July Newsletter for Daycare: Template, Sample & Ideas

by Ben Keeney | Jun 24, 2022

So, you need July newsletter ideas for preschool? Before you get distracted by the holiday festivities, create an entertaining, informative and easy to read July newsletter for daycare that will keep parents engaged and in the loop!

Parents seem especially busy and distracted in July. Don’t be afraid to touch base with them frequently. Newsletters are hard work, but with our help, we can make it easy for you to create them consistently and keep your parents engaged and happy.

Use those fireworks as motivation to connect with readers who can relate to being too busy during the month of July. Keep reading for creative ideas to include in your July newsletter for daycare.

July Newsletter Made Easy – Use Free Templates

Coming up with content for July newsletter for daycare can be tough. That’s why you shouldn’t start from scratch. To save you time, we built a July newsletter daycare template. This template is editable and printable. All you need to do is remove the sample text after downloading and enter your own copy.

By using this free July newsletter daycare template, you won’t have to spend time on design. You’ll also get ideas for what to write with our sample text. Download the
free template now!

Want a Free Daycare/Preschool Newsletter Template for Every Month?

Download our editable and printable templates for every month of the year at no cost!

4th of July

Happy Birthday, America! Your July daycare newsletter could represent the celebration of America using fun red, white and blue graphics and coloring in your template. It is the 4th of July after all. You can use it to promote what you are going to do with the children during the special day, teaching them America’s symbols, history and traditions.

Clean Beach Week

If your daycare is near the ocean, you can encourage parents to get out there and clean the beaches in honor of Clean Beach Week, celebrated on July 1st-7th. This is a great chance to teach the young about the importance of recycling and the harm that waste can cause to our beautiful Earth. They will learn to treasure their home. Another idea is to use recycled products to create crafts with the children. 

National Different Colored Eyes Day

July 12th is National Different Colored Eyes Day and if you’re looking for great July newsletter ideas for preschool, you can use this fun social media holiday to celebrate diversity. You could take a picture of all your children’s eyes and make a collage to add to your newsletter. This will show parents how you value diversity and the differences in all the children.

Incorporating Holiday Themed Newsletters

Holiday marketing doesn’t have to be an extreme or aggressive campaign. Holiday-specific messages are so effective that you should use holiday names in your emails, even if it’s a light mention.

• Use holiday-themed colors.
• Insert relevant images or graphics
• Promote seasonal products/services.
• Summer Trips

For your July newsletter for daycare, you could encourage parents to share their family trips. They can share their photos and location with you to share in your newsletter. Don’t forget to share staff and teachers’ trips, this will make your daycare family feel more connected.

Looking for Newsletter Ideas for More Months?

Check out these free monthly newsletter guides to find ideas that will work for the rest of the year!

Preschool Newsletter for May: Template, Sample & Ideas

by Ben Keeney | Jun 24, 2022

May is here, and you know what they say- April showers bring May daycare newsletter content ideas. It’s a month, bursting with opportunities to connect, network and engage.

With our May daycare newsletter ideas, you’ll be able to create a relevant and engaging newsletter that can reach current parents and potential clients.

May is a fun month, with the unofficial Star Wars Day and the inspirational National Word Power Month. Use those fun days to inspire your newsletter.

We hope you are inspired and able to use our examples as a guide to create your fun preschool newsletter for May!

May Newsletter Made Easy – Use Free Templates

To save you time, we built a preschool May newsletter template. This template is editable and printable. All you need to do is remove the sample text after downloading and enter your own copy.

By using this free May newsletter daycare template, you won’t have to spend time on design. You’ll also get ideas for what to write with our sample text. Download the
free template now!

Want a Free Daycare/Preschool Newsletter Template for Every Month?

Download our editable and printable templates for every month of the year at no cost!

National Teacher Day

Celebrate their hard work, dedication and enthusiasm on May 3rd (National Teacher Day). Your teachers breathe life into the classroom setting with their passion and creativity from day one to school-wide activities. Celebrate National Teacher Day in your monthly newsletter. Encourage parents to share appreciation with their kids’ teachers.

May The 4th Be with You

A popular social media holiday that everyone is bound to recognize is Star Wars Day held on May 4th. A fun idea for a preschool newsletter for May is to throw a May the 4th be with you day and have the children dress up as Star Wars characters for a day. Let the parents’ imagination run wild as they dress their children up like your favorite Star Wars character!

Cinco de Mayo

An annual celebration, Cinco de Mayo, takes place on May 5th every year. It commemorates the Mexican army’s unlikely victory against the French at the Battle of Puebla in 1862. When writing a preschool newsletter for May, you might consider using one of these Mexico-themed graphics to celebrate Cinco de Mayo.

Mother’s Day

A day that you should consider mentioning in your newsletter is Mother’s Day on May 8th. The idea is to treat Mother to a coffee that day by including an electronic gift card or coupon code that they can claim in your newsletter. Creating a sweet Mother’s Day graphic to insert into your newsletter will also be meaningful.

Get Caught Reading Month

Get Caught Reading Month is a time to get together with your daycare pals and find out what they plan to read. This is an excellent opportunity to showcase the books scheduled for the month to parents in your May daycare newsletter. You can even share photos of story time with parents in your preschool newsletter for May.

A Poll or Survey

It’s important to get parents involved in your daycare. A simple survey in your monthly newsletter will make them feel appreciated, and it also gives you valuable insight into how you can provide even better service.

There are a lot of platforms that could help you easily create a survey or poll to embed into your newsletter, like Typeform, Mailchimp and much more. Here are the steps to embed a survey into your email newsletter using Google Forms.

1. Create a survey using Google Forms.
2. Send the survey to your Gmail account.
3. Obtain HTML code for your survey
4. Prepare the code for the survey for your newsletter
5. Insert the survey in your newsletter

Reminders for Parents

An easy way to keep parents in the loop is by adding reminders and invites to your newsletter. In your May newsletter, you can send reminders for the upcoming month. This could include special events, trips, snacks, etc.

Other May Newsletter Ideas

What else could you write about in each daycare newsletter? Here are some ideas:

Menu: Share the food calendar for the month, including snacks, lunches, etc.

Photos:What parent doesn’t want to see pictures of their children? A fun idea is to include a few images highlighting the previous month’s activities.

Daycare Updates: If there is any change in the school regulations, inform parents about them in your newsletter.

Blog links If your daycare has a blog, link out to your blog page in your newsletter. If you don’t have a blog, another good idea is to link to informal blogs that might interest parents.

Looking for Newsletter Ideas for More Months?

Check out these free monthly newsletter guides to find ideas that will work for the rest of the year!

April Newsletter Preschool Template, Sample & Ideas

by Ben Keeney | Jun 24, 2022

If you’re seeking April newsletter preschool ideas, you came to the right place.

