FAQs About My Job as a Former Toddler Teacher

[Image Description: Group picture of 6 of my former young toddler students and I dressed in Halloween costumes. 5 of my young toddler students and I are sitting on a smooth wooden brown floor and the other young toddler is standing on the floor to the right of the picture. There are orange jack-o-lantern emojis covering each young toddler's face and the image has a white border on the top and bottom of it.]

Originally posted on March 28, 2020 on Facebook Notes on my Facebook page

Writer's Note: Some small tweaks have been added to this blog post due to present updates in my classroom and center's curriculum along with pictures added this time.

1. How old were your students?

During my first two years of teaching, my young toddler classroom was for 18-24 month olds.

In fall 2020, however, due to short staffing at my center and there not being enough toddlers in the 12-18 month old room, both toddler classrooms combined in my classroom until further notice. While it is more work, I honestly LOVED it even more!

2. What is the student-to-teacher ratio for young toddler classrooms?

    Student-to-teacher ratios for all age groups vary in different states and countries. I live in Pennsylvania and PA's student-to-teacher ratio for 12-24 month olds is 5:1.

    In case you do not know what to student-to-teacher ratios are, this is how many students a teacher can be left alone with in a classroom. There are student-to-teacher ratios for ALL age groups even in elementary school, middle school, and high school. They are even different in Special Education classrooms compared to regular education classrooms. If there is a mixed age group classroom, the teachers must follow the ratio by the youngest age group. So, for example, if there is a room of infants, 12-24 month olds, and two year olds, the youngest age group in that room would be infants and the ratio for infants is 4:1. As a result, the teacher in the room could be left alone with only four children from these age groups.

    The largest roster that I have ever had in my class was 13 TODDLERS, which was in the summer of my first year of teaching!

    In addition, during all three of my years a toddler teacher, I had a lead teacher/co-teacher who mentored me, was a former Special Educator, and SO amazing.

3. What types of lessons and activities can be taught to young toddlers?

    There are actually a lot more lesson activities that you can do with young toddlers than most people think.

    Every morning my former co-teacher and I had circle time with my young toddler class; During circle time, we sang songs, learned Baby Sign Language (which I still teach every day in the infant and toddler classrooms that I work in now!), read books, rote counted (This is just naming numbers in order from memory), identified shapes, colors, and animals with their sounds, identified the weather, named and point to body parts, played peekaboo, practiced gentle hands, looked at pictures of people of all differences, and discussed certain objects and their meanings such as toy people of all differences and various job occupations, vehicles, animals, play food, etc. The songs we sang were nursery rhymes and mostly movement songs such as Wheels on the Bus, Daddy Finger, Baby Shark, 5 Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed/Swinging from a Tree, Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes, etc. since movement songs tend to keep the children engaged the most since they are hands-on. We also played musical instruments while singing at circle time since that makes this another hands-on activity to attempt to keep the children engaged. The books that we read were mostly board books because those are toddler friendly material and when we did give the young toddlers paper books, we would give them paper books with very few pages and limit the amount of these. We stored most of our paper books up high on a shelf out of reach because young toddlers are too young to understand not to rip them while enjoying reading them at the same time. To practice gentle hands or "nice hands", I would either give the toddlers a doll or stuffed animal to hug, encouraged them to hug or high-five one of their teachers, peers, or I, teached about clapping and "helping hands", and I would say in a positive tone of voice, "Hands are for hugging/high fiving/clapping/helping." Since young toddlers of this age group have a very short attention span, we only encouraged them to participate in circle time and tried to keep them engaged the best we can with 2-3 brief and different circle time activities to attempt to increase their attention span. My former co-teacher and I would also rotate the circle time activities every day as another way to attempt to maintain the children's engagement as much as possible.

Related Links:

• Incorporating Nursery Rhymes Into Early Childhood Games
• Infant/Toddler Teachers Need to be Valued More as Teachers

    My former co-teacher and I also made many crafts with the children. As part of any childcare center's curriculum, there is usually a lesson theme of the week, and teachers always keep the topic of the lesson activities related to the theme and according to the students' abilities also known as being developmentally-appropriate (DAP). The types of crafts that young toddlers can usually make are collages, footprints, handprints, finger-painting, painting with a paint brush, using dot markers, and coloring. For footprints, handprints, and fingerprinting, I let the children glue paper cut-outs of the rest of the pieces to the image that we were making on their footprint or pick the color (depending on the image we are making) as pictured in the example below to keep it as process art. I also let the children choose between using paint or stamp pads for these crafts as some children may have a preference due to sensory differences.

         

[Image Description: Five footprint snowmen stamped on separate rectangular dark blue construction papers hanging on a white wall; The footprints are white with a paper cut-out black hat, round black eyes, orange carrot nose, red scarf, and 3 round black buttons all glued on each.]

    In regards to the toys that the young toddlers played with, my former co-teacher and I kept them organized using shelves as high as the young toddlers' stomachs for safety purposes. As part of the Children of America (COA) curriculum, we called the play spots "areas" instead of "centers." In case you do not already know, the difference between play areas and centers is that anyone can bring toys from other play areas into other play areas such as bringing play food from kitchen area into block area or wearing a costume from dress up area in logic area as long as it is cleaned up after play; when a classroom has centers, the toys must stay in their own center at all times. The types of play areas that we were required to have as part of the COA curriculum were dramatic play area, block area, literacy area, music area, logic area, science area, sensory area, and cozy area. Dramatic play areas for toddlers typically have things such as but not limited to kitchen area (with play food and cooking/eating utensils), dress up area, baby dolls, toy people, toy animals, toy cars, toy phones, toy cameras, etc. Logic areas for toddlers can have puzzles, connectors (Ex: pegs with peg boards), balls, abacuses, shape sorters, and manipulatives. The sensory area in my toddler classroom includes plush puppets and stuffed animals. The science area in the temporary classroom that we are using while our center is being repaired has child friendly test tubes and droppers, toy bugs, magnifying glasses, a toy bug themed peg board, and sensory bottles. (FYI at the time that this blog post was written was when my students, co-teacher, and I were staying at another COA location while our center was being repaired after the traumatic car accident that occurred at our home location COA Southampton. When we returned the requirement of having a science area in all of the classrooms was discontinued from the center's curriculum for some reason.)

Related Links:

• Infant/Toddler Teachers Need to be Valued More as Teachers
• The Day A Tragedy Occurred At One of the Childcare Centers That I Was a Teacher At
• There Needs to be More Discussions About Awareness, Prevention, and Healing from Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)

    You are probably wondering what young toddlers also participate in for gross motor play at school. Great question! As part of the COA infant/toddler curriculum, we had a huge infant/toddler friendly outdoor playground covered with turf grass and a child-safety gate. Our playground consisted of a slide, crawl-in play tree house, colorful tunnels, ball sorter with balls, bigger balls for throwing and kicking, caterpillar tunnel, hippo tunnel, sand table with buckets, shovels, scoopers, and other sand toys, play house, toddler friendly climbers, frisbees, and several ride-on cars. When the weather was in-climate to go outside, we took the young toddlers in the tumble room, which was an indoor gross motor/sensory play room with a mini obstacle course, many balls, ride-on toys, walkers, and a mirror. 

[Image Description: Picture of tumble room. There is a smooth wooden brown floor with a colorful oval-shaped carpet with all of the letters of the alphabet and numbers 1-10 on it in circle motion in the middle of the room. The letters of the alphabet are in black text in either a red, orange, yellow, light green, dark green, sky blue, dark blue, or purple square on the outer border of the carpet. In front of the circle of letters, the numbers 1-10 are in black text in white and blue clouds. In the middle of the circle of numbers, there is a yellow and orange sun. The green, blue, brown, and apricot obstacle course with ramps is behind the carpet pressed against the low level dark gray carpeted wall all around the room. Above the dark gray carpeted walls, the rest of the walls are painted purple. There is a purple and white changing table attached to the wall on the right side of the room. In front of the changing table, there is a white rocking horse, brown rocking horse, and many colorful ride-toy cars.]

    In addition, there are also many sensory play activities for toddlers of this age group! Along with our sensory table and sensory area, my former young toddler students participated in some toddler friendly science experiments, water play in the summer, popping bubbles, and making sensory bottles and sensory bags. When I was a first year teacher, I did a Rain Cloud Science Experiment with my toddler class where I filled a sensory tub halfway with water and then squirted whipped cream (I explain the reason behind my alternative material further in #14) and blue water coloring together. This was followed by the children being given the opportunity to use their fine motor skills, logic skills, sensory skills, and scientific knowledge to participate in sensory play with the mixture. While I was performing the experiment, I taught the children the names of certain science terminology related to the experiment that they would understand on their developmental level (Examples: cloud, rain, blue, water, cream, pour, scoop, dump, etc.) and instructed them to repeat these words after me.

