NAEYC Standards

Positive relationships are a crucial component in early childhood education. This includes relationships between teachers and family, teachers and children, and between the children in the program.

We view families as valued and respected partners in their child's education. We maintain a positive relationship with families through two-way, open communication. Families are always informed about what their child is learning, the events of their day, and their child's progress. Studies have shown that family involvement positively impacts a child's education (Annie E. Casey Foundation, 2022). 

Teachers and staff build nurturing, supportive, responsive, and caring relationships with the children in our program with a kind, calm, and gentle approach and by respecting each child's uniqueness and individual needs.  Through this relationship, we can keep children safe and healthy, teach them about their big emotions, and guide them toward positive ways to manage them.

Social-emotional development is a key to building positive and healthy friendships in childhood and throughout life. Our teachers and staff guide children toward healthy emotional responses as they learn to interact with other children and ensure they feel respected and included. We foster kindness, sharing, fairness, appropriate conflict resolution, empathy, self-confidence, trust, communication, and cooperation.

Our curriculum promotes children's cognitive, physical, social-emotional, and language development through play, exploration, and interest-based learning. It is designed to be inclusive of each family's culture, background, values, and beliefs, as well as each child's developmental level. 

Our areas of play-based learning include literacy, art, dramatic play, science and discovery, and blocks (mathematics and engineering). Lessons are implemented through a daily schedule that includes open play, group activities, classroom participation, and outdoor play.

Every child deserves to feel safe, valued, and included in their learning environment and to have their individual needs met in a nurturing, supportive, and responsive way. We provide these things for the children in our care in several ways. 

Every child is recognized and valued as an individual with different cultures, backgrounds, religions, family constructs, learning needs, languages, and interests. We provide a non-biased environment that is tailored and customized to be representative and inclusive of each child. Teaching approaches, methods, and activities are adapted according to each child's progress assessments, interests, and needs. Children's artwork, projects, and accomplishments are prominently displayed in the classroom to foster children's feeling of belonging and being valued. 

Daily activities are organized by a schedule that gives the children a sense of what to expect. The daily schedule is flexible to allow for longer times in an activity if necessary to enhance children's learning. Throughout the day, children are given opportunities to choose the learning/play areas they want to engage in and time for small and large group activities. 

To ensure each child's safety, children are always under visual and auditory supervision. The only exception is if a child is using the restroom and can still be heard.

We conduct regular formal and informal assessments of children's progress. Assessments are essential for several reasons and can be used in many ways. Informal assessments can identify children's strengths, interests, and individual needs, as well as what learning goals they have achieved. These assessments can determine ways to improve the program, inform decisions on modifying teaching approaches and strategies, and provide evidence on how well the curriculum meets the desired learning goals. Informal assessments take place daily as teachers interact with children. These assessment methods include checklists, rating scales, work sampling, and observation. 

If formal assessments are felt necessary by teachers or staff, families will be notified to discuss the reasons for the assessment and gain family approval before they are conducted.

All assessments will include information on all areas of a child's development: cognitive, physical, language, and social-emotional. 

All assessment results will be shared with the family. Informal assessments will be communicated through daily or weekly updates and parent/teacher conferences to indicate child progress over time. Formal assessment results will be communicated to families as soon as they are available, as they need to be read by a professional.

Good health is a foundation for children to be able to focus on learning and develop properly. We are dedicated to providing a healthy environment and following healthy practices to protect and maintain the health of the children in our care and our staff. Following is an overview of our policies regarding health:

  Current health records, emergency information, a list of the child's allergies or chronic illness, required medication, and immunization records (or proof of exemption) are kept in each child's file. A child must be current on or scheduled for any routine health services to be admitted. Please note that for the health and safety of an unimmunized or under-immunized child, they may be temporarily excluded from the program if a vaccine-preventable disease occurs in the program. 

If a child has a prescription medication that must be administered at scheduled times while in our care, the medication will be kept in a locked container. If there are any emergency medications that a child needs, such as epi-pens or inhalers, they will be kept accessible to staff but out of reach of children. 

