Features of Quality Child Care (continued)

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The curriculum in the quality before- and after-school age program tends to be more informal than those for younger children and will vary greatly, depending on the needs and interests of the group. Centers or family child-care homes of high quality provide many toys and materials appropriate to the children’s ages and interests, and lots of free time for children to participate in self-directed activities. In a center, the room is set up in activity areas with space set aside for computer use and homework and other areas devoted to construction, games, music, art, and other interests. The best programs for this age group are seen by the children as clubs where individual interests can be pursued. Generally, the time before school is low-key, with breakfast available and time to participate in individual and small-group projects. After-school usually begins with a period of vigorous outdoor play and is followed by snacks, some time for homework, and individually chosen activities. Allowing children as much choice as possible and providing lots of opportunity for socializing and pursuing interests are hallmarks of the most successful programs for school-age children.

Full days in school-age care that occur during inclement weather, school holidays, and summers are characterized by a camplike atmosphere. School-age children are developing many interests, and the more the program can support the children’s choices, the more eagerly the children participate. In the highest quality programs, child-care staff and the children’s school teachers confer regularly and communicate issues of mutual concern.

Although quality child care programs may have somewhat different philosophical orientations, all will offer a curriculum that extends the cognitive and socialization processes that have begun in the children’s families. For many children, child care is where they first learn to interact with children and adults outside their families, and this marks the beginning of community socialization.

Parent Involvement

Quality child-care programs recognize the importance of parental involvement and the strong need that families feel to be fully informed about their child’s progress. In a quality program, parents are asked to share detailed information about their child as they come into care so that teachers can provide continuity with the home. Meeting prior to the child’s beginning the program can help to build the rapport between parent and teaching staff, which is essential to the success of the child-care experience. Continuing collaboration facilitates the continuity of experiences for the child and enhances the potential for meeting the child’s needs.

Collaboration relies on communication, and it is the teacher’s responsibility to establish many ways to keep families informed about their own child. Because most parents actually bring in and pick up their child at the child-care setting, every day presents an opportunity to establish a relationship between the parent and the teaching staff. Once such a relationship is established, information about what is going on with the child can be regularly shared. In infant–toddler programs, parents and teachers often record information about the child in a book that is passed back and forth between the child care setting and the home. Quality programs also schedule formal parent conferences throughout the year.

Parents also welcome opportunities to become involved in the child-care program in ways that don’t interfere with their work schedules. Making phone calls to other parents, donating recyclables, sewing smocks, or washing the sheets used at nap time are all tasks parents may be willing to do. By becoming involved in these ways, parents feel more connected to the program and more committed to supporting it. Potluck dinners, family breakfasts, workshops on parenting, and other events can also build family involvement.