[Image Description: Picture of child's hands using a plastic red watering can for dumping blue and white liquidy and creamy mixture in sensory tub sitting on light gray table with white towels surrounding it.] (FYI this picture has been reposted from the COA Southampton's Facebook page from 2019.)

[Image Description: Picture of two children standing and playing with mixture in a sensory tub at a table. They are both standing next to each other wearing black smocks. The child on the left using their left arm to dump the mixture with a plastic red water can and the child on the right is using a plastic mini yellow teapot to dump the mixture with their right hand.] (FYI this picture has been reposted from COA Southampton's Facebook page from a 2019 post.)

[Image Description: A child smiling at the camera while wearing a black smock with their fingers intertwined together while standing in front of the sensory tub. A plastic mini yellow tea pot in sitting on the sensory tub with the mixture.] (FYI this picture has been reposted from COA Southampton's Facebook page from a 2019 post.)

[Image Description: A child is smiling at the camera while wearing a black smock with their hands holding onto the edge of the sensory tub.] (FYI this picture has been reposted from COA Southampton's Facebook page from a 2019 post.)

[Image Description: Picture of blue white mixture with lots of whipped cream that bunched together in the middle.] (FYI this picture has been reposted from COA Southampton's Facebook page from a 2019 post.)

Related Links:

• Rain Cloud Science Experiment from Little Bins Little Hands
• Infant/Toddler Teachers Need to be Valued More as Teachers

    For sensory bottles, there are a lot of sensory fillers that these can be filled with such as but not limited to colorful beads, colorful cut-up straws, sticks, rocks, seashells, sand, bottle caps, vegetable oil, rice, erasers, sequins, glitter, raw broken spaghetti, raw corn, etc. For this activity, I let the children work as a team to use their fine motor skills to fill the bottle (FYI this depends on the sensory filler that we using. If it is something like beads which are A MAJOR CHOKING HAZARD, I will fill it for them and let the toddlers watch with the sensory filler stored out of the children's reach. I explain more details about health and safety practices when it comes to toddlers in childcare in #14.). Then, I glue it shut with tacky glue, Gorilla glue, or any really super strong glue following let it sit on the counter to dry for the rest of the day.

    For water play, the children participated in this activity two days a week every summer. In order for them to participate, we either sprayed water from a sprinkler and/or into a huge sensory table filled with water play toys such as bowls, cups, scoopers, watering cans, and even bath toys.

4. What were the curriculum guidelines for this age group (at your center)?

    Every childcare center and school use different curriculums. As part of the COA curriculum, we were required to have certain educational bulletin boards hanging up in our classroom including an art board, family board, birthday board, parent board, literacy readiness board, and math readiness board. What was on our art board is pretty self-explanatory --- it was obviously crafts. Our Family Board was pictures of the children and their families that we requested the families to bring in. Our Birthday Board had all of the children's birthdays in the class listed on teacher-made cupcakes, cakes, or something birthday related birthday markers arranged from oldest to youngest. Our Parent Board had all of the information for the month attached to it such as the lesson plan of the week, school meals menu, monthly newsletter, and calendar. Our Literacy Readiness Board was for crafts the children made related to a story and we also sometimes hung the book on the board. For example, during the summer of 2020, my toddler students and I read Good Night Beach written by Adam Gamble and illustrated by Cooper Kelly and Good Night Ocean written by Adam Gamble and illustrated by Mark Jasper. After I read these books to them, they got to make handprint fish of a color of their choice since fish live in the ocean and can be many colors.

Image Description: The board book called Good Night Beach is laying in the top left corner of this picture and the book cover is a family of six sitting on a beach watching the yellow, medium blue, and indigo sunset. Laying under the book, there is a pink handprint fish, yellow handprint fish, dark blue handprint fish, and another pink handprint fish (left to right) with the board book called Good Night Ocean laying next to them on the right side. The book cover of Good Night Ocean is a child with short light brown hair wearing light green pajamas sitting on their bed with white sheets, a white pillow, and a brown blanket on the left and another child with long light brown hair wearing yellow pajamas laying down on their bed with white sheets, a white pillow, and brown blanket on the right while both are watching three gray dolphins jump out of the ocean outside of their window. There are light gray seashells on their window's blue curtains and there is two small cream-colored rocks, a beige seashell, a blue sailboat with a white sail, a jar of small colorful rocks, beige conch shell, and small light green rock (left to right) sitting on the ledge of the window. In the top right corner of the image, "THIS AFTERNOON WE MADE HANDPRINT FISH OF A COLOR OF OUR CHOICE AND READ BOOKS ABOUT THE BEACH AND OCEAN" is in center-aligned white text in a light screen digitally scribbled circle. A blue, yellow, and white tropical fish emoji is on the right side of "OCEAN." Below the picture there is a white rectangular scale with round corners and a yellow face with red heart eyes emoji on the left side of the scale along a thin light gray line. The image also has a light gray border on the top and bottom of it.]

    Our Math Readiness Board was filled with crafts that the children made using their mathematical skills, which are rote counting and shapes. For example, when our lesson theme of the week was "Presidents" during the week of Presidents' Day during February 2021, we made apple tree crafts with the children in honor of the myth of George Washington chopping down an apple tree. To make the craft, the children made fingerprint apples on paper cut-out trees and we counted the apples as they made them. I glued the green construction paper that the trees were made out of on toilet paper rolls to represent the trunks.

[Image Description: 8 apple trees crafts stapled and scattered across an orange bulletin board with orange borders on all four of its sides on a purple wall. Each apple tree craft has a green paper cut-out tree with 5 round edges along it from their left, top, and right with many fingerprinted red dots painted on them and each of them are glued on a small brown paper towel roll. At the top center of the bulletin board "Math Readiness" is stapled as paper cut-out black bubble letters. "Made fingerprint George Washington cherry trees with my toddler students" is added as a caption in center-aligned light blue text above the bulletin board. There is a green tree with a brown trunk emoji on the right side of "students" and an emoji of 2 red cherries is center-aligned below "toddler students." At the top left corner of the image "February 20, 2020" is in white text and on the right side of this text, "5:42 PM" is in light gray text.]

    Another required part of the COA curriculum was making cubby name cards and take home vine name cards each month for the children. Take home vines were where we hung important non-confidential notes and the children's artwork to take home. The name cards were always required to be of something relevant to a theme for that month. For example, for April 2021 and since it was Autism Awareness/Acceptance Month, the cubby name cards in my toddler classroom were red, yellow, green, and blue autism awareness puzzle piece symbols. During June through August of 2021, our take home vine name cards were life floats. When creating name cards, my former co-teacher and I either made them by hand or printed, colored, and cut out the images from coloring pages that we found on Pinterest or Google Images. The name cards pictured below are from coloring pages.

[Image Description: The first bottom and top cubbies to the left have red paper cut-out puzzle piece shaped name cards taped on the right side of them with a child's name labeled on each in black Sharpie. The next set of bottom and top cubbies to the right have yellow paper cut-out puzzle piece shaped name cards taped on the right side of them with a child's name labeled on each in black Sharpie. The next set of bottom and top cubbies to the right have dark green paper cut-out puzzle piece shaped name cards taped on the right side of them with a child's name labeled on each in black Sharpie. The next set of bottom and top cubbies to the right have dark blue paper cut-out puzzle piece shaped name cards taped on the right side of them with a child's name labeled on each in black Sharpie.]

[Image Description: The take home vine name cards are paper life floats colored with a pattern of red and white thick stripes in a pattern and the children's names labelled in the middle of each outlined in black Sharpie. Each name card is stapled to the wall with a long piece of hemp stapled along the wall below the name cards and a clothespin clipped on the hemp below each name card.]

5. Did you need to change diapers?

    Yes, I do. Believe it or not, there are actually many diaper changing laws for childcare centers at least in my state. I cannot speak for all childcare centers worldwide, but I know that at least in the state of Pennsylvania, all childcare workers legally must change children's diapers every two hours on a diaper changing mat and always wear a fresh pair of gloves per diaper. If they are soiled (pee or poop) between these two hours, childcare workers are also legally required to still change the child even if they are just wet to continuously prevent yeast infections. My former co-teacher and I checked each child's diaper in between activities and as soon as they arrived to see if they were soiled just in case they had not been changed yet or they could have been changed already, but soiled their diaper again on their way to school or as they walked through the door. It is typical for babies to soil their diapers in between every two hours because they are not potty-trained yet and anyone no matter how old they are uses the restroom whenever they have to go! After changing children's diapers, teachers are legally required to record it with the time that they were changed and the contents of what was in their diaper. If the child is wet, we write "wet"; If the child pooped, we write "BM" which stands for "Bowel Movement"; If the child is dry, we write "dry." If a child has a rash, we have to apply diaper cream on the rash. To apply diaper cream on a rash, we literally just squirt it out of the tube onto our gloved fingers and lather it all over the rash. Legally, in the event that we had to apply diaper cream on the child, this must be recorded by just recording "diaper cream." Typically, when changing a child whose diaper was wet, only 1-2 wipes are needed unless the child's bottom is soaked. When changing a child whose diaper had BM in it, at least 6 or more wipes are typically needed depending on how much poop there is. After changing each child, we are required to disinfect the changing mat each time; This occurs by first wiping it with a fully wet paper towel, squirting soap and water and wiping that down, and then, squirting bleach and wiping that down due to germs (More details about sanitization, disinfecting, and cleaning protocol explained in #11).