There must be written permission from parents and instructions from the prescribing healthcare provider in the child's file for any medication given. Medications will only be administered by specifically trained staff. 

All staff members are trained and knowledgeable about our emergency plans and procedures. We coordinate our scheduling to ensure that there is always a CPR-trained staff member present in case of emergencies. 

  A licensed healthcare professional with experience in children's health visits the program at least four times yearly to verify that our health policies and practices follow the most current health and safety guidelines. 

If a child is ill and any of the following apply: 

The child is too sick to participate in activities comfortably,

 The child requires more care than the staff can provide while caring for other children,

 The child's illness is suspected to be contagious and harmful to other children, 

then the child's family will be notified to pick them up, and the child will be made comfortable and remain in the supervision and care of a familiar staff member until their family arrives.

Our staff remains current on health information and has resources they can contact for guidance in case of disease outbreaks. If any exposure to infectious disease occurs, families will be notified immediately about the disease, how it spreads, how long it is contagious, any measures being taken here, and what measures should be taken at home.

Children play outdoors each day unless the weather precludes outdoor activity. While outdoors, children are kept safe from dangerous exposure to the sun, heat, and cold through protective clothing and the accessibility of shaded areas. With a family's written permission, we will apply sunscreen.

Diapers are checked at least every two hours and when a child wakes up. Diapers are changed in a dedicated area only used by one classroom and away from other areas used by children. Safety is maintained when changing a child's diaper on a changing table by keeping one hand on the child at all times. Soiled diapers are kept in a hands-free disposal bin inaccessible to children. Children wearing cloth diapers must also wear a waterproof covering. One waterproof covering must be provided for each diaper change, as cloth diapers and covers will be placed in plastic bags and sent home to prevent extra handling and the spread of bacteria by staff. 

All children and staff use thorough and proper handwashing techniques any time there is a risk of transferring infectious disease. Young children are assisted with handwashing and taught proper handwashing techniques. 

Infants are always placed on their backs to sleep. They are only put down to sleep in infant sleep-approved equipment such as cribs. Blankets and other items are not allowed in with children under one year. 

Children always sit or are held while eating or drinking from bottles or cups. Bottles are never propped up to allow infants to self-feed.  Children are taught proper oral hygiene.

 We adhere to the nutrition guidelines of the USDA Child and Adult Care Food Program. We use these guidelines to prepare, store, and serve food safely. Food is cut into small pieces, and food that is a potential choking hazard is not offered to children under four. 

We protect children with food allergies and work with children with special nutrition or feeding needs. We also work with breastfeeding mothers by accepting and serving ready-to-feed bottles clearly labeled with the child's information and when the milk was expressed. Breastfeeding mothers are also welcome to come to our facility to nurse.  

All areas, surfaces, and toys are cleaned and sanitized regularly using EPA-certified, fragrance-free cleaners, disinfectants, and sanitizers. The indoor environment is kept free of fragrances.

To ensure a high-quality early childhood education environment we hire and maintain a quality, educated, and dedicated staff. Staff members are provided with full training and are informed on all policies, procedures, compensation, and growth opportunities. Staff members are respected and valued for their knowledge and contributions. As such, we provide our staff with a comfortable, supportive, and inclusive work environment by providing faculty facilities, a comprehensive benefits program, and paid professional development opportunities. In addition, we ensure that our environment is clean, sanitary, healthy, and well-functioning.

Our program recognizes families as individuals with differing backgrounds, cultures, family constructs, languages, and values and as respected and valuable partners in their child's education. We strive to know as much as possible about the children and families we serve through open communication. We also want the families to know about our program. 

We employ several methods of communication to keep families informed of their child's activities, progress, and other important information. These methods include our secure class website, flyers, notes, email, in-person conversations, and phone calls. Although we have several methods of communication available, we will always maintain communication using the family's preferred method, and communication will always be conducted in the family's preferred language. 

For children two and younger, we communicate daily to share important information about the child's development, milestones, nutrition, activities, and any questions that may arise. Our staff communicates weekly with families of children over two years old to keep them informed of learning activities and goals for the week and to share ideas and ways to further their child's education at home. In addition to regular communication, staff will inform, guide, and encourage families to advocate for any outside assessments or services a child may need. 

