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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
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The Worksheet Dilemma
Earlier this year, in May, we sent a newsletter addressing the use of worksheets in our early childhood programs and whether or not using worksheets was considered developmentally appropriate practice. Since we are approaching the holidays and there are many holiday themed worksheets available we wanted to revisit the idea and also share with you some new resources that were sent to us from one of our partnering agencies.
Worksheets are used for many different reasons, including but not limited to:
- parents want to see that their children are learning something
- toddlers need to be ready for preschool
- preschoolers need to be ready for kindergarten
- worksheets will help children learn to follow directions, write, cut, match, sort or learn their letters, learn their numbers, learn their colors, etc.
Research has shown that young children learn best through concrete, hands on experiences that will allow them to understand abstract concepts in the future. Worksheets are also a passive way to learn instead of being an active part in their understanding of concepts and key ideas. When children are required to do worksheets, teachers run the risk of creating self-esteem and behavior issues. Children that are not successful at connecting the dots, circling the correct letter or coloring within the lines begin to feel an inability to complete a task successfully and will self-judge themselves in comparison to their peers who are acknowledged or rewarded for completing the worksheet correctly.
Some might ask, "If we can't use worksheets how do we show parents that their children are learning?" A few suggestions include, but are not limited to:
- send home newsletters for parents outlining what concepts are being learned in each learning center or activity
- keep a portfolio of work progress to share with parents
- send home work samples
- use parent teacher conferences to talk about what learning is taking place
- send home ideas for hands-on learning activities that allow parents and children to do them together
- collect observational records/anecdotal notes, checklists, photographs, etc. to share with parents
- display a bulleted list in each area of your classroom outlining the learning concepts for that area along with some suggested encouragements parents/adults can say to the children to support their learning in that area.
Recently, one of our partnering agencies, shared their newsletter addressing the use of worksheets and included some great resources that we want to share with you!
Early Childhood educators are often asked questions regarding their classroom practices - for example, "Are worksheets developmentally appropriate for young children?"Responding to this question articulately is key. While letter formation worksheets may be appropriate for 5 and 6 year-olds, they may be creating more harm than good when presented to our 3 and 4 year-olds who do not possess handwriting prerequisites.
Development is Relevant. Implementation of handwriting practice worksheets can, unfortunately, serve to reinforce poor grasp and letter formation patterns if those components are not appropriately developed. Most 3 and 4 year-olds are not ready for this task -- yet. Moreover, worksheets are boring to children of all ages and tend to burn children out leaving them uninspired, if not bored to tears, with decreased enthusiasm for writing in later grades when it really counts! Soon enough young children will be presented with countless worksheets. Why go there early and possibly undermine competence and confidence in young children? Instead, I recommend focusing on developing handwriting prerequisites and building children from the inside-out, heart first!
Be grateful for questions from educators, administrators, and parents because they afford you the perfect opportunity to educate and articulate the value of the activities you facilitate at school or home! Use your knowledge to educate questioning adults on how developmentally appropriate activities provide the substantial platform for life-long achievement.
Dr. Marianne Gibbs is an occupational therapist and educational consultant. Go to her website at www.writeoutofthebox.com for free resources. You can also sign up for her E-Blast to receive educational tips via email.
The following article was included in our May newsletter and is a good read:
The Worksheet Dilemma
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Interested in learning more about Great Start to Quality?
Take advantage of monthly webinars hosted by Great Start to Quality! The webinars will keep you informed about Michigan's tiered quality rating and improvement system.
The next webinar is scheduled for Wednesday, December 18th
1:00 - 2:00
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.
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Toll Free support is available: 1-877-614-7328
- Our Quality Improvement Specialists are available to help you!
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Training on the New Child Care Center Licensing Rules
The Licensing Rules for Child Care Centers are changing effective January 2, 2014. Licensing consultants will be providing training on the new rules. See the list at www.michigan.gov/michildcare-training > Training Resources of scheduled training sessions.If you do not see a session in your area, keep in mind that training sessions are still being scheduled. The list will be updated as training sessions are scheduled.
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.
Infant Toddler PQA:
II. Schedules and Routines
II-G. Children make many choices during group time including how to explore and use materials.
Preschool PQA:
II. Daily Routine
II-G. Throughout small group time, children contribute their own ideas and participate at their own developmental levels while allowing children to explore and use the same set of materials in their own way.
Family Child Care PQA:
I. Daily Schedule
I-C. The program has time each day for adult-initiated group activities that reflect and extend children's interests and development.
***Check your PQA booklets for all Level 5 Indicators***
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Pinterest Find of the Week....
A new take on following lines or completing a worksheet maze...draw your own maze on the pavement with chalk and children can drive trucks or other vehicles along the maze! If big enough, children can ride bikes along the path! This activity promotes fine motor, gross motor, cognitive and social development and is much more fun than sitting at a table completing a worksheet!
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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:
Understanding Children's Behaviors
Huron County:
Mathematics Activities for Young Children
Creative Curriculum Intentional Teaching
Lapeer County: Changing Challenging to Charming Saginaw County: AHEAD: At Home & At Day Care. Working with Children with Special Needs Child Care Center Rules (Directors/Administrators ONLY) Why Toddlers Bite? Schedules and Routines Saint Clair County: Defining Family Dynamics Conscious Discipline #2: Skills of Encouragement and Assertiveness Creative Curriculum Intentional Teaching Sanilac County: Taking the Struggles out of Power Struggles Tuscola County: Schedules and Routines Mail Correspondence and Online: Using and Extending the Lending Library Materials
Building a Better Brain
Safe Sleep & Shaken Baby Syndrome
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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!
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Featured Lend
ing Library Resource
Story Stretchers include a quality book to share with children along with an activity idea for extending the book across multiple areas of development. 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.
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How to contact your Consultant:
Dawn Kalkman
(Huron, Lapeer, Sanilac, St. Clair, Tuscola)
Cell: 989-280-1103
Heather Rousseau (Arenac, Bay, Saginaw) Cell: 989-284-2250
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