    The families provided their children's diapers, wipes, and diaper cream to us and all of the toddlers' diapers were stored below the changing table in drawers locked with a key and safety lock. Since there were several young toddlers in the class, we labeled their diapers, wipes, and creams along with giving each child a slot to keep their diaper stuff in. Since diapers come in big packs, we kept their packs labelled with their name in another low-level locked cabinet on the right-hand side of the cabinet that their slots were in with a key and safety lock. When a child runs out of diapers, wipes, or cream, we recorded a note to their family on TadPoles that they were in need of more along with also verbally telling their families as a friendly reminder (More details about TadPoles and family-teacher communication explained in #7); The note would say something like "Needs diapers/wipes/diaper cream." The diapers of infants and young toddlers are typically changed at least five times a day while at school and each child's pack of diapers lasts about two weeks at childcare centers depending on how many packs their families bring and how big the packs are.

    At the center that I am currently working at within the Schoolhouse Learning Center (SHLC) chain, we always have several extra packs of wipes and diapers just in case of emergencies. In addition, by DHS law, childcare workers are required to prepare the gloves, diaper, and wipes before placing the child on the changing table and gently hold the child down on their stomach when throwing away their diaper, grabbing diaper cream, and/or grabbing more wipes than originally expected. This protocol is in place to prevent infants and toddlers from experiencing fall injuries in case they roll over. It is also important to take them off of the changing table before pulling their pants up to prevent them from stepping in germs and falling.

[Image Description: Medium sized, thick, blue diaper changing mat laying on the left side of a purple counter with white cabinets attached below it with a white safety lock on the left cabinet. On the right side of the diaper changing mat, there is a metal silver sink attached to the counter. There is a roll of white paper towels standing behind the sink. On the right side of the sink, there is a black paper towel rack with brown sand paper towels dangling out of it. The counter is also attached to the wall which is half dark gray carpet on the bottom with hard walls painted purple on the top.]

6. What developmental skills do young toddlers in this age range have?

    While young toddlers of this age range have very limited developmental skills, they also have many of them! The developmental skills that twelve to twenty-four month old young toddlers typically have are fine motor, gross motor, language and literacy, independence, sensory, and social-emotional skills.

    In regards to 18-24 month olds' fine motor skills, they can typically feed themselves finger foods, use a plastic fork or spoon, and hold their sippy cup on their own while drinking. To recap, they can also glue things such as paper cut-outs together when making collages and paint for art projects. For play time, they can stack blocks, put jumbo Legos, connectors, and puzzles together (guidance of where the piece goes typically needed), and match shapes on shape sorters. They will need help putting on costumes in dress up area. They can even open books, turn pages usually one or multiple at a time, and use their pointer finger (aka index finger). As for 12-18 month olds, they can typically feed themselves finger foods, hold a sippy cup on their own while drinking, sometimes use a spoon (I have seen toddlers as young as 17 months old master this skill!), hand-over-hand assistance with crafts and typically starting at 16-18 months, they can glue on paper cut-outs independently, and typically starting at 18 months they can use a paint brush correctly. My lead teacher and I wash the children's hands for them and typically start teaching them how to wash their hands independently at 24 months old if they are ready.

    In regards to 18-24 month olds' gross motor skills, they typically have the ability to walk with full independence, run, and climb (and you will experience a lot of climber toddlers LOL😂). They typically have the ability to climb toddler friendly climbers, toddler friendly ladders to slides, step stools, and sadly, even chairs, tables, shelves, and counters too! LOL For hand washing time, I let my toddler students walk up a step stool to the sink to get their hands washed. While I have observed that children typically develop this skill at 18-19 months old, I have seen toddlers as young as 14 months old already develop it.

[Image Description: Beige wooden two-story step stool with a flat dark blue rectangle on each step and tall and wide wooden handles on each side of the top step. The back of the step stool is pressed against a white cabinet with a metal silver sink attached to a purple counter. There is a roll of white paper towels standing behind the sink. On the right side of the sink, there is a black paper towel rack with brown sand paper towels dangling out of it. The counter is also attached to the wall which is half dark gray carpet on the bottom with hard walls painted purple on the top. Part of a black trash can with a clear trash bag in it is also pictured in the bottom right corner of the image.]

    In addition, young toddlers also typically have the ability to sit in regular kiddy sized chairs too! In my former toddler classroom, we had two tables as tall as the waist and the chairs were small enough for the young toddlers to sit in and they ate every meal here.

[Image Description: Two light gray tables with purple edges facing vertically from left to right on a smooth wooden brown floor. There are four light blue chairs and two purple chairs pushed into the edges of the left table on all four sides and there are two blue chairs and four purple chairs pushed into the edges of the right table on all four sides. There is a yellow, orange, and apricot lion ride-on toy with a brown nose and four light blue wheels and a brown and apricot dog ride-on toy with blue ears, a red nose, and four light blue wheels up against the dark gray carpeted wall behind the table on the left. There are two white cabinets with a purple counter above them behind the table on the right side. There are white safety locks on the handles of both cabinets and a violet, aqua, and white sticker schedule is attached to the cabinet on the right. There is also a black and silver trash can standing in between the ride-on toys and the counter.]

    In regards to 12-24 month old young toddlers' language development, they usually can talk in 2-3 word sentences. Every now and then, there are also very advanced toddlers of this age range who can even talk in full sentences. To teach the young toddlers in my class to talk, I taught them Baby Sign Language at circle time every day and incorporated it into classroom activities and the routine. For example, when it was time for them to get their diaper changed, I would verbally explain to them that I was going to change their diaper along with signing "diaper" (Sign: patting one's sides with both hands). During meal time, I verbally told them that it was time to eat along with signing "eat" (Sign: looks putting imaginary food in one's mouth). I encourage them to verbally say and sign "more" when they want more of something such as food, a song to be played again, or to be read a book again. I would verbally ask and sign "more" (Sign: tapping one's folded fingers together with thumbs against them).

    Young toddlers can also count by repeating numbers in order after their teachers, family members, or peers and/or from memory also known as rote counting. They also are not able to read words, but they can typically learn how to read by naming pictures. For example, if a child sees a picture of a female, they may say "girl", "mommy", or give the picture some other similar label. Another skill that young toddlers typically have is singing along to songs and filling in target words in songs. Most of my former young toddler students typically sang along to songs at circle time.

    Young toddlers may not have full independence yet or as much independence as older children, teenagers, and adults, but typically, they definitely have some of it! For example, they can typically make choices when given a limit of two options. To do this, you can say something such as, "Book or ball?" while showing them the choices as visuals. Depending on the lesson theme, I would let the toddlers in my class choose the color that they wanted to make their footprint, handprint, or paint with. I would let them choose which color crayon or marker that they wanted to use when we were coloring too. At another time when our lesson theme of the week was "Community Helpers", I let them choose between making a post office truck or ambulance truck craft. When letting children of this age group make decisions, make sure to always give them visuals of the choices as they are typically visual learners. So, whenever I would let them choose which color paint they wanted to use, I would show them the bucket of paints or the limited options. When I let them make the truck crafts, I made a sample post office truck craft and sample ambulance truck craft. As part of the COA curriculum, we were required to keep all of the toys accessible to the children at all times and never limit their play area options unless health and safety issues were occurring in those areas, such as too much dangerous fighting. We were required to let the children participate in "work time," which was a time for children to choose which play areas that they wanted to play in to promote independence and other life skills. Since young toddlers are too young to typically understand to clean up toys on their own yet when it was time to clean up, my former co-teacher and I cleaned up the toys for them and always tried to encourage them to help. Getting young toddlers to help clean is a great way to promote their fine motor skills too. During nap time, we helped the children fall asleep by rubbing their backs with the lights turned off and calming music playing in the background (I consistently played a Nature Sounds CD on our radio as a mindfulness meditation practice). During lunch time, either my lead teacher, a floater, or I put out their nap time stuff (cotts provided by the center and sheet, blanket, and sometimes a pillow from each child's home) while the toddlers were eating. After they were finished getting their hands and face washed after eating, we would encourage them to try to fall asleep on their cotts independently first without forcing it. If any children were not asleep by the time we were finished putting other children to sleep, we immediately assisted them (More details about encouraging a variety of independence opportunities being a beneficial classroom management technique explained in #9).