It is essential that communication is two-way. Therefore, we encourage families to contact us with any questions or concerns. We will always respond as soon as possible and always within 24 hours. 

To create a welcoming and transparent environment, families are always welcome in our facility and are regularly invited to participate in class activities and events.

Our program maintains positive relationships and knowledge of community resources. Through this collaborative relationship, we are able to provide families with information on needed resources. We are also able to enhance children's education through experiences and knowledge outside of the classroom and bring community members into the classroom to share music, art, theatre arts, or important health and safety learning opportunities. We also work with our community to foster collaboration, advocacy, and improvements.

To provide an optimal learning environment, all furnishings are chosen for their environmental safety and health and their ability to be easily cleaned, disinfected, sanitized, and well-maintained.  These furnishings are adapted, as needed, to accommodate children with disabilities or special needs and include comfortable and appropriate child-sized chairs, tables, shelves, cubbies for children's storage, and sleeping accommodations. All diaper-changing areas have hand-washing sinks within reach and comfortable seating for rocking and feeding infants. There are also comfortable and private accommodations for nursing mothers.

For children's safety, any indoor play equipment has safety flooring installed below it and any elevated areas are safeguarded to prevent falls. 

All classrooms are divided into learning areas that include literacy, art, science/discovery, physical development, blocks/construction, sensory, and dramatic arts. All learning materials are intentionally chosen for their ability to capture children's interest and guide them toward the desired learning goals. These materials are organized on shelves and in cubbies that the children can easily access to promote independent play. All toys are non-toxic, environmentally healthy, and free of recalls by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. 

To provide a safe and healthy outdoor play area, all equipment has safety flooring underneath, and all building materials are non-treated or regularly sealed with sealant or penetrating stain. All equipment undergoes regular, documented inspections and maintenance. 

All indoor and outdoor spaces are arranged to be accessible per the Americans with Disabilities Act and are cleaned, disinfected, sanitized, and maintained in safe working order. All spaces are kept free of safety hazards and debris. All bodies of water are enclosed by a fence that is a minimum of four feet high.

 We are equipped with emergency lighting and safety equipment, including fire extinguishers, smoke alarms, carbon monoxide detectors, and first aid kits. All safety and emergency equipment are inspected monthly; detailed records show inspection dates and battery changes. 

Any renovations or painting are done when children are not present, and areas affected are properly ventilated until safe before children can return.

 All program vehicles have identifying markings, such as the program name and phone number, and all vehicles undergo regular, documented maintenance to ensure safe and functional operation.

 Our facility, property, and water sources have been professionally inspected and are free of radon, asbestos, lead, radiation, and all other environmental hazards. Toxic chemicals, flammable materials, and items are kept out of the children's environment. Smoking and vaping are not allowed near children or on facility property. Children are protected from negative outdoor air conditions, such as smog, as well as high noise levels. Our facility is also kept free of pests, rodents (mice and rats), snakes, and dangerous vegetation through non-toxic prevention methods. 

All areas are temperature-controlled through the use of a regularly maintained HVAC system.

Our program has a clear mission statement, vision, and philosophy guiding us toward providing high-quality early childhood education and the best outcome for the families and children we serve. 

To ensure that we fulfill our mission, achieve our vision, and adhere to our philosophy, we have clear policies, procedures, plans, and systems that are shared with and understood by our staff.  These provide decisive and reliable instructions and plans for operating all aspects of our program. 

Our policies and procedures address areas such as licensing, class sizes, student-teacher ratios, staff qualifications and requirements, abuse reporting, financial accountability, health, safety, and nutrition. They also outline plans and practices for program evaluation, accountability, and continued improvement. In addition, families receive a handbook that includes copies of our policies and procedures related to communication, resolution of concerns, and all necessary information for families to understand our program and how it operates concerning their child. All policies, procedures, plans, and systems are in strict accordance with NAEYC standards (NAEYC, 2019)