day caregivers jot down notes to remind themselves of what they see and hear, and use the notes later in planning and sharing with parents.
IV-C.  Caregivers discuss, interpret, and record child observations. 
 
 
Preschool PQA:
IV.  Curriculum Planning and Assessment
IV-D.  Staff record and discuss anecdotal notes as the basis for planning for individual children.
 
 
Family Child Care PQA:
III.  Provider-Child Interaction
III-E and III-F.  Providers often observe what children are doing and saying before and after they enter children's play and as they participate in group activities.
 
***Check your PQA booklets for all Level 5 Indicators***
 
Anecdotal note taking is also addressed in the Self-Assessment Survey:  Screening and Assessment
**Staff discusses anecdotal notes/observations as a basis for working/teaching with each child.
Anecdotal note taking contributes to a higher quality STAR rating!




Pinterest Find of the Week....



Stick the labels on a clip board like this. And while you're walking around observing students, make notes. Write ANYTHING! Ex: Ashley is struggling with letter sounds. Continue to reinforce letters: H, M, and Y/Grant is reading well. May want to bump him up a level. At the end of the week, peel & stick to student's index card


Stick the labels on a clip board like this.  While you are walking around observing students, make notes.  At the end of the week, peel and stick to student's index card.




 
Looking for Training? 


Below is a list of trainings offered for each county.  Trainings are being added often so for more detailed information and to register, go to:

 

Arenac/Bay Counties:

 

Praise vs. Encouragement
Changing Challenging to Charming 

 

 

Huron County:

 

Using Teaching Strategies GOLD Lab Session
New Licensing Rules for Child Care Centers
Creative Curriculum Intentional Teaching 

Lapeer County:

 

Child Initiated Learning

Changing Challenging to Charming

Autism in Young Children

 

Saginaw County:

  

Relationships with Families:  The Challenges of Working with Families
Child Care Center Rules (Licensed Child Care Directors/Administrators ONLY)
Promoting Social Emotional Competence
Building Positive Relationships
Child Care Center Rules (Licensed Child Care Directors/Administrators ONLY)

Saint Clair County:

 

Adults as Partners in Play
Adults as Partners in Children's Development

 

Sanilac County:
 
Transforming the Difficult Child:  The Nurtured Heart Approach
Relax;  Alternatives to Anger Series

 

Tuscola County:

  

Behavior Expectations and Rules

Mail Correspondence and Online:

 

Using and Extending the Lending Library Materials

Building a Better Brain
Safe Sleep & Shaken Baby Syndrome
 
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 your 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!
 
Featured Lend
ing Library Resource
C.A.R.E.S:
 
 
A C.A.R.E.S. bag (Children Acquiring Rich Experience and Skills), features a learning material and activity book that guides learning a specific skill. Some of the featured skills are counting, sorting, patterns and sequencing.  All the items included can be checked out at your local Lending Library. These items are FREE for you to borrow and use with the children in your care. What a fun and exciting way to temporarily add new items to the classroom without breaking your budget! For a list of all the available items that can be borrowed, contact the Resource Center.
How to contact your Consultant:

  Dawn Kalkman
  (Huron, Lapeer, Sanilac, St. Clair, Tuscola)
  Email:  [email protected]
  Cell:  989-280-1103

  Heather Rousseau 
  (Arenac, Bay, Saginaw)
  Email:  [email protected]
  Cell:  989-284-2250