[Image Description: Nature Sounds CD placed inside of an opened black radio. The top of the front of the CD has a semi-circular picture of a child wearing a white long-sleeved shirt with gray overalls standing on a light brown surface of dirt and bent over with their hands in a light brown bucket with 3 sunflowers in them, which have a brown center and yellow petals. "SWEET Lullabies" is in left-aligned brown text in the bottom left corner of the picture on the CD with "Lullabies" in cursive text. The rest of the CD is a white semi-circle filled it at its bottom with "Nature Sounds" in center-aligned brown text. The names of tracks on the CD say "Wonders of the Ocean", "Gentle Breeze of Autumn", "Rain's Sweet Sound", "Good Morning Sweetheart", "Mother's Sound", "Lunar Eclipse", "A Windy Day", "Harp By The Sea", "Evening Is Drawing Near", "My Playful Friends", "I See A Rainbow", and "Nature's Symphony" (left to right) in center-aligned brown text under "Nature Sounds." Each song has a number from 1-12 next it in black text in a white square outlined in black. In the top left corner of the white space, there is a purple logo of a purple silhouette of two children sitting on a seesaw with "TWIN SISTERS" in center-aligned purple text in the middle of the children. "GROWING MINDS WITH MUSIC" is in center-aligned purple text in semi-circular motion above the children. In the top right side of the white space, "TSP049 • TW503CD Runtime: 58:36  2012 Twin Sisters IP, LLC  2015 Creative IP, LLC  All Rights Reserved. Made in China." is in center-aligned brown text.]

    When it comes to the development of any child or person, it is important to keep in mind that every individual develops at a different pace and has different abilities, strengths, and challenges/areas of improvement. Some children may gain any of these skills at the typically expected age, earlier, or even a little bit later. Some children are just late bloomers or may have developmental concerns (More details about helping toddlers with disabilities/disabled toddlers/differently-abled toddlers in #12). Also, while teaching children that sometimes they have to do things that they do not want to do, always make sure to encourage them in a positive, motivating way instead of forcing them to use any techniques or participate in activities for building their development since everyone has different methods that help them.

7. How do you communicate the toddlers' daily information to their families?

    To record the children's daily information when I was still working at COA, we used an electronic communication system that is commonly used by many childcare centers called TadPoles (Still required to use it while working at SHLC!). We recorded the toddlers' diaper changes, needs, meals, what time they fell asleep and woke up during nap time, reminders, and lesson activities of the day and the families and even us teachers were supposed to check it to stay updated.

    At the beginning of each month, we used to give the families monthly newsletters filled with a greeting, reminders, and important dates and center events. Then, due to COVID-19 social distancing restrictions, our administrators sent these newsletters to the families instead and my co-teacher and I sent this information along with anything additional as notes on TadPoles. When we had class parties for certain holidays, we requested the families to sign up to bring in snacks on a snack list on the classroom door.

    In addition to TadPoles, we also used formal and informal verbal communication with the children's families during drop off and pick-up time to tell them about their child's day. We greeted them during drop off and pick-up time. At pick-up time, we would tell them one positive thing about their child's day and if there are questions, concerns, or updates. If the families shared any concerns or questions with us, we listened, tried to help, and answered their questions/concerns to the best of our abilities.

8. What kind of classroom management techniques did you use for young toddlers?

    Classroom management techniques are positive and firm ways to manage children's behaviors to get them to do what they are supposed to do and just managing a class overall. In regards to behavior management, we toddler teachers use redirection, guidance, a positive tone of voice, praise, positive reinforcement, reassurance, consequences, attention grabbers, encouragement, providing a variety of independence opportunities, shadowing, consistency, first-then explanations, and alternatives for saying "no", "don't", and "stop."

    To make redirection and guidance happen, young toddlers need to be told verbally what they are supposed to do instead of what not to do in a positive, firm tone of voice. They also need to be shown how to do the positive behavior or task with visuals and modeling while being spoken to at eye level to accommodate their literal thinking styles. For example, if it was time to go to the door to go outside, to tumble room, to another classroom, or back to our classroom, my former co-teacher and I would say, "Go to the door," point to the door, and walk them over to the door.

    Below is a chart of some positive alternatives for saying "no", "don't", and "stop" that I often use when teaching young toddlers:

Instead of saying…	Say…
“Stop running.”	"Walk." "Use your walking feet." "Running is for outside."
“Stop hitting”	"Nice hands" "Hitting hurts (Name)." Tell them what hands are for (Example: “Hands are for hugging/high-fiving/helping/clapping.”)
“Get down” or “No climbing” if children are climbing shelves, tables, chairs, or any furniture	“Feet stay on the ground” while signing 2 fingers touching my palm (represents putting feet on the ground)
“Don’t yell” or “Stop yelling”	“Speak softly” with a pushing down-motion using one or both hands or signing “quiet” (finger over lips)
“Don’t touch that” to stop children from touching or going under something dangerous such outlets or tables	Gently move the child(ren) away (In addition, to physically take a child off of a surface, always gently and slowly grab them from under their armpits or by their sides. Then, put their legs on your side or around your waist or sit/stand them up (NEVER pull a child from their arms or legs because it could scare them or even dislocate one of their bones). If they try to come back again, clap your hands together and say “Look/Come here, (Name)”, or “Danger.”
“Do not bite”	“Biting hurts. Ouch!” “Mouths are for eating food.”
“Don’t kick” if a child is kicking other individuals or objects that are not balls	“Kicking people hurts.” “Balls are for kicking.”
“Don’t throw that” if a child is throwing objects that are not balls or any objects at people	“Balls are for throwing on the ground and into basketball hoops.” “Throwing things at people hurts.” “Throwing things can hurt someone.”
“No” or “Stop”	“Danger” while signing “stop” (looks like the police officer’s palm up hand sign)

    For some of the other ways to stop children from doing dangerous things, we would also deliver the "no" with a clap to get the toddlers' attention and help them to comprehend the seriousness of the situation.  Besides teaching Sign Language at circle time as a lesson about diversity and inclusion and incorporating it into the routine, I use Baby Sign Language for many classroom management techniques too such as "all done."

    In regards to discipline, most childcare centers prohibit their teachers from using time-out when the children are misbehaving to prevent taking away their learning experiences. This is because if they are in time-out, they are just sitting around not doing anything. If they are acting out though, they are clearly upset. Instead of using time-out, they can be taught consequences that they will understand on their developmental level instead. Below is a chart of some examples:

Behavior	Consequence
Banging on a surface that is too loud	Give them an alternative surface to bang on Example: Since the shelves, doors, and tiled/wooden floors and walls are too loud to bang on, I taught the toddlers that they could bang on the pillows, couch cushions in cozy area, carpeted floor, and carpeted walls. This was because these alternatives were soft.
Throwing objects at people	After redirecting the child, instruct them to pick the object back up. If they are throwing a tantrum or meltdown because they are upset about being corrected, wait until they are calm to tell them to pick up the object. If they continue this behavior, gently take the object away and tell them why the object is being taken away. (Remember to NEVER take away food as a consequence. Taking away food from children is child neglect and an illegal consequence in all educational settings.)
Crying about being corrected or disciplined or throwing a nonviolent/nondisruptive tantrum	Ignoring the behavior (Remember to NEVER shame a child for their misbehaviors. If they have a bad day like everyone does, teach them about why what they did was wrong and provide them with hope by saying something like, "Maybe you will have a better day tomorrow/on Monday" or "Maybe you will do better next time." When the child is ready to try again for improvement, say to them, "Let's try again.")
Throwing a violent/disruptive tantrum	Redirection Putting the child in an alternative environment to help them calm down Tell them that they are “taking a break” instead of calling it “time-out.” (Most Early Childhood Education (ECE) settings have cozy areas or cozy corners. When I would encourage the young toddlers to go to the cozy area for breaks, they would get to lay on the pillows or sit on one of the couches or the mat until they are calm enough. They would usually be able to decide on their own when they were calm enough to leave the cozy area.)
Disrupting academic activities that require turn taking (More advice about teaching toddlers to share in the paragraph after this chart)	Tell the child that their turn will be last instead of completely taking away their turn. It is important to try to avoid taking away their turn completely to prevent taking away any educational experiences.

