Blog

Information and inspiration for early care and education professionals.

Boost Your Program’s Improvement Efforts with an Informal Assessment

A Quality First assessment provides feedback to recognize your program’s unique strengths and to help you set goals for quality improvements using objective, research-based tools. An informal assessment is offered to all regulated early care and education providers in Arizona.[...]
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How will you respond? Preparing for a positive case at your program

As an early education professional in today’s environment, you spend significant time and effort on preventing the spread of germs in your environment. As important as it is to take action to prevent the spread of viruses such as COVID-19[...]
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Caring for Infants and Toddlers During COVID and Beyond

As you work to provide safe and healthy early learning environments for young children, including infants and toddlers, you may find yourself wondering how to adapt for the youngest children in your care. Certain COVID safety recommendations may not apply[...]
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How to provide physical distancing in the early education setting

When planning to provide care for young children during COVID-19, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and unsure of where to find reliable advice. On a daily basis, you face critical decisions such as: how should you screen for an illness;[...]
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Supporting learning from a distance

Due to the onset of COVID-19, many early childhood education programs have shifted away from offering in-person activities to facilitating children’s learning from a distance, in the home setting. This change in services has created a multitude of difficulties and[...]
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Director’s network provides support during challenging times

Managing a center-based or home-based early childhood education program is a demanding job—and can feel isolating at times. Some of Arizona’s program directors have formed director’s networks to build support for themselves. These groups are comprised of early childhood program[...]
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New Routines to Protect Children’s Health

The foundation of quality early childhood programs is providing a healthy environment. The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged and raised the stakes for programs statewide. Early childhood educators across Arizona are creating enhanced procedures to protect the health of the children[...]
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Take it outside: Learning in the great outdoors

You probably know all about the benefits of outdoor play for young children’s physical health. Outdoor spaces provide a natural setting for active physical play, helping children gain bone and muscle strength and supporting a healthy weight (Physical Activity Advisory[...]
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Building Healthy Handwashing Habits

Proper handwashing is one of the most effective ways to reduce the spread of germs in a group care setting. By taking the time to teach correct handwashing to the children in your care, you help build a habit that[...]
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