Spring officially arrives in the Northern Hemisphere on March 20. But most of us wouldn’t say it was spring until about April, when the crocus and daffodils started to bloom.

April is an exciting and fun month. Spring has finally arrived and there are lots of things to do outside. The kids have been cooped up for too long, so it’s a great time to plan exciting outdoor activities and colorful newsletter for parents.

What’s not to love about April, after all it’s the start of spring and you can now say goodbye to those cold long nights indoors. So here are some excellent April newsletter preschool ideas that brought some joy to our inbox this month. If you need some April preschool newsletter inspiration, keep reading for ideas!

April Daycare Newsletter – Use Free Templates

Don’t worry about finding time to create the perfect April newsletter content. To save you time, we built an April newsletter preschool template. This template is editable and printable. All you need to do is remove the sample text after downloading and enter your own copy.

By using this free April newsletter daycare template, you won’t have to spend time on design. You’ll also get ideas for what to write with our sample text. Download the
free template now!

Want a Free Daycare/Preschool Newsletter Template for Every Month?

Download our editable and printable templates for every month of the year at no cost!

April Fool’s Occasion

April Fools is the day of fun, laughter and pranks. Ensure that your newsletter is read cover to cover with a unique challenge for your readers.

For your April newsletter preschool idea, you could send your parents a game where they must guess which answers are false and which one is correct. Make your questions funny and totally outrageous.

The winner will win a prize from you! It’s a fun way to see who your readers like the most and increase newsletter loyalty. It’s a good April Fool’s Day trick.

Earth Day

On the day that was created to remember and to celebrate the need to take care of our green Earth, we create a free ecologically based offer.

For your preschool newsletter for April, you could give tips on how to be more eco-friendly. This is a good time to begin teaching children about the Earth and how to live an eco-accommodating life!

You could also create a fun event that involves parents or just students helping plant more trees! This is a great chance to get outside and get our hands dirty.

Welcome Spring

April is the month when all of us start thinking about spring cleaning. Why not do it right now? You could inform parents about how you plan on having the kids help organize the daycare for summer! You can feature your ideas for Spring as one of your April newsletter preschool ideas.

Graduation Season

If you have older students who are beginning Kindergarten the next year or even starting preschool, this is a great time to highlight those students in your April newsletter. You could take cute caps and gown photos or share how your preschool or daycare will help prepare their children for their next journey.

Holidays

Life is made up of little moments. April is a month of many holidays, including such special times as Easter, Passover and Earth Day. It’s a good month for organization campaigns to help you celebrate these family occasions and milestones.

People all over the world look forward to these special times of year. They’re warm, happy and full of great memories. Help your guests enjoy the best parts of these occasions by sharing your favorite recipes and how you’ll be celebrating in your daycare in your newsletter.

For Easter you could look on Pinterest for exciting craft ideas to send home to their parents or take photos of to include in your monthly newsletter, like coloring eggs.

Holidays always make great filler content if you’re running low on ideas!

World Autism Awareness Day

On April 2nd, World Autism Awareness Day is celebrated. From dealing with the stigma of being different to seeing the world uniquely, everything about being autistic is an inspiring story.
Use a portion of your April newsletter to share a feel-good story with your readers. Spread awareness of Autism during April and make it a month of accomplishment, service, and friendship. You could also link to credible charities.

National Find a Rainbow Day

April showers bring flowers AND rainbows. April 3rd is a fun social media holiday! It is National Find a Rainbow Day. A great preschool newsletter for April idea is to create a month-long challenge for parents and their children to spot rain. Whoever spots the coolest rainbow wins. This idea will keep children on the lookout and give parents and their kids a fun activity to participate in together.

Share a Highlight of The Month

In case you’re searching for the month-to-month newsletter ideas, a fun segment is to highlight something awesome the students learned, funny story, or a student who is really excelling.

You could also highlight helpful tips for each month. This will help you plan on what you’d like to share.

Happy Parent Reviews

At the end of each newsletter, you could incorporate happy reviews left by parents and encourage other parents to leave a review and maybe they’ll get featured. Truth be told, ninety-two percent of individuals depend on the guidance of companions before committing to daycare. Reviews are amazing for business!

Looking for Newsletter Ideas for More Months?

Check out these free monthly newsletter guides to find ideas that will work for the rest of the year!

March Newsletter for Daycare or Preschool Template & Ideas

by Ben Keeney | Jun 24, 2022

Just in case you’ve run out of content ideas, we’ve made it easy for you! Choose one of our upcoming March newsletters for daycare themes and events to get inspired.

March is full of holidays and fun-filled celebrations. Here are thirty March newsletter ideas to help you craft the perfect content for your readers. Remember that each culture and community have unique customs, so we try to be aware of them and celebrate them all.

Experiment with friendly, conversational language. If you find that something isn’t friendly, walk away from it – use the March preschool newsletter templates listed below to get your creative juices flowing.

March Newsletter Content – Use Free Templates

We want you to focus your time on the children instead of figuring out March Newsletter daycare ideas. That’s why you shouldn’t start from scratch. To save you time, we built a March newsletter preschool template. This template is editable and printable. All you need to do is remove the sample text after downloading and enter your own copy.

By using this free March newsletter daycare template, you won’t have to spend time on design. You’ll also get ideas for what to write with our sample text. Download the
free template now!

Want a Free Daycare/Preschool Newsletter Template for Every Month?

Download our editable and printable templates for every month of the year at no cost!

First Day of Spring

We say “Goodbye” to winter and “Hello” to spring in March. The first spring day generally occurs on March 19, 20 or 21. Springtime; the sunshine, flowers and birds that come with it are among the most popular March newsletter daycare ideas. Spend the day outside with the daycare kids, growing vegetables, having a scavenger hunt or making birdhouses. This is a great time to teach children about Mother Nature and her wonder and beauty.

St. Patrick’s Day

March 17 is the day to honor the Patron Saint of Ireland, St. Patrick. On this day, people worldwide wear green, chase leprechauns and search for lucky four-leaf clovers. In your March newsletter daycare template, take time to explain the Irish people’s culture, heritage, art, food and music. Ireland has so many magical myths and entertaining folklore that children will love to hear about.

While adults like to turn their beer green for St. Patrick’s Day, a more appropriate option for daycares is to turn milk green. March daycare newsletter ideas could include other Irish-themed activities include making shamrocks out of green playdough, following a rainbow to find a pot of gold, and writing their limericks.

National Read Across America Day

The National Education Association (NEA) established National Read Across America Day and chose March 2 as the day to celebrate because it is the birthday of Dr. Seuss. In honor of the beloved children’s author, the annual event encourages children to read more books and get excited about reading.

