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Beyond the Book—The Mentor Teacher Program
As director of the John Hancock Child Care Center (JHCCC), I knew that the key to a quality early childhood program was to find, hire, and retain the finest teachers! I also knew that we had to...
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Beyond the Book—Organizing the Moving Parts of a Child Care Center
My fourth, and final child care center was large! It was the biggest and most visible of the four I opened and directed during my career. At capacity, there were 200 fulltime children, upwards of 400...
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Beyond the Book—Inspiration for the New School Year
Our large childcare center in Boston could sometimes feel unwieldy. There were just so many people, so much activity, so much to do every day, that we all needed a break at the end of the school year...
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Beyond the Book—Zero-to-Three Model (A Parent’s Perspective)
Making the shift from traditional, individual infant and toddler classrooms to the Zero-to-Three model (where the youngest children and teachers remain together until the child reaches preschool age)...
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A Look Back…
During the consulting part of my career, I had the privilege of working with numerous directors of early childhood programs, as well as their teams of teachers. I presented training that ranged from...
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Inspiring Others…
Whether it’s a beautiful sunrise, or a special message, each has the power to move us emotionally. I discovered this power long ago and began collecting inspirational quotes that spoke to me. I have...
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Planting Your Garden…
Summer is nearly here—in all of its glory! The sun is strong, the rain is gentle, and the flower and vegetable gardens are thriving. I don’t know who originally created the following ‘garden’, but...
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Beyond the Book—Coping with Change
In my work as director of several early childhood programs, one of the important lessons I learned was that, as in my life, the only constant was change! Just when I’d get the staffing set—teachers...
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Beginnings…
A new day! A new start! A new school year! As the Director of an Early Childhood program, I’ve always loved beginnings. What a gift! To start fresh—to take what I’ve learned from the previous year...
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Professionalism…
Each year, required reading for my teams of early childhood teachers and supervisors was an article by M. Parker Anderson entitled, “Professionalism: The Missing Ingredient for Excellence in the...
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Beyond the Book—Observe, Listen, and then, Act
The Japanese people have an expression, Kūki o yomu, read the air, which, in essence, means to take in one’s surroundings before acting; to take a few moments to use one’s senses; to observe and...
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Beyond the Book—Strategies for Weathering the Storms of Change
It is not the strongest of the species that survive,not the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.—Charles Darwin And, isn’t that the truth In my work as director of several early...
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The Delicate Balance Between Work and Life
As the manager—of a home, a classroom, a school, an organization, a business— our weeks are filled with details—hundreds of details that need our attention. We must deal with hundreds of pieces of...
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Great Summer Reading…
Beginning to End is the book I needed when I accepted the Director position at my first child care center. I could have used a roadmap to navigate the ins and outs of being a leader and of building an...
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Your First Days as Director
Once you accept the position as Director of an early childhood program, your wheels will instantly begin turning. With enthusiasm, yes, but also with hundreds of questions—who, what, when, where, how,...
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