    Typically, young toddlers are able to learn how to share and take turns. To teach them how to do so, statements such as "Take turns", "The sand/(name of activity) is for everyone", "You have to share", and/or "Sharing is caring" are usually helpful along with giving them alternatives or models of the same object such as a baby doll for each child. If they want a toy that one of their peers is already using at the same time as them and there is only one, I would usually say something such as, "Paul, Sarah has the teddy bear right now. When she is done using it, you can have it." Explanations such as "My turn, your turn", "First (Name)'s turn, and then, your turn", and "Waiting hands" can also be helpful. If the child gets upset about it, we let them cry it out with one re-explanation (Learn more about letting children "cry it out" on #17).

    It is important to also provide positive consequences to students of all ages. When a young toddler did something that they were supposed to do with or without redirection, I provided praise and thanked them for what they specifically did. Not only would I praise the children, but I would also cheer them on when they were showing positive behaviors and when they meet milestones and achievements. This behavior management technique, is also known as continuous praise; This means praise being provided even if it is for small things such as but not limited to cooperating, participation, trying, waiting turns, sharing, something they made, and doing things that are usually hard for them. It can also be beneficial to acknowledge the things that they are good at doing correctly as a form of praise. When some children are doing what they are supposed to do and I was providing redirection and guidance to other children who needed to be doing it too, I pointed out what children are doing it. This was not only to provide praise, but also to provide visual examples since children need visuals in order to comprehend expectations as typical visual learners. For example, if it is meal time all of the children need to sit at the table. So first, I will encourage them to pick a seat and sit in it independently.. Then, if they need help following this instruction, I will gently physically sit them back down while saying, "John, I need you to sit down in your chair. Paul is sitting in their chair. Phillip is sitting in their chair. Emily is sitting in their chair."

    In regards to participating in activities, as part of the Keystone STARS curriculum, we were required to only encourage the children to participate in activities and could never force it. So, we encouraged them to participate in circle time or crafts and tried to guide them over. We would tell them that we think or know that they will like it with encouraging, motivating, and reassuring words by saying something such as, "Now it is circle time and we are going to sing songs, play musical instruments, read a story, and learn Sign Language. You love all of that!." If they still did not want to participate after being encouraged to try, we would just let them be. To keep them engaged, we tried to pick the most engaging activities, which were usually movement songs, crafts, toddler games, or any other hands-on activities. An attention grabber that I often used to get my toddler students' attention to participate in activities was shaking a shaker instrument. Babies and all young children typically love fun noises such as these, which is why child-friendly objects that make noise are such a positive technique for this concept. Incorporating children's interests into play and lesson activities is beneficial not only to increase engagement, but to reduce negative behaviors.

[Image Description: Many colorful toy musical instruments in a rectangular white bin with round edges and many holes on each side on the left side of a beige one-level bookcase with two colorful guitars and a clear rectangular bin filled with colorful musical scarves on the right side of the bookcase. Inside of the white bin, there is a colorful xylophone along with many red maracas and colorful shakers. The bookcase of toy musical instrument is standing on a colorful rug with pictures of animals on it. Each animal is in a light green, aqua, turquoise, and light blue square with either a white, light blue, aqua, or dark blue dotted or solid border along the outside of them. The visible squares include a light yellow and medium yellow lion, light blue and dark blue cow, white and black panda, dark blue and light blue monkey, light yellow, medium yellow, and white giraffe, pink pig, white cow with light blue polka dots and yellow horns, and yellow duck with a medium yellow beak.]

    Incorporating lots of opportunities for building independence into parts of the daily routine are also one of my top favorite classroom management techniques. Encouraging lots of independence opportunities that are incorporated into parts of the daily routine is a great positive distraction for children with challenging behaviors and to build all children's independence skills as much as possible. It serves as a positive distraction to children with challenging behaviors because not all but most of them tend to be very hands-on learners (that is actually why they can be so handsy), bored (one of the most common reasons why children act out so much), and need more opportunities to use their hands-on skills and movement which are a big part of independence and their diverse learning preferences. The independence opportunities that I encouraged in my former toddler classroom were always according to the children's developmental abilities and included helping bringing the cotts and nap stuff to my co-teacher and I after nap time, letting the toddlers walk up and down the step stool to the sink at hand washing time (we signed "wash" before the procedure too), learning to wash their hands whenever they are developmentally ready, prompted them to put their cups in the sink when they were finished drinking after meals and water breaks, encouraged the children to find and lay down on their cotts for nap time, verbally prompted them to walk over to me for diaper changes along with signing "diaper," letting them help clean up spills with paper towels, encouraging the children to help clean up toys with the clean up song while signing "clean up", self-feeding, climbing and running during gross motor play, walking, class jobs, letting them climb into a seat of their choice in the stroller for buggy rides independently, letting them help carry their belongings, throwing out their trash, and providing lots of choices. Class jobs and choices activities can be beneficial in order for children to know that they are contributing something to the classroom even if it is small while also learning that they cannot always get what they want. For class jobs, I either rotate the jobs to keep them engaged with new stuff or let the children stick to the same jobs for the purpose of consistency and letting them stick to doing positive things that they like. The class jobs that I provide are turning the stool around for hand washing time (FYI of course this depends on the child's muscle strength and requires close supervision. Believe it or not, this job is actually possible for some children between 18-24 months old. I had several motorically-advanced children in my class during the fall of 2020 who did have the muscle strength for this job. That was when I first discovered this was even possible for some young toddlers to do!), emergency bag carrier (for transitions to and from outside/tumble room time), helping wash the tables after meals, pushing in chairs after meals, and helping put sippy cups in everyone's spots (Unfortunately, due to COVID and social distancing, families were still not allowed into the classroom even during my last month of working at COA. However, they could drop off and pick up their children at the classroom door. So, in the interest of time, my former co-teacher and I put their cups, school bags, and any other belongings on a table outside of the classroom and each toddler's belongings had an individual spot on the table. So, for this job, I would let two children hand me the cups out of a bin and I put them in the correct spots.). I even let them help me scoop, dump, pour, and mix materials with hand-over-hand assistance during science experiments and let them choose which part to help me with by showing them the materials as visuals to choose from. The other choices that I would let them have were choosing colors for crafts, choosing crafts, choosing activities, choosing class jobs, choosing available toys, picking their seat on the stroller, picking their seat for meal time, picking songs, and choosing materials to use for games (Ex: which ball to use in a ball sorter activity).

    As I was saying in the beginning, managing a class overall is another part of classroom management. To help the children blow off steam when they are having rough days, I would sing many songs to them, especially movement songs since they tend to be the most engaging. When I would be changing diapers when I was alone in ratio, I clearly could sit on the floor and play with the children, but had to change their diapers. So I always sang songs to them to attempt to keep them behaved in this scenario and changed their diapers quickly without rushing. Since the movement songs tend to be the most engaging, I always started with them first and this provided the children with the opportunity to perform the dance moves while listening.

    Not all, but many young children of all ages and abilities struggle with transitions. To help young children with transitions, transition songs can be an effective idea. I would sing "Let's go bye-byes, let's go bye-byes! Here we go, here we go! Let's go bye-byes, let's go bye-byes. Here we go, here we go!" (tune of Frere Jacques) as a transition song repetitively until it was time to leave. In addition, I would tell them where we were going after the transition and what we were going to do next to motivate them to go and provide predictability. For example, after gross motor play time, we were required to provide the young toddlers with drinks of water from their sippy cups. So, when we were leaving the playground or tumble room, I would say, "It is time to go back inside now! C'mon! We are going to drink water/have lunch time!".

    Putting young children on a schedule is one of the main key parts of their development. They need routine, repetition, consistency, and structure in order to learn life skills. As part of the COA curriculum, we were required to have a schedule for the day written on laminated papers with the name of the activity, a picture that represents it as a visual, and the times all in order and follow it the same way every day. In the morning, first, my former co-teacher and I would let the young toddlers participate in free play as they arrived to our classroom for the day. Then, at 8:30am-9:30am, the children ate breakfast at the table. Next, at 9:00am-9:10am, we participated in circle time. After circle time, we either let the children participate in free play, make crafts, or play toddler games with them. At 10:00am-11:00am, we would go outside on the playground or in tumble room depending on the weather. At 11:00am, we would go back to the classroom and the children participated in work time. We would start cleaning up the toys ten minutes early before lunch arrived at 11:30am (our administrators brought the food to the classroom). Once the food arrived on the counter and we were finished cleaning up, my lead teacher and I took turns of performing the job responsibilities every day of washing the children's hands before and after meals and plating the food on the counter. Once all of the children were seated with their hands washed, we handed a plate of food to each child. As they were eating, one of us would put out each child's cott, sheet, and blanket that they slept on for nap time. As the children finished eating, we put them on their cotts, which was usually around 11:50am-12:15pm. When nap time was over at 2:30pm, we changed the toddlers' diapers as they woke up and put their cotts away. Next was snack time from 2:30-3:00pm. After snack time, we let the children participate in free play until 3:30pm when we would go on the playground or to tumble room again. The children usually started getting picked up in between during or after snack time and afternoon gross motor play time. Afternoon gross motor play time is until 4:00pm and after that we let the children participate in free play again until pick-up time.