In your March newsletter daycare template, invite parents to read to their children at home or take a trip to the local library. Consider hosting a Dr. Seuss-themed party with green eggs and ham for snacks and children dressed as their favorite characters.

National Women’s History Month

When it comes to March daycare newsletter ideas, an important topic to discuss is National Women’s History Month. This is an excellent opportunity to teach children about women’s important roles in history, from the civil rights movement to scientific discoveries.

In your March daycare bulletin, tell parents about ways to celebrate National Women’s History Month and activities they can do at home. Read books about historical female figures. Draw self-portraits in honor of Frida Kahlo. Write thank you letters to the strong women in their lives like Amelia Earhart, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Harriet Tubman, among the many women to highlight.

National Optimism Month

There is no better outlet to spread smiles and joy than your March newsletter daycare template, perfect for National Optimism Month. The benefits of being optimistic are more happiness, better emotional and physical health, less stress and tremendou success. Children who learn to look on the bright side of things can better handle unexpected changes as they grow and adapt.

You can teach the daycare kids about positive affirmations by saying nice things to one another. Ask them how they feel when they hear a compliment and when they give praise. Instilling optimism at a young age helps ease them into the complications of adulthood.

Looking for Newsletter Ideas for More Months?

Check out these free monthly newsletter guides to find ideas that will work for the rest of the year!

Preschool February Newsletter Sample, Template & Ideas

by Ben Keeney | Jun 24, 2022

The second month of the year means fun February preschool newsletter ideas! Even though they say “the shortest month is the sweetest” … we think the longest might be better. Maybe you agree?

If you need fresh email newsletter ideas, look no further. Take advantage of this list of exciting holidays and events and send your parents something delightful that will keep them engaged and excited for more. Keep in mind that there are a number of days throughout the year, some religious and some simply just significant, that are ripe for celebration.

Use a blend of inspiring ideas and tools for this blog to inspire you and use the preschool February newsletter sample list below for great ideas!

February Newsletter Made Easy – Use Free Templates

If you’re running a full-time daycare, putting together content for a February preschool newsletter can be daunting. That’s why you shouldn’t start from scratch. To save you time, we built a February newsletter preschool template. This template is editable and printable. All you need to do is remove the sample text after downloading and enter your own copy.

By using this free preschool February newsletter sample, you won’t have to spend time on design. You’ll also get ideas for what to write with our sample text. Download the
free template now!

Want a Free Daycare/Preschool Newsletter Template for Every Month?

Download our editable and printable templates for every month of the year at no cost!

Valentine’s Day

The celebration of love is honored on February 14th. In February, Valentine’s Day arrives, and love is in the air. But don’t forget about all the love and support your parents have given you throughout the year!
A fun way to grab the attention of parents is by featuring their children in your February newsletter for preschool with hearts and fun Valentine’s Day quotes – so cute!

Black History Month

Black History Month is a time to reflect on the impact of significant Black figures throughout history. The experience of the Black community will be embraced, and people will be able to celebrate in their culture. In your February preschool newsletter this month you could provide a list of Black nonprofits and educational resources to help support the Black community. We have pintables, lesson plans and an opportunity to link to Black business owners in your local area.

Etsy can be a go-to source for getting inspiration from and celebrating the Black creators to highlight in your preschool February newsletter sample.

National Library Lover’s Month

Daycares love libraries! This month, showcase just how much libraries mean to your daycare and your students. In your February preschool newsletter, you can highlight story time or the list of books you’ll be reading in class for the month.

Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year, or the Spring Festival, falls on February 1st and is the most important holiday celebrated by the Chinese. This year the festival falls on February 5th, beginning the year of the Dragon. The festivities continue into mid-February when it ends with Lantern Festival, in Chinese Xiang Qi Jie.

Wish everyone a joyful celebration by decorating your February preschool newsletter design with the vibrant colors of the Chinese New Year!

World Read Aloud Day

On February 3rd World Read Aloud Day is celebrated as a fun social media holiday. For your February preschool newsletter, have your students share a story or poem that they’re proud of and share a recording of a student reading it aloud to the parents.

President’s Day

We can’t forget about President’s Day that is always celebrated on Mondays. Every year the date will change for President’s Day, but for 2023 it will land on February 20th. For your February preschool newsletter, share interesting facts and tidbits about US presidents through history to parents on your newsletter.

National Bake for Family Fun Month

This fun event is all about getting families into their kitchens and baking for other families and your daycare staff. For your February preschool newsletter, you can announce an event for every family to bake their favorite treat and have the students share them amongst each other. In honor of National Bake for Family Fun Month, you could also share with parents in your newsletter delicious healthy recipes they can make as a family at home!
With Valentine’s Day, Chinese New Year, and President’s Day coming up next month, you have plenty of content ideas. Use a combination of authority and personality to craft compelling and interesting content.

Looking for Newsletter Ideas for More Months?

Check out these free monthly newsletter guides to find ideas that will work for the rest of the year!

January Newsletter for Preschool or Daycare: Example, Template & Ideas

by Ben Keeney | Jun 24, 2022

Whether your daycare is experienced in writing newsletters or you’re a beginner seeking ideas for your January newsletter preschool template, you can’t go wrong with this collection of valuable and fun January newsletter daycare ideas.

January is here, and that means the start of a new year. January is among the most productive months for an email newsletter, so you won’t be short of fun ideas to include in your January newsletter.

This guide will help you plan and put together your January newsletter preschool template. You’ll never run out of ideas again! Below are 9 great ideas to help you plan your January newsletter!

1. Don’t Start from Scratch – Use Free Templates

With all your responsibilities, finding time to create the perfect January newsletter can be tough. That’s why you shouldn’t start from scratch. To save you time, we built a January newsletter preschool template. This template is editable and printable. All you need to do is remove the sample text after downloading and enter your own copy.

By using this free January newsletter daycare template, you won’t have to spend time on design. You’ll also get ideas for what to write with our sample text. Download the free template now!

Want a Free Daycare/Preschool Newsletter Template for Every Month?

Download our editable and printable templates for every month of the year at no cost!

2. New Year’s Day (1 January 2022)

Welcome to the official first day of the year. It’s the first day of the 365 days of happiness that are in store for you this year.

January newsletter daycare ideas: Highlight your industry news, how much you have achieved with the kids and help prepare for the future. In your January newsletter preschool template, it’s a good idea to talk about what happened in the past year and what parents can expect in the year to come.

This is a good time to celebrate how far your daycare and the children have come. Maybe you can do student progress shoutouts.

3. Daycare Specials

The holidays have marched on, and this is a great time to offer specials or welcome parents that were previously on a waitlist in your newsletter. In your newsletter this could be one last call to reserve spots for an after-holiday sale, open house, etc.

