News

April 20, 2023

Strategies to Foster Risk Taking During Outdoor Play

Outdoor play is part of developmentally appropriate practice, and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends children spend 60 minutes daily working their large muscles.

To support children in their outdoor play, early childhood educators can reframe their views of risk taking by acknowledging the developmental benefits of taking risks and working to remove barriers and boundaries that limit open, free play.

The National Association for the Education of Young Child (NAEYC) has provided the following five strategies to help early childhood educators foster risk taking in play:

Examine Existing Beliefs

Educators’ personal experiences and perceptions inform their actions and reactions to a child engaged in risky play. Educators can reflect on their own beliefs by asking certain questions to gauge how they champion or avoid risking taking. Taking time to self reflect in this way can help educators to determine how to foster risk and gauge the limitations they may place on risk taking and play.

Those introspective questions can include:

  • Am I a risk taker?
  • What worries me about taking risks?
  • What excites me about taking risks?
  • What childhood memories do I have of taking a risk?

Get to Know the Child and Environment

Teachers and children are familiar with their programs’ outdoor play spaces. Thanks to this familiarity, educators can evaluate the terrain and the safety of each structure and piece of equipment, including asking essential questions like:

  • How might each child navigate the space?
  • What hurdles may they face?
  • What kind of support may I need to offer?
  • When should I offer it?

Become an Observer

Outdoor spaces are designed to foster running, jumping, swinging, climbing, and moving over uneven terrain. As children move, early childhood educators should pay attention to their fine and large motor abilities, taking note when a child hesitates or pauses while engaged in a task or with others. Through observation, teachers will develop an understanding of a child’s ability to appraise and respond to risk.

Model and Encourage

Children grow in their ability to appraise risk by observing others’ play and movement. Educators can support risk taking by engaging in it themselves and expressing their thoughts verbally. This models the internal dialogue that occurs when assessing risks and challenges.

Such modeling can help children learn self-regulation as they examine their thoughts and feelings and determine their next steps.

When to Intervene

While acknowledging that risk taking is developmentally appropriate and a healthy part of early childhood, educators often find themselves in a paradox: they want to foster risky play and urge children to step out of their comfort zones, but they also must ensure safety.

Educators should insert themselves in a risky play scenario if:

  • the level of risk could lead to serious injury;
  • a child demonstrates emotional distress or fear; or
  • the structure or environment is hazardous (ice on play surfaces, broken glass, construction).

Learn More

To learn more about developmentally appropriate practices for early childhood development and education, be sure to visit the Trying Together Developmentally Appropriate Parenting Series.

News

March 8, 2023

Child Care Providers to Invited to Join Family and Group Child Care Home Committee

Pennsylvania’s Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) is inviting child care providers throughout Pennsylvania to participate in the Family Child Home (FCCH) and Group Child Care Home (GCCH) Committee.

Pennsylvania child care providers interested in participating with the committee will have to sign-up by Monday, March 20, 2023.

About the Family Child Care Home (FCCH) and Group Child Care Home (GCCH) Committee

The goal of the FCCH and GCCH Committee is to form a culturally relevant and diverse group of child care providers and educators that is representative of the state of Pennsylvania. This group will connect to celebrate and share their strengths, struggles, and uniqueness with each other, as well as collaborate to identify effective early childhood strategies, enhance leadership skills, enhance quality-of-care provided to children and families that are served in Pennsylvania.

Discussions will also include updates on state and federal initiatives centered around child care, sharing of resources, opportunities, and concerns specific to child care providers, and thoughts on general workplace well-being for child care educators and professionals.

Meetings will be held virtually by Zoom in the evening, on a quarterly basis, with the opportunity to meet with the FCCH Coordinator during monthly office hours. The date and time of first meeting has not been announced yet.

See the flyer for more details. Interested child care providers in the state of Pennsylvania can express their interest in joining the Committee directly with OCDEL.

News

ECE Professionals Invited to Participate in Workplace Well-Being Research Study

The Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) has announced an opportunity for for early childhood education (ECE) professionals to participate in an early access research study – Workplace Well-Being, Powered by Science! – to measure the impact of the Healthy Minds program‘s newest offering.

In 2022, OCDEL partnered with Healthy Minds Innovations, a non-profit organization dedicated to the science of human flourishing, to bring the Healthy Minds@Work app to Pennsylvania ECE professionals.

About

ECE teams of two or more from each center or program who have not yet used the Healthy Minds app are invited to apply for the research study, which is set to begin in April 2023. Participation details include:

  • Participation in a four-week well-being program, tailored to suit the participant’s needs with short, 3-10 min activities using the latest tools.
  • Three 20- to 30-minute sessions of research activities (surveys and web-based mini-games). These sessions will occur:
    • Upon enrollment
    • Immediately following the four-week Healthy Minds program
    • Three months later
  • Some users will be invited for an optional interview with the Healthy Minds Innovations team.

Participants will also have the chance to receive an Amazon.com gift card.

The Workplace Well-Being, Powered by Science research program is designed to improve the sense of belonging and inclusion; decrease stress and burnout; and reconnect with the individual’s sense of purpose at work.

Healthy Minds Innovations will keep all responses private and share only aggregated findings to improve the program and support other organizations. Participation in the Workplace Well-Being, Powered by Science research program is optional.

A live kick-off event will be announced soon.

For more information on how to participate in the program as an ECE program or center team, visit the PA Keys website or contact Marnie at healthyminds@pakeys.org.

News

May 10, 2022

Prepare for Upcoming Grant Opportunities in the PD Registry

The Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) plans to administer upcoming grant opportunities through Pennsylvania’s Professional Development (PD) Registry.

About

There are steps early childhood (ECE) professionals and programs can complete now to prepare for grant opportunities. All ECE professionals should:

  1. Create an account in the PD Registry

  2. Complete their profile

  3. Add their employment

Directors and/or owners should complete the steps above for themselves and assist their staff to complete them as well. Directors must also verify all staff who have added their employment to their profile and are able to invite any staff who have not added their employment. Verifying employment is important to ensure everyone is eligible for upcoming grant opportunities in the PD Registry.

To learn more about the PD Registry and access additional resources, visit the Pennsylvania Key website.