9. How do you calm crying babies?

    To start out, I want to provide reassurance that calming crying babies is not easy and any childcare worker or parent/guardian will tell you this. I first started working with babies when I volunteered in a 2-3 year old tap/ballet class at my former dancing school when I was in ninth through twelfth grade. During my first year of this volunteer work, I used to feel so bad when I did not know what to do to calm the babies who were crying. I felt better about it once I expressed this to my parents who went through the same thing and anyone who has worked with babies would say that it is very difficult. Despite how difficult it is, however, there are many techniques that help for this.

    First of all, when caring for a baby who is crying, understand that this is typical behavior for their age group and that they are too little to express their feelings and needs. It is okay for anyone to cry no matter how old they are. Think about it: When you were a baby, you cried. When you were in preschool, you cried. When you were in elementary school, you cried. When you were a preteen, you cried. When you were a teenager, you cried. Then, even now as an adult, there are still things that make you along with your parents, friends, and other adults cry too. All children of all ages should be allowed to express their feelings in any settings. Instead of telling them to "stop crying", comfort them, acknowledge how they feel no matter what they are crying about, and provide reassurance. You can do this by saying something such as, "(Name), I know that you are sad and it is okay to be sad." You can comfort them by hugging or holding them and rubbing their head or back.

    If they are crying over separation anxiety from one of their family members, another caregiver, or a friend, comfort the child until they feel better, reassure them that the person "will be back", encourage them to use specific developmentally-appropriate self-care techniques if necessary. Developmentally-appropriate self-care techniques for young toddlers can be laying in cozy corner or a comfy area, hugging a blanket, lovie, or a stuffed animal, or I know that one of my former students liked to read books to calm oneself.

    If a child is upset about getting into trouble, the teacher should let them cry and validate their feelings along with helping them understand that what they did was wrong and the consequences. If the child is crying about not getting what they wanted, the teacher should let them cry it out and validate their feelings along with teaching them that they cannot always get what they want. If something went wrong, teachers can also help young toddlers problem-solve the situation with solutions that they will understand on their developmental level.

    In addition, there are also some calming techniques that Dr. Harvey Karp, one of America's most well-known pediatricians who invented the SNOO and is the author of The Happiest Baby on the Block, recommends. Dr. Karp says that there is actually a scientific reason as to why babies cry so much besides their limited communication skills. He says that they are actually not in the womb long enough! Apparently, there is a fourth trimester missing! "Had mothers' labor been three months longer, their babies would be born smiling, cooing, and flirting. (Who wouldn't want that on the first day of life!) Of course, no woman can actually do that. At nine months, getting the baby's head out is already a very tight squeeze, and by twelve months it would be impossible" (pg. 9, Karp 2015). Dr. Karp recommends what he calls "The Five S's": swaddling, side/stomach, shushing, swinging, and sucking. Obviously, toddlers are too old to be swaddled, use side/stomach, and use a sleep swing, but I have observed that the shushing and sucking parts do work for both infants and young toddlers! The shushing is not a way to tell them to be quiet; It is a reassuring tone that actually imitates the noise that they hear in the womb called "white noise" (pg. 92, Karp 2015). In order to do the shushing technique, the caregiver must remain calm, use a positive tone of voice, "raise the volume of your shhhh until it matches the level of crying", and "soften your shhhh as the cries lessen and they start to relax" (pg. 142, Karp 2015). While weaning children off of their binkies and thumb sucking is important for development, it is okay to let them use it when they really need it to self-soothe. If they are calm and not using it, the binky can be put in their cubby and given back to them for nap time and if they are crying and nothing else has worked to calm them, Besides binkies, singing songs to crying babies and showing them toys, especially related to their interests, are also great ways to calm them. I noticed that singing songs typically saved the day when my former class of toddler students were crying a lot.

    In addition, there will be times when a baby might be crying because you cannot hold them, physically comfort them, play with them, or give them what they want because there are other essential tasks that need to be completed such as not limited to cleaning, preparing meals, and changing diapers. This does not make you a bad person at all. In the mean time, you can explain to them why they cannot get what they want (Example: "I know that you want me to play with you and I cannot play with you right now. I have to clean the tables.") and reassure them that you will give them their wishes when your hands are free (Example: "I will play with you again when I am all done cleaning the tables."). You can let them cry it out in these cases or if nothing else is working in other cases. Eventually, they will stop on their own and they will always be okay.

10. What kind of food do young toddlers eat and how does mealtime work at your center?

    COA provided all of the meals to all of the children enrolled through a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) program. We served the children breakfast from 8:30am-9:30am, lunch time from 11:30am-12:00pm, and snack time from 2:30pm-3:00pm. Overall, the foods that COA served for the young toddlers in our class were supposed to be developmentally-appropriate (DAP) soft solid foods and they were allowed to drink milk or water. Legally, at least in the state of PA, all childcare centers are required to have a chart on the cabinets above the kitchen counter with which toddlers who can drink milk in writing. If they cannot drink milk, we could serve them lactaid milk, almond milk, or water and served them 4 ounces per drink. They can also have seconds of any food they want after their first helping and we break up the foods into pieces depending on the type of food and the children's oral motor skills. In addition, the young toddlers would wear bibs when eating messy foods and by law at least in the state of PA, all childcare centers have to feed children certain serving sizes for each food and the specific size depends on their age group. We also had to wear gloves at all times and use scoopers to put the foods on the plates. The foods selected on COA's menu were also chosen by a nutritionist.

    The solid foods that were on COA's breakfast menu were pancakes, mixed fruit (originally comes from fruit cups), pineapples, pears, apples, oranges, eggs, mini wheat bagels with cream cheese, corn muffins, corn bread, apple sauce, Cheerios, and bananas. They could have at least half of the pancake, egg, corn muffin, corn bread, or bagel with cream cheese spread in the middle of the bagel at the same time (my former co-teacher and I actually used to laugh and say that the bagel kind of looked like a deli sandwich when we put this meal together for our toddler students LOL). To feed the toddlers bananas, we gave them half of the banana and sliced the half into pieces twice so that they would be able to chew to accommodate their developmental level of oral motor skills. When we were feeding them apple sauce, they could have at least one scoop in their bowl at a time and either feed themselves independently while wearing a bib or my former co-teacher and I would spoon feed them depending on their abilities. Young toddlers are typically able to crunch into the rest of the above listed foods with their teeth and eat all of them as finger foods because that is the level that they are on in their development. The primary drink served at breakfast was milk.

    The solid foods that were on COA's lunch menu were chicken nuggets, mac n cheese, breakfast for lunch (mini wheat bagels, sausage patties, hash browns), sweet potato tots, green beans, peas, tortilla, chicken turkey meatballs, fish sticks, hot dogs, diced chicken, pasta with ground meat and red sauce, broccoli, turkey ham, turkey lunch meat, mashed potatoes, shredded lettuce, shredded cheese, brown rice, English muffin with melted shredded cheese and red sauce, and the same types of fruits that were served at breakfast. The children could eat 2-3 chicken nuggets per serving. Children ages 18-24 months old and up can usually eat chicken nuggets without them being split into pieces, but like I said earlier, depending on their oral motor skills, my former co-teacher and I broke them up into pieces because every child is different! Most of our former young toddler students could eat mac n cheese independently with a spoon. Some of the toddlers could even self-feed themselves mac n cheese without a bib! When it came to feeding them the breakfast for lunch foods, we ripped up the sausage patties and mini wheat bagels into pieces or gave them a whole half of the bagel (like I keep saying, breaking it or not for each child depends on their oral motor skills) and gave them half of the hash brown broken up or as a whole half. The children were able to eat all of the vegetables with spoons or as finger foods just like with the fruits. For the broccoli, we always cut off the bottoms and gave each child at last one broccoli at a time and they could be served half of the tortilla bread. When serving them chicken turkey meatballs, we fed them one whole meatball split into two pieces and they ate it as finger food. When feeding them fish sticks, we served them at least one whole or broken up fish stick at a time. In regards to serving them hot dogs, the USDA and many child development pediatricians recommend cutting the hot dog in half and instead of cutting it into coin-shapes, cut the half again down the middle then slicing to prevent choking (According to the USDA's national list of choking hazard foods, coin-shaped foods are actually a choking hazard for this age. Bananas, cheese sticks, and grapes are recommended to be cut the same way.); then, the toddlers could be served at least one half of this food at a time. They could have at least one handful of diced chicken, shredded lettuce, or shredded cheese at a time and one scoop of pasta with ground meat and red sauce or mashed potatoes at a time. When feeding the young toddlers turkey ham or turkey lunch meat, they could eat it chopped up. When feeding the English muffin with melted shredded cheese and red sauce to the young toddlers, we always cut it up into pieces for them. In addition, a food that used to be served on our lunch menu was pierogies with red sauce. When feeding this food to the young toddlers, they would served one half of the pierogi sliced into pieces, and they would be able to independently feed themselves this food with a fork. The primary drink served at lunch was milk.