January newsletter ideas for daycare: Offer a referral program special for parents who refer new families or a discount for new parents that sign up in the month of January.

4. National Hobby Month

January is a time to try out a new hobby. Nothing better than to introduce new games and activities to the children to kick off the year.

January newsletter daycare ideas: Introduce new activities and games you’ll be playing in school and how this will help the children’s development. You could also ask parents to block out time to play the same games with them at home!

5. Celebration of Life Week (1 – 7 January 2022)

This is a time to be grateful for the gifts in our lives. Whether you’re with your family, appreciating old friends or making new ones, sharing moments of friendship, doing what you love, having a laugh or a long conversation in good company-—this is the time to remember that life is about the people and experiences we create together.

January newsletter daycare ideas: The first survey block should highlight 5 things you appreciate about the receivers of the newsletter. The second survey block should allow others to contribute in a fun way. The idea behind this is that people prefer reading and writing positive things, not negatively.

6. Hunt for Happiness Week (16 – 22 January 2022)

The New Year may mean a fresh start for some (and school for others), which is exciting—but it also often means this time of the year can be a little bit meh.

January newsletter ideas for daycare: Include parent reviews with your delighted customers, sharing how their children are thriving and how your daycare has offered value to their lives.

7. Martin Luther King Jr. Day

On this day you can acknowledge the holiday in your newsletter and inform parents that you will be educating their children on the topic during class.

January newsletter daycare ideas: Add an inspiration quote with an image of Martin Luther King Jr. Show the importance of diversity in your daycare.

8. Get to Know Your Customers Day (January 20)

We should always consider the parents when running a daycare center. But, on Get to Know Your Customers Day we can do something extra special for our newsletter to show appreciation and that they’re valued.

January newsletter daycare ideas: Add an email survey in your newsletter to get to know your parents better. This helps parents feel as though their opinion matters. You can create surveys with platforms like Mailchimp.

9. National Have Fun at Workday (January 28)

Working in a daycare center, everyday should be fun! This is a fantastic opportunity to highlight behind-the-scenes photos in your newsletter of your employees having fun at work with the children.

January newsletter daycare ideas: Feature your team members doing group activities or participating in costume parties at work in your newsletter. Parents will love to see a positive working environment.

Looking for Newsletter Ideas for More Months?

Check out these free monthly newsletter guides to find ideas that will work for the rest of the year!

Daycare Newsletters for Parents: Templates, Samples, Ideas & Guide

by Ben Keeney | Jun 24, 2022

Whether you’re a school trying to get the word out, or a preschool looking to keep parents engaged, a daycare newsletter is one of the most cost-effective ways to stay connected with your community.

You can curate any content you like in your newsletter, but it’s important to remember that readers want a variety of content, not just promotional material. The most successful daycare newsletters for parents make every effort to strike a balance between selling and informational content. These kinds of newsletters are best if your goal is customer relationship retention.

In this article, we will take a deep dive into the benefits and different strategies for daycares to implement newsletters into their regime, along with some helpful childcare newsletter ideas.

• Why Should You Create Daycare Newsletters for Parents
• What Should be Included in a Daycare Newsletter
• Childcare Newsletter Ideas
• How to Distribute a Childcare Newsletter
• Free, Printable Daycare Newsletter Templates

Why Should You Create Daycare Newsletters for Parents

Monthly newsletters are an excellent way for you to stay in touch with parents far away. As a provider of high-quality, safe and secure child care services, you and your staff know that every moment outside of work is precious. That kind of sentiment is likely shared by at least some of your parents.

A newsletter is a great way to inform your parents about the most recent activities and events happening at your daycare. By sending them a weekly newsletter, you are staying connected to them and can create a positive relationship.

Newsletters contain a variety of content for parents to read, from upcoming event notifications to event calendars. They are an easy way for parents to see what’s going on around the daycare.

Here’s why you should start sending a newsletter out to your parents (hint: it can do wonders for your center!)

• Newsletters provide news on upcoming events, fundraising opportunities, and academic accomplishments.
• Newsletters can keep parents up to date on school news, classroom news and can even welcome new students to the school.
• Newsletters can inform parents about what their children are learning in school.

What Should be Included in a Daycare Newsletter

You should use a type of newsletter that works for you and your school. The best option is one that lets you send the newsletter on your own time, which is the best way to be sure that it is sent to everyone.

Here are all the components within a daycare newsletter that your center could incorporate into your awesome newsletter!

1. Pick a Platform. You can choose how you want to distribute your preschool newsletter. You can send out a printed copy or email it to all parents each day. The important thing is that you keep your preschoolers’ families informed and up to date with the latest happenings. If you’re choosing to send a newsletter via email, there’s an array of email services that offer templates and email list management.
2. Choose a Cadence. To be effective, make sure you’re keeping parents updated with news and information in your newsletter. Parents need updates but they don’t want to be bombarded with too much information at once. For young preschoolers, try one update a month. Older kids can handle more frequent updates. If you choose daily updates, you can opt into a platform where parents can create a portal, and you can easily communicate daily or even hourly.
3. Pinpoint Talking Points. Focus your daycare newsletter on a few key things. Include holidays or upcoming events, and then promote one or two of the most important aspects of your business. Always include a call to action at the bottom of your newsletter: check out our website; like us on Facebook; follow us on Twitter etc.
4. Proofread, Proofread, Proofread. Proofreading is a must. If you have resources, try to get multiple eyes on your newsletter before sending or handing out. Having multiple eyes on your newsletter will help catch grammatical errors and make sure you aren’t leaving anything out.
4. Be Consistent. 5.Set your default day of the week or month, if you don’t have one set already. Do this now, before your first newsletter. Call for feedback once a month for the first three months to test what works and to improve on it. Consistency is key!

Childcare Newsletter Ideas

Good communication is important with parents—which is why a newsletter can be helpful. Below, we’ve listed the top reasons why a daycare newsletter is essential, as well as how to create and distribute your own. A newsletter is a great way to stay connected with your parents, and can be used for all of the following purposes:

Request Reviews

Along with daycare newsletters, reviews are also important for the success of any business with a digital presence. They’re especially important for industries built on trust like child care as they help build your reputation and business.

You want to only ask for reviews in one specific way: by email. Email newsletters are the easiest way to reach parents and an effective way to ask for a review without being pushy.

The more you ask for reviews, the more likely parents are to leave you one. Make it easy for them. Mobile-friendliness is important for busy families. Make sure your emails look okay on small screens and the links you share are easy to click with a thumb.

The more you ask for reviews, the more likely parents are to leave you one. Make it easy for them. Mobile-friendliness is important for busy families. Make sure your emails look okay on small screens and the links you share are easy to click with a thumb.

