3 New Year's Resolutions You Can Actually Keep...Really!
Ah, the new year has arrived with so many new opportunities, but don’t stress the resolutions. From losing weight to spending more time with our families, we often set lofty goals only to find ourselves stressed out trying maintain our commitments!
Well, give yourself a break this year and consider these career-building resolutions that have lasting impacts and, best of all, you’ll have lots of help to achieve!
#1: Grow your career, feel more confident and have more fun!
Children can be a lot more complex than they might seem! They’re brains are developing by leaps and bounds and keeping up with all the latest research about child development, behavior management, health and safety can be challenging.
Professional development courses can be a great way to keep up with new ideas and techniques in child care and early learning. SafeGard Classes Online offers nearly 200 online child care classes in a wide range of topics, from Autism to Introducing Children to Child Care to Working with Humor.
Click on a category to see more classes:
- Administration & Program Management
- Behavior Management
- Child Development & Guidance
- Curriculum & Lesson Planning
- Discounted Packages
- Exclusively Infants
- Exclusively Preschoolers
- Exclusively Schoolagers
- Exclusively Toddlers
- Family Engagement
- Fitness & Movement
- Health & Nutrition
- Inclusion: Cultural Diversity & Special Needs
- Knowledge Collections
- Learning Centers
- New and Popular
- Observation & Assessment
- Professionalism & Career Guidance
- Safety
- Speech, Language & Communication
- State Required Courses & Credentials (WA and FL)
Developing your skills can also give you more confidence to handle a classroom of active young children every day. And feeling confident about your job can also set your parents’ minds at ease as well. Having additional training or earning advanced credentials can certainly give them confidence in your ability to care for their children.
And there are benefits for your career too! Being confident, feeling comfortable talking with parents, and being able to handle even the toughest toddlers can make the day and your work more fun. Advancing your knowledge can also open doors to new opportunities and higher salaries.
Ready to take the next step? Get started today with individual child care courses or earn your CDA Credentials to really take it to the next level!
#2: Set your kids up for success!
Starting at birth, children’s brains are developing at rapid speed, faster and more fully than at any other time in life. Within the first 5 years, 90% of a child’s brain development can occur. Their environment, relationships, and experiences will be big factors in a child’s overall development.
Many studies have concluded that the level of a teacher’s training has a direct influence on the quality of care they deliver. Additional training gives teachers the skills, knowledge and confidence to deliver the highest quality teacher-student interactions.
In the rush of a busy day, it can be challenging to create unique learning environments for each child. Professional development courses can also give you new insights into activities and teaching methods for children of different ages, abilities and backgrounds. Learn about different observation methods and how to integrate assessments into lesson plans.
We all want to give our kids every opportunity to succeed in every aspect of life: academically, socially, and emotionally. Staying current on early learning best practices and gaining new knowledge about how children learn and grow can give you the tools to help guide your children’s development.
#3: Keep your program going (and growing) strong!
Who doesn’t want to see their program develop and grow? Professional development can also help guide you in managing your program. Whether that's through marketing your program, managing your finances or enhancing teacher-parent relationships, our Administration and Program Management, Professionalism and Career Guidance, and Communication classes can help!
The Teacher-Parent relationship is as important as it can be challenging. We know most parents want to do what they can to help their children succeed. However, they may not always know the right things to do. Keeping open communication and encouraging the learning to continue at home is critical.
Parents don’t always have the same opportunities to learn about child development as child care professionals. Help keep them in the loop with our online parenting courses. Through your child care program, you can purchase unlimited access to our parenting classes for just $49 per year! This is a great way to show parents you care not only about their kids, but about them as well.
And to demonstrate your focus on quality within your program, consider pursuing an accreditation for your program or participating in a Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS).
A QRIS not only helps you identify opportunities for improvement within your program but also is a great marketing tool for parents looking for a high-quality program for their children. This allows parents to gauge your program on a number of factors within the rating.
For more information on quality improvement initiatives, please read our earlier article “3 Myths About Quality.”
So, now you've got 3 new resolutions that can grow your career and your business, all with support and guidance to help you be successful! For additional resources and information on child care and early learning, check out the links on the footer of every page of our website.
Still have questions? Give us a call or chat with us on our live chat feature in the bottom right of each page, or checkout our free community forum to chat with your peers. We're here to help!
“Who dares to teach must never cease to learn.” –John Cotton Dana