    The solid foods that were on COA's snack time menu were wheat crackers, sweet potato crackers, cheddar cheese, cheese sticks, tortilla with sun butter, English muffin with sun butter, yogurt, corn muffin, corn bread, bananas, pretzel wheels, and the same foods served at breakfast and lunch time. The 18-24 month old young toddlers could typically eat three whole wheat or sweet potato crackers at a time without being broken into pieces (This is usually only needed for toddlers 18 months old or younger). The serving size for cheddar cheese (broken into pieces for toddlers typically under 18 months old) or cheese sticks (how to cut is stated above) is one half of the cheese at a time. In regards to eating the tortilla or English muffin with sun butter, we would break the tortilla or English muffin in half, spread the sun butter on one of the flat sides of the half, and then fold it together like a sandwich (broken into pieces for toddlers typically under 18 months old) because this is how they can eat it according to their oral motor skills. The serving size for yogurt was one scoop and they could usually feed themselves this meal independently. The serving size for corn bread or a corn muffin was one half and they ate it as finger food independently. The way that they ate the fruits at snack time was the same as when served at breakfast and lunch time.

    In addition, as mentioned in #5, all childcare centers at least in the state of PA are legally required to record what foods and drinks the young toddlers consumed every day with the time and portions of foods and drinks they ate in writing. The portions will either say "none", "some", "most", or "all" and will be different for each child since every child eats differently. We also legally have to "claim" each child's meal on a form from the USDA. This means that childcare workers are putting in writing which children were provided food to prevent child neglect. To do this, we check off the boxes with an "X" next to their name for each meal and then write how many "X"s there are. There is also another USDA policy in place that we have at our center. Some children may not be able to eat certain foods for health and safety purposes such as due to food allergies, disabilities that affect sensory differences, oral motor skills, or medical health, or because their family prefers that they eat certain foods from home for religious purposes. Any COA family who was eligible according to these purposes was allowed to do this, but were required to fill out a form from USDA so that it was writing about which children were bringing food from home.

11. How do you keep your classroom clean to reduce the spread of germs?

    Young children are one of the most common causes of the spread of germs due to their developmental levels. To keep ECE classrooms as clean as possible, there are actually many childcare laws (at least in the state of PA) for sanitizing and disinfecting classrooms in childcare centers. Legally, after each meal, childcare workers have to throw children's plates away in the trash can and have to sweep any food crumbs that fall onto the floor with a broom. If any slimy foods fall on the floor, they need to be wiped with a wet paper towel because a broom will obviously not pick it up. To clean the tables after tables or messy table activities that involve paint or other slimy substances, childcare workers have to wipe them with a wet paper towel, and then, spray them with soap and water and wipe them down. Next, they need to be sprayed with bleach and wiped down. The disinfecting process for tables is the same for cleaning counters, sinks, the diaper changing mat, chairs, shelves, and toys. Childcare workers (at least in the state of PA) are legally required to do all of these disinfecting procedures every day. By center policy at COA, all of the teachers were required to mop the floors every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and if necessary in any other event.

    To fit cleaning into our time management, my former co-teacher or I would sweep the floors in between them finishing during breakfast and snack time in the interest of time and then, we do all of the spraying and wiping after the children were finished. Since nap time is right after lunch, we would throw their plates away as each child left the table and then, we would finish the rest of the cleaning once all of the children were asleep. In addition, we would wash their hands before and after meals.

12. What are your other Health and Safety protocols and techniques that you use in childcare, especially when working with this age group?

    Supervision is very important when working with students of all ages and abilities, especially in childcare, for health and safety purposes. When working in childcare, teachers must be supervising the children at all times. To keep track of them, it is very important to know the exact number of children in the room; So, I count them when I first walk into the room, as children arrive and are dismissed, before, during, and after every transition, and in the middle of all activities throughout the day. In addition, back when I was working at COA and even while I am working at SHLC, the other staff and I have to clock the children in as they arrive and clock them out as they leave for the day on TadPoles. TadPoles shows how many children are present in our care in each classroom. I also make sure to never have my back turned and I am always standing or sitting in a part of the room where I can see all of the children in full view. Make sure to have all parts of the classroom set up without any blind spots. The purpose of this is for teachers to be able to see all of their students no matter where they are sitting or standing. Unfortunately, in my former toddler classroom, our diaper changing table was actually built into the wall on the right side of the front of the classroom with most of the rest of the room behind it. So, to be able to see all of the children when I had to change diapers when I was alone in ratio, there was a special mirror that my room had positioned on part of the upper middle part of the wall in front of the changing table. The purpose of this was for my former co-teacher and I to be able to see all of the children behind us in this scenario. We also made sure that the floor was clear of any falling hazards such as making sure that all of the toys were picked up after clean up time and wiping any wet messes on the tile floors.

[Image Description: Mirror selfie of me in a round clear lens mirror with a black border. I am wearing a black winter coat with my long, curly, brown hair down with a white headband and the colorful classroom is behind me. The mirror is attached to a top corner of the white ceiling with purple walls below it. The top left corner of the white borders of a window is pictured to the right below the mirror and part of the right side of the top and right purple bulletin board borders and part of orange bulletin board paper is pictured attached to the purple wall in the bottom left corner of the image. Some of the walls in the back of the classroom are also white.]

    In addition to my center's curriculum requirements, there are actually certain art materials that children under three years old in licensed childcare centers are legally prohibited from using for health and safety purposes. We are prohibited from letting them use beads, pom poms, buttons shaving cream, glitter, balloons, colored pencils, scissors, googly eyes, and many other materials. Young children of this age could put beads, pom poms, buttons, balloons, googly eyes, and shaving cream in their mouth and accidentally swallow them since young children especially in this age group tend to put small parts in their mouths and shaving cream has dangerous chemicals in it. Young toddlers are prohibited from using glitter because they could rub it in their eyes. Young toddlers are prohibited from using colored pencils and scissors because they are sharp, could poke themselves in the eye, or even cut themselves because they are too young to understand how to use this type of material. Whenever I was making a sensory bottle with either of these items, I filled it myself, let the children who are 3 years old and younger watch me fill it with the materials stored out of reach, and since the bottles are always glued shut when the children are playing with them, it is safe because they cannot take the small items out that way. When I did let them help fill the sensory bottles with small items depending on what they were, my former co-teacher and I watched them with close supervision following the bottle being glued shut at the end as usual when making any sensory bottle. Teachers in childcare centers are required to modify lessons to accommodate the children in a way that they will still be able to participate in the activity in a developmentally-appropriate (DAP) way. So, that is why I used whipped cream instead of shaving cream that was used in the original Rain Cloud Experiment. Instead of using pom-poms, beads, buttons, or googly eyes in crafts, I usually made paper cut-outs of the parts for young toddlers. For example, if we were making a character or creature, they need eyes and children who are 3 years old and younger cannot use googly eyes, my former co-teacher and I would make paper cut-out eyes by drawing circles on white paper and then, dotting the eyes with a pen or marker following cutting them out.

Image Description: There are 8 Melted Snowmen Crafts in 2 columns laying on a sitting on a rectangular light gray table pictured. For each snowman craft, there is a lot of white paint painted on dark blue construction paper with a paper cut-out black hat, brown stick arms, a red scarf, orange carrot nose, and two paper cut-out eyes.]

13. What kind of specialized services and accommodations can young toddlers in the disability community get?

    By law in the United States, students cannot be eligible for an Individualized Education Program (IEP) until they are three years old. However, children of all ages can have disabilities/be disabled or have developmental struggles and there are plenty of other specialized services in the mean time. According to the Department of Education, "children from birth to five years old who have disabilities or developmental delays are eligible for Early Intervention (EI) services," which is a national Special Educational program for young children in the disability community or with developmental struggles (Department of Education 2022). EI consists of many different types of therapy, exercises, and activities to help young children reach milestones in the developmental areas that they are struggling in. The age ranges that can receive EI services also vary in different states.