For your daycare to start receiving reviews on Google, you first have to set up your Google My Business account. Here are the steps to get your daycare listed on Google:

1. Create a Google Business Account
2. Visit the Google Business Profile Gateway
3. Add your business name and category
4. Add your daycare’s location(s)
5. Add your business hours
6. Add contact details
7. Add photos
8. Verify your business

Learn how to receive reviews to Facebook:

1. Create a business Facebook account
2. Display The Reviews Tab on Your Facebook Page
3. Promote Your Page on Other Social Media Platforms
4. Send Email Invitations to review to new parents

Daycare News & Updates

Believe it or not, but parents want to hear about news and updates that are happening with your daycare. Use your daycare newsletter to share the latest information about your children: how much they’ve grown this week, what their best improvement is, and so on. The newsletter also helps them to feel involved in your daycare; it’s a great way for them to stay connected.

Seasonal Activities/Ideas/Information

A newsletter is a great place to announce any events you’re hosting like an open house, etc.

Also, every month there is a holiday or observance that is celebrated. During this time, you could remind your parents of those events with a newsletter thematically related to those events. For example, you could remind people to send good wishes on Valentine’s Day.

You can also use this type of newsletter to inform parents of changes in schedules and calendar updates.

Health and Wellness Topics

With what has been happening in recent years, staying on top of health and wellness is more important than ever. Keep your parents up to date with Health and Wellness by creating a Health and Wellness newsletter. The newsletter can be sent out quarterly and keeps parents informed about new policies, laws, grants, funding opportunities, and free resources.

Child Development Information

A child development monthly newsletter will help parents understand their child — why he does certain things at certain times, what they’re learning by doing them, and what you can do to help them develop

Each monthly issue could keep parents informed about what to expect at each stage of their child’s development, and how to deal with each month’s changes and challenges.

Learning objectives and lesson plans for the month

Put the finishing touches on your plans for the month by creating a daycare newsletter featuring the curriculum and its learning objectives. You can include a list of activities you propose for parents to complete with their children at home, based on the concepts you teach in class.

Allow people to respond and exchange ideas with other parents and learn how to support your child’s development. Teach parents about fun activities they can do with their children without leaving home.

You could also offer additional reading for parents to help get more involved in their child’s development. This can include links to articles you’ve enjoyed or think will be helpful.

Reminders for parents

In the always-dynamic world of communication, keeping parents informed is important. An editable newsletter is a great way to get that information out there and to have families engaged in your school year and send them updates and reminders.

Make sure parents have everything they need to make decisions for their family. Create a weekly newsletter that includes all the dates and details that are important for their family and planning. Send them quick instructions on how to sign up at the bottom of an email. You could also include calendar invites that they could add to their Google calendar as quick reminders.

How to insert Google calendar, Apple calendar & Outlook event invites into your daycare emails:

1. Create a new event
2. Set up all of your details in the invite
3. Save and send your invite to your list of parents
4. Include link in your newsletter

A menu for lunch or snacks

When it comes to our children’s health and happiness, it’s essential to serve nutritious foods that contribute to the well-being and healthy growth of young children.

If you’re serving meals in your daycare, it’s important to inform the parents on what you’re serving, do that by using a daycare newsletter!

A quick review of your school’s policies

One of the best things about newsletters is that they contain lots of information. The most common things included in a newsletter are school policies and procedures, special announcements, news, upcoming events, weather or holiday wishes, staff recognition, and birthdays (White). For example, if a student is running late to class, a parent can read the newsletter to know what time a student must be in their seat. When parents know school policies and procedures, they will be able to help their children follow the rules and be good students.

The link to your online payment portal

If you’re working with a daycare management platform, you can use your newsletter to guide parents to sign up and log into their portal.

These cohesive platforms are used to manage one or multi-site child care centers and they support better communication between staff and parents.

How to Distribute a Childcare Newsletter

There are different ways to build a daycare newsletter. Some send out postcards as kids are picked up. Some also mail physical newsletters directly to your home address. But one modern newsletter method growing in popularity is email. An email is a great way to reach parents who are already checking their email regularly.

If you’re looking to create a newsletter, there are many ways to do so. But first, it’s crucial you think about distribution as this will help you reach as many people as possible. They may not be able to receive digital newsletters.

You may also consider having copies printed. While this option may have an upfront cost, you are likely to reach a greater number of parents as they will be able to pick up a copy on their own time and at their own convenience.

Here are descriptions and examples of different ways to distribute your daycare newsletter.

Email

Let’s face it. An email newsletter is an excellent way to connect with parents and future families. Even if they have tons of emails to sort through every day and even if they don’t know who you are, the fact that your brand shows up in their inboxes on the regular is still an opportunity to be taken seriously.

Best practices for sending them through email.

Provide Value

Parents are busy. They don’t have time to sift through crowded inboxes to find important information. Make sure your newsletter content is beneficial to families.

Show some personality

People think about their future long before it becomes a reality. A newsletter does not have to be stuffy and boring. Bring your personality into the newsletters.

Keep it short:

Don’t make them hunt for it. And don’t bury your most important message at the bottom of the page on some other page where they have to scroll through all of your content.

Pay attention to your email newsletter design

A good layout of your newsletter will help get your message across.

Watch your email frequency and timing

If you send too many emails, your subscribers will stop opening them. If you send too few, they’ll forget about you.

How to Build an Email Newsletter

1. Prepare Your Email Newsletter Strategy

Before setting out to create a newsletter, you should define your objectives. Successful newsletters are goal-oriented, audience-specific, and support a larger marketing strategy.

2. Choose A Newsletter Software

There are several email software programs to choose from that will help you from ideation to building, to sending your daycare newsletter. Companies like Mailchimp, provide an array of template designs to choose from and help manage your contact lists.

3. Set up Your Newsletter Email Lists

With companies like Mailchimp, you’re able to download an excel sheet with all of your family contacts and enter it into their database. You are even able to organize your lists from contacts who have left, are present, or future families, to be able to send each category the proper messaging.

4. Create Your First Newsletter Campaign

Now this is where it gets fun. Choose a template that best represents your daycare and the content theme you are sending. Plugin your content and organize it accordingly!

5. Preview and Send a Test Email

We recommend adding yourself as a contact and sending your newsletter to yourself and different devices to see what it looks like before sending it to parents.

6. Send Your Newsletter

Once you’ve proofread your email, check your test sends and you’re ready to send to your parents!

Free, Printable Daycare Newsletter Templates

Another great option for distributing newsletters is the printed route. You’ll be able to physically hand these out to parents or keep them by the front so parents can pick them up at check-in.

• Pick a template design that best represents your daycare to use for all or most newsletters to keep your brand image consistent.
• Insert quality pictures (you’re able to incorporate your smartphone images).
• Make sure the template used is aesthetically pleasing. We recommend using free services to help with the design like Canva.
• Use color to attract the reader’s eye.
• Proofread, proofread, proofread.
• Print!

If you’re looking for free daycare newsletter templates, we have a dozen of them for you to choose from (one for each month). Simply download the templates and adjust the text to fit your needs!

The Key Differences Between Daycare vs Preschool

by Ben Keeney | Jun 8, 2022

Daycare, preschool, and child care are all terms for early education. But understanding the difference between them is just as important.

Finding a child care provider that provides what each family is looking for can be complex. There are different child care services, some more academic and others more social in nature. You might be wondering how the various programs and care options differ, including the services they offer and why they may or may not be regulated.

In this post, we’ll take a look at the practical meaning behind daycare vs. preschool and other child care program terms that you may encounter. We will examine the similarities and differences between daycare and preschool and what you can commonly expect from each type of program.

Child care is vital to society, and the laws must be well regulated. Daycare and preschool programs should also be in line with regulations. State regulators must license both daycare and preschool programs.

Preschools and daycares exist all over the country and have been around for decades. They are privately run by teachers, directors, and other employees in the education field. They offer various services, including meals, snacks, naps, outdoor play and learning activities.
All educators and teachers are trained to foster a child’s development. They provide a safe and nurturing environment, allowing your child to reach their full potential by graduating from kindergarten ready for formal schooling.

To help find which child care program is suitable for a family, they often have various names. Child care is the most common term covering most types of child care programs that serve kids before school age. Daycare or “nursery” is commonly used to refer to watching children while parents are at work.

The term preschool usually represents a center that focuses on academics and preparation for grade school. Preschools are best suited for toddlers.

Daycare centers, unlike preschool, are less structured, play-based programs without a set curriculum. Daycares focus on helping children socialized and learn important interaction developmental skills that will help them in preschool and onward.

What is Daycare?

While daycare is a simple term, it refers to a range of childcare options that help you when you’re at work. Whether you’re looking for a full-time center-based program, a part-time, in-home daycare, a Waldorf-focused preschool. The options are endless. With multiple options, it can be hard to find care that fits a particular family’s needs. But having that kind of choice is a great benefit to finding a high-quality child care program.

High-Quality Child Care

Good news! No matter what type of child care a family chooses, there’s evidence that high-quality child care helps kids succeed. Studies show children who attend quality daycare, participants were found to exhibit improved behavior, get along with their peers better, and were even stronger readers than other students when they got to grade school. Academic preschools produce strong readers and children who excel in math. And the social interaction children get in a daycare setting may help them become better communicators.

What makes a daycare high quality? Well, I’m so glad you asked. At Action Learning Center, our goal is to support the children’s social and emotional development to keep them safe and healthy while helping them reach their intellectual potential. We are also here to provide a nurturing environment that allows children to learn how to get along with other kids and learn the skills necessary for school success.

What is Preschool?

When you first think about preschool, it’s natural to wonder how it’s different from daycare. One of the most significant differences is philosophy: While daycare facilities are centered around care and nurturing, preschools focus on education.

As of 2001, more than half of three and four-year-olds were enrolled in preschool programs to prepare them for entrance into regular classroom settings. Especially with the rise of mothers working out of the home, childcare services have become a huge demand. Parents turn to preschools to give their children a head start academically while also socializing them with other children and keeping them busy.

Often childcare is known by other names like preschool, daycare, and nursery school. However, each of these programs varies widely in setting, format, and educational philosophy. To sum it up, preschool is an educational establishment where children enjoy the day-to-day benefits of learning and playing in a safe, friendly environment offered to children four to six years of age.

Preschool offers a learning space for childhood education to children before kindergarten. It may be publicly or privately operated and subsidized from public funds.

Educational child care resources

Now more than ever, we want to keep our children actively engaged in positive activities. There are many ways to help them experience beauty and fun and learn new things about our world. To give children the most to teach them excitingly, explore these resources.

Daycare vs Preschool: The Key Differences

Preschool and daycare are often confused among parents, but they have very different meanings. The biggest difference between the two is the age differences that attend both programs. Daycare programs range from six weeks and older, while preschool is for children from 2 through 5 years of age.

Preschool is typically in place to teach children pre-academic skills to prepare them for grade school. Daycare, focusing on younger children will focus on social skills.

Child care is a big decision, and parents always have questions about the differences between preschool and daycare. But there is one thing that both preschools and daycare facilities have in common–they are all licensed through the state. That being said, the pressure of finding the right program can be less daunting knowing that legitimate facilities are licensed. All childcare programs have their ups and downs, no days are ever smooth sailing when children are involved. That’s why it’s great that both daycare and preschool’s staff has to be trained and meet qualifications for every situation. Now, let’s focus on the differences between preschool vs daycare.

Age Difference

A difference between daycare and preschool is the age. Daycare is generally for infants and toddlers although some may offer after school programs for older kids. Daycare are suited for infants and toddlers, although some may offer after school programs for older kids. In a nutshell, daycare is a place where your children can play while you work. Naturally, the best daycares aren’t free and they admit limited numbers of children at a time.

There are several benefits to full-time daycare services. This can include more socialization, learning how to interact with each other and play well with others, and an overall education being provided by the staff.

The youngest students at most preschools are five years old, with some preschools accepting children as young as three. The curriculum stresses school readiness and social skills. Preschool focuses on getting the children ready for kindergarten and preparing them for a classroom setting.

Schedule

A quality daycare center should offer both full and part time options. You don’t have to worry about dropping your child off as early or late as they will be safe and secure while you are at work.

A significant difference is that most preschools don’t have as flexible hours like daycare. Many preschools have schedules that are seasonal, with time off for educators, holidays, and breaks. This can significantly affect working parents who rely on child care year-round. But get them in the habit of working around a traditional school schedule.

Working parents almost always need year-round care. Some elementary schools start with preschools that offer child care before and after school hours.

Caregiver Staff

The biggest factor you should consider is the child to teacher ratio and varies across the nation. Many parents are searching for a preschool that offers small class sizes and more individualized instruction. Smaller class sizes means each child receives more attention and develops the confidence they need to progress and excel.

By law, child care ratios vary based on a child’s age. For infants in a daycare center, the ratios range from 1:3 to 1:5, depending on your state and the number of children at the facility.

As your child gets older, the ratio of care providers to children will change, and the state laws generally permit a 1:12 child care ratio for ages 3-5, though some child care centers will operate with a lower ratio to provide children more personalized attention.
Children are in a mixed-age environment in a family or in-home style daycare and that will change the ratio. In-home daycare centers provide the flexibility of a private childcare environment. They are best for part-time and temporary care. An in-home caregiver watches up to ten children at a time, usually with no more than two infants.