    Even though disabled young toddlers/young toddlers with disabilities are not eligible for an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) yet, they can be supported in other ways, such as through Specially Designed Instructions (SDIs), accommodations, and modifications in their Individualized Family Service Plans (IFSPs) in addition to receiving EI services to help them succeed. For example, they may have a hard time using their fine motor skills to eat or have some sensory differences when it comes to eating certain foods. In this case, their families can consistently pack them their own foods from home to modify their child's meals according their sensory differences. They may also need some foods broken up into smaller pieces that other young toddlers may be able to eat without being broken up.

    The most common types of disabilities in young toddlers seem to be developmental delays, Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), or difficulty walking. Some common signs of ASD in young toddlers are not responding to one's name, walking late, lack of interaction with peers and participation in activities, sensory differences, difficulty with motor skills, or meeting other developmental milestones late. They may not participate in activities not only due to lack of interest, but lack of engagement too. They may need certain techniques to improve their engagement such as sitting them in your lap or applying deep pressure on their shoulders, legs, arms, and back (this supports their muscle tension and can help them regulate them when they are upset if they tend to struggle with emotional skills as part of their disability).

    However, struggling in these developmental areas does not always mean that the child definitely has a disability or disabilities. It is typical for young toddlers to meet different developmental milestones later than their peers because every child is different and these children are often known as "late bloomers." Teachers and service providers cannot diagnose these students, but they can share their concerns about the children with their families. If the family suspects that the child needs a diagnosis/diagnoses or services, they can talk to their child's doctor about it. They also have the right to share their concerns about their child's development with their teachers and legally, they cannot be forced to get their child diagnosed or to receive services. They can also change this decision at any time.

15. What did you wear to work?

    When I was still working at COA, all of the staff were required to wear a blue snap button-down smock provided by COA, black, green, or blue khaki pants or khaki shorts, closed-toed shoes (preferably sneakers), a Velcro back brace to protect our backs when picking up the children, and our COA teacher ID. We could wear anything we wanted under the smock as long as we were covered. In addition, in all of my years of working in childcare, I have always worn my hair in a bun to keep it out of the way and prevent potential cases of catching lice (Lice incidents are very common in childcare and these bugs are so small and quick that it could happen at any time. So, I am very proactive about wearing my hair up on the job at all times just in case) and wear colorful/designed headbands and socks.

    At SHLC, staff are allowed to wear any clothes except jeans, short shorts, and open-toed shoes as long as we are covered to be appropriate and safe.

16. How long have you been working in childcare?

This is my seventh year of working in childcare.

    My high school that I graduated from called Lower Moreland High School did not have a child development course program unlike many other high schools and I wished that they did. So, when I was in tenth grade, I along with the support of my parents who were in agreement shared my thoughts with my guidance counselor. So, she figured out a plan where I got bused to Upper Moreland High School every day to take their two-year child development course as part of their Family and Consumer Sciences Program in my junior and senior year; I was the first Lower Moreland student to ever go out of district to take a course! The first year of the course was the theory part for one class period and in the second year, I participated in a practicum lab where I was a student teacher in a mixed age group preschool classroom of three-to-five year old children in a childcare center. As part of the course requirements, I worked in the classroom for three class periods every Tuesday through Friday and taught one or two lessons each month. I also had the option to spend full days in my classroom on half days and days off from school. If my high school was having a half day or I wanted to stay the full day at my center if I was caught up on all of my schoolwork, I had to get permission from my school to spend the full day at my center and they would just mark me as on a field trip on the attendance sheets. I had to complete 480 practicum lab hours in order to earn my Child Development Associate (CDA) certification (more details about this credential in #17) through this course. In November 2018, I earned my CDA certification and I was the first ever student from Upper Moreland High School's child development course program to get their CDA! In June 2018, I got my first job ever working in a childcare center as a floater at Children of America Southampton. Then, after getting my CDA, I was promoted as the assistant toddler teacher in February 2019 and I stayed at this childcare center for three years. Currently, I work as a floater at a local Schoolhouse Learning Center location.

17. What are your qualifications?

    Currently, I have my Child Development Associate (CDA) certification, which certifies me to caregive for and teach all infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. I am also CPR certified and have my Associate's Degree in Early Childhood Education from Bucks County Community College. In addition, I am majoring in Early Childhood Special Education at Bryn Athyn College for my Bachelor's Degree and I am expected to graduate in 2024.

18. How many hours is the center location that you work at opened?

    The COA location that I worked at was open from 6:30am-6:30pm on Mondays through Fridays and I worked nine hours during my time as a toddler teacher. Typically, most staff received a one hour lunch break (depending on ratios) along with all COA staff and administrators receiving holidays off (Martin Luther King Day, Memorial Day, 4th of July, Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Christmas, Labor Day, and New Year's Day), and are allowed to request days off with a two weeks notice too. The center also closed early on Halloween, day before Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, New Year's Eve along with being closed on Presidents' Day and Indigenous Peoples' Day while staff and administrators were required to attend Professional Development Day trainings on these days. We could call out as truly needed with a doctor's note if due to sickness. COA is also a growing chain located in 12 states and many cities and communities across the United States.

    In regards to the center that I currently work at, SHLC is open from 6:30am-6:00pm on Mondays through Fridays and closed the whole day or early on most of the same special occasions as my last center along with the same two weeks notice policy for requesting off. Typically, most staff still receive a 30 minute or 1 hour lunch break depending on ratios and we can call out as truly needed with a doctor's note if due to sickness. SHLC is also a growing chain located in Pennsylvania with 4 locations: Southampton, Warminster, Quakertown, and Sellersville.

19. Why did you quit your job as a toddler teacher?

    First of all, my reason for quitting had nothing to do with the children at all. Becoming a toddler teacher to this specific age range actually became one of my career path goals during my first few months as a floater since I loved working with this age group so much. My co-teacher who was the lead teacher and my mentor was also amazing. My reason for quitting my job as a toddler teacher in August 2021 was because I was given the opportunity to go back to school full-time to earn my Bachelor's Degree faster since I was offered a Dean's Scholarship and there would be no time to fit working full-time into my schedule. So, I committed to the offer and I went back to working as a part-time floater in childcare at Schoolhouse Learning Center during the summer of 2022. I worked only part-time in order to have more time to study for the PRAXIS certification exam and applied to a new center for the purpose of moving forward to bigger and better things.

And that is it! I hope that I answered all of your questions! Are you a toddler teacher? If so, do you do any of these things? Do you have any other questions? If so, let me know in the comments below😊

You might also like and gain a better understanding of the Early Childhood Education field and child development by reading my other blog posts and my collaboration interview with The CDA Council for Professional Recognition linked below:

• Infant/Toddler Teachers Need to be Valued More as Teachers
• Building Young Children's Development Through Play and Conversation
• Incorporating Nursery Rhymes Into Early Childhood Games
• Diversity in Education
• Multiple Intelligences Theory
• Interview with Mindfully Scientific Mama
• Observation Reflection-Value of Observation Techniques
• Emily Hoff: Making Inclusion Matter Every Day

If you are a toddler teacher, parent/guardian/family member, caregiver, babysitter, au pair, etc. of toddlers and you are interested in learning more about toddlers, I highly recommend the following books and resources below:

• Great Expectations: The Toddler Years: The Essential Guide to Your 1-To-3-Year-Old written by Sandy Jones
• The Happiest Toddler on the Block written by Dr. Harvey Karp
• The Happiest Baby Guide to Great Sleep: Simple Solutions for Kids From Birth to 5 Years written by Dr. Harvey Karp
• Baby Sign Language Made Easy: 101 Signs to Start Communicating With Your Child Now written by Lane Rebelo
• Toddler Approved also has great lesson plan resources for toddlers.

Did you enjoy and find this post helpful? If you want to see more content like this and my other content about teaching and advocating for the disability community, please follow me on Instagram and like my Facebook page if you have not already by clicking on the hyperlinks below:

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                                                                     Citations

1. Choking Hazards. (2022 February 25). Cdc.gov. Retrieved November 26, 2022 from https://www.cdc.gov/nutrition/infantandtoddlernutrition/foods-and-drinks/choking-hazards.html

2. Department of Education. (2022). Early Intervention. https://www.education.pa.gov/Early%20Learning/Early%20Intervention/Pages/default.aspx#:~:text=Children%20from%20birth%20to%20age,child%20and%20the%20child's%20family.

3. Karp, H. (2015). Babies: A New Insight. The Happiest Baby on the Block: Second Edition. (pgs. 9, 92). Bantam Books.

4. McClelland, S. (2019 March 15). "Fun Rain Cloud Activity for Kids." Little Bins for Little Hands. https://littlebinsforlittlehands.com/rain-cloud-spring-science-weather-activity/

5. Reducing the Risk of Choking in Young Children at Mealtime. (2020 September 22). Fns.usda.gov. Retrieved November 26, 2022 from https://www.fns.usda.gov/tn/reducing-risk-choking-young-children-mealtimes