Potty Breaks

Both in-home and childcare centers require a child to be potty trained once they are 3.

Realistically, a child won’t be potty trained by a certain date. Although you may have set expectations for your child’s milestone, it is typically developmentally inappropriate to do so. As a result of child care regulations, many facilities do not have changing stations. If a child is still in diapers, it may take some extra planning on the parent(s) part. And when since most preschools’ ratio is low, staff cannot provide the one-on-one attention each child needs. Since daycare typically serves children ages 0-3, daycare staff are expected to change diapers.

With the changing demands of potty training, many preschools simply cannot accommodate child diapers. Therefore, if you have a child who is hesitant to use the potty, consider this point when making your preschool selection decision.

Free Daycare Daily Schedule Samples, Templates & Guide

by Ben Keeney | Jun 2, 2022

Need help creating a daycare daily schedule? You’re not the only one.

Keeping up with the demands of a daycare center can be tough. Juggling a hundred things at once, manning the phones, attending open houses, handling bills and keeping parents’ best interests in mind. On top of the multiple hats directors may wear, adding daycare daily schedules to the task list can seem daunting. But creating a daily schedule is important in running a successful daycare center. Our daily schedule templates make it easy to manage the kids’ time while keeping everyone happy. If they know they have time to play, they can focus on knowing their responsibilities.

Not to mention, creating a daily schedule will help the children in every daycare to know what they have to do every day and even get used to it. This helps them become responsible and disciplined individuals which they can use in their growing years or when pursuing higher education.
If you want to save some time on creating a schedule, download one of our free daycare templates. We have a variety of themes and templates available. You can choose which works best for your daycare business.
Table of Contents:

• • Why You Need a Daycare Daily Schedule
  • Why Use a Daycare Schedule Template
    • Download Our Free Daycare Schedule Templates
  • Maintaining Regulation with a Daycare Daily Schedule
  • Free Sample Daycare Schedules for Inspiration
    • Indoor Daily Schedule (For Rainy Days or Cold Weather)
    • Outdoor Daily Schedule
    • General Daily Schedule
    • Sample Daycare Schedule for Toddlers
    • Daily Schedule for Infants
    • Daily Schedule for Preschoolers

• Tips for Creating Developmentally Appropriate Daily Schedules
• A Simple Trick Daycare Directors Use to Free Up Time

Why You Need a Daycare Daily Schedule

In preschool classrooms, the relationships between children and their teachers are of great importance. By keeping to a schedule, there is organization and order. This helps the children feel secure and comfortable. Most schedules give children choices, balanced and planned activities (small vs. large groups, quiet times vs. active times, teacher-directed vs. Child-directed), individualized activities, and the opportunity to play with peers. Other important reasons to have schedules are:

Maximizes Learning

Studies show that children learn differently than adults and have different daily needs than adults have. They need a flexible, balanced routine to maximize their learning through play.

Provide Comfort

Establishing consistency in daily routines with your child will greatly aid in their upbringing. This is because it helps them stay on task and lets them know that rules and expectations are not arbitrary but are required for their benefit.

Children thrive in the structure and consistency of routine. While some disruptions are inevitable, we have an extensive schedule to ensure that daily routines are not interrupted and that children remain happy and healthy.

Why Use a Daycare Schedule Template

It may be tempting to wing your daycare lessons plans, but it can be incredibly beneficial to schedule them in advance. Daycare daily schedules help you keep track of your activities and stay organized, giving you more time to focus on the things that matter. Here are a few reasons why they can be useful:

Preparation: By organizing a daycare activity schedule, you will spend less time running to the store for supplies and more time playing fun games.

Incorporating Key Learning: One key to preserving your sanity is making a daily plan that incorporates activities that cover the essential skill areas. For example, dramatic play enhances social skills, while finger painting promotes fine motor skill development.

Establish Consistency: Alignment with the routines of a preschool classroom can make your child’s transition into your center easier. Naps and meals should be scheduled at the same time every day.

Happier Families: Families adore getting a sneak peek at the day of their child’s class. If you post what is going on, they can be more involved in their child’s education… and you can save yourself from fielding frustrating calls from angry and exhausted parents.

Lower Employee Turnover Rate: It’s simple. Having a daily schedule at your daycare center will reduce staff turnover, increase job satisfaction and make it easier to follow the daily routine.

Download Our Free Daycare Schedule Template

Planning, building and designing a daycare daily schedule takes time, which you and your staff are short on. Avoid the stress of starting from scratch. Check out these daycare schedule templates our team built to simplify the task for you.

Maintaining Regulation with a Daycare Daily Schedule

Daycare regulations and licensing are a bit of a mystery for most owners and the parents who depend on them. But whether your center runs on program hours or operates as a family daycare, staying in compliance is critical to creating a safe and stable learning environment for children. By using a daycare schedule, you’re ensuring your center stays up to date on codes and licensing depending on the age group. An example is making sure enough supervised potty breaks are planned for children under 3 and making sure you have enough staff to supervise. Here are examples of how to plan ahead to make sure you’re hitting childcare regulations:

• Schedule 2 staff on site when 1 or more children are present
• Schedule at least 1 staff member to be present with 1st aid/CPR training at all operating hours.
• Schedule 1 staff member who is certified in administration of meds whenever a child is present who requires medicine
• Staffing ratios must be maintained at all times, including nap time.
• Maintain compliance with your local health department by planning snacks & meals ahead of time.
• Plan physical outdoor & indoor activities daily.
• Be sure to include emotional/social learning time.
• And many more need to be included in your daily schedule to maintain regulation.

Free Sample Daycare Schedules for Inspiration

Brainstorming daily schedules is a process, especially when you need one for a variety of situations. But don’t worry. Our team has built a half-dozen daycare daily schedule samples that will simplify the process, including a sample daycare schedule for toddlers.

Indoor Daily Schedule (For Rainy Days or Cold Weather)

Stormy weather doesn’t have to stop the fun. Even if your outdoor plans have been canceled, you can still find plenty of fun rainy-day activities to do at home.

When creating your daycare schedule, keep this list of what to do on a rainy day in your pocket for the next drizzly (or snowy) afternoon—it has plenty of inspiration, from relaxing self-care ideas to games to play with the kids.

Here are fun ways to keep the kids active on rainy days to incorporate in your daycare daily schedule.

Obstacle Course:

It’s raining outside! The kids are getting antsy. What do you do? Create an indoor obstacle course and get the little ones moving! Clear the furniture from the center of the room and lay down a big, thick blanket. Practice physical activities like running, hopping, jumping, flipping and crawling. This is a fun way to work on gross motor skills.

Freeze Dance or Musical Chairs:

The Freeze is the only dance move where the steps are simple-just freeze when the music stops and wait for the next song. Play a variety of music to keep things interesting and encourage everyone to add their own flare.

Scavenger Hunt:

Get the kids’ blood flowing and your mind thinking by creating a scavenger hunt. Grab a clipboard, a pen and get up on your hands and knees! Look around your daycare for items that represent the theme and make notes. Hunt for color combos, shapes or pattern match ups. This is a fun activity for any age!

Arts & Crafts:

Add some arts and crafts to your daycare daily schedule to keep their minds occupied. Use materials like craft sticks and buttons to create geometric shapes and bold patterns, or let their creativity go wild and let them create self-portraits with mixed media. Here’s a sample daycare schedule for rainy or cold weather days to get your creativity flowing.

Outdoor Daily Schedule

To provide optimal health for children, they should engage in physical activities for at least an hour a day. This should come from a combination of active play and organized sports. Playground time is also key for developing social skills like taking turns and conflict resolution.

For health and safety reasons, it’s also beneficial to take lessons outside. Outside time allows children to use what they’ve learned along with their natural curiosity, to explore their surroundings and make connections between what they are learning, how they feel and what they experience. Think about how you could do indoor activities outdoors and adding in an outdoor daily schedule. Check out our sample daycare schedule below for inspiration.

General Daily Schedule

This general daycare daily schedule template will help you create a routine that works best for your specific situation. A schedule is a great tool to help guide children through the day so they know what to expect and can prepare accordingly, helping them focus and remain calm.

Sample Daycare Schedule for Toddlers

During this time, the toddler is extremely outgoing and displays skills such as crawling, walking and climbing. The toddler is eager to share his or her newfound mobility with others.

It’s important to build a daycare daily schedule around giving the toddlers plenty of opportunities to build on their language and gross motor skills. Toddlers will benefit from more time to play with a group, rather than having individual activities. Your schedule should encourage interactions for the children to learn about cooperation. Here is a sample daycare schedule for toddlers that incorporates the activities you need for their development.

Daily Schedule for Infants

Creating a daycare daily schedule for infants (6 weeks to 18 months) is an important task so that these little ones can enjoy the best and most effective educational development. Infants can never get enough interaction – they’re always exploring the world around them! Active infants need plenty of exercise and sleep to grow healthy and strong.

Infants, like toddlers and preschoolers, are still growing in their social, emotional and physical development as they grow from six to twelve months. Knowing this, a daily schedule for infants should include a lot of flexibility regarding activities and entertainment. This will aid in the infant’s development.

While some infant care centers do not share daily schedules, it is important to have a general guideline. Certain rituals, like feedings and changings or routine activities, ensure your baby is growing and learning the way he or she should. Use this sample daycare schedule to get started.

Daily Schedule for Preschoolers

Daycare daily schedules for preschoolers can seem like a tall order. But, with a little effort and creativity, you can easily build one that provides the variety and consistency your child needs to grow and learn. Integrating fine motor and language/cognition learning into your daily daycare schedule ensures that future kindergarten students are ready for school.
When planning preschool schedules, include blocks that help your little ones adjust to classroom life and imaginative play. A three-year-old needs table-based activities and task support more than ever before. Here is a sample daycare schedule to help you get started.

Tips for Creating Developmentally Appropriate Daily Schedules

This daycare daily schedule is designed to allow each child to play and learn in their way. Every child’s schedule will be different, with nap times that might vary from day to day. You can create a schedule for any number of children in your care. The things you will need to create the schedule are a tape measure and the children’s names, ages, favorite toys and activities, and nap time preferences and locations. Below are tips on creating and implementing your daily director schedules.

Create a Consistent Routine

Daily routines help children know what to expect, which leads to fewer disruptive behaviors. Create a predictable everyday way that flows consistently. This lets your child focus on her play and learning.

Meet Individual Needs

We know that each child is unique and may have varying needs. In your daycare daily schedule, make all caregiving routines as natural and effortless as possible. Reserve regimented times or routine schedules for the big issues such as feeding and sleeping, not for every little thing.

Create Physical, Social, and Emotional Growth Experiences

You can support development in all areas during everyday interactions and activities. Consider an infant’s diaper change. A parent holding the child, talking to her gently, and making her smile, will help promote social-emotional growth and language development.

With a supportive and accepting environment such as this one, the child not only develops a sense of trust, but he will continue to flourish socially and emotionally.

Allow A lot of Freeplay

Young children thrive when they can direct their own play experiences. When left to their own devices, children can practice what they have observed and learned about their world, test new ideas, and build skills in all areas of development. A child’s play is unique because it is influenced by who she is as a person and her previous experiences.

For example, in a daycare with several toddlers, many like to be near the teacher while she sings. One child goes to the book corner while this happens, and she peeks over the shelves at the group. The child’s mother has said that, at home, her little girl sings all of the songs, but in daycare, she does not join the group until several months later, when she is ready.

Provide Time for Transitions

A schedule for infants and toddlers offers thoughtful transitions that support children’s development as they move from one area of focus to another. These transition times allow parents and caregivers to fit in quiet time, mealtime, outdoors, and talk time.

A Simple Trick Daycare Directors Use to Free Up Time

Building daycare daily schedules is just one of the many responsibilities directors and their staff own. With days packed to the brim, it helps to have a little assistance. That’s why hundreds of daycare directors have turned to Smartcare, the child care management software that simplifies all the tedious administration work to save you and your staff countless hours.

Take just a handful of minutes to see how easy it is to save time and reduce stress with Smartcare. Watch our online demo today!

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Leadership and Management in Childcare, a Free Guide | Vanco

by Adam Smith | Apr 11, 2022

Leadership and management are equally important in supporting and sustaining high standards in early childhood education and care settings and creating a stimulating environment for both staff and children. Leadership in childcare allows workers to deliver the best services, thereby positively impacting children’s learning development and well-being. Effective leadership and management in childcare also reduces absenteeism and staff turnover.

A leader can be anyone who can motivate and inspire those around them. They do not need a fancy job title, an essential degree from a prominent university, or a high rank in the military to be considered a good leader.

In this guide on leadership in childcare, we will cover the most critical aspects of leadership and management in early childhood education. We’ll explain what a leader is, why it’s so important, and how you can become the leader your center needs.

Why Leadership is Important in Early Childhood Education

Early learning professionals face challenges every day from children to career possibilities, there are plenty of difficulties that come with being an Early Childhood Education practitioner. Every staff member is invested in the young children they serve. Their skill and passion for their work provide quality care to children across our nation. Nevertheless, this work is complex and can be exhausting.

With all the trials childcare providers face today, being a solid leader becomes more important. We must never lose sight of goals to improve learning outcomes for children and rally the entire community to share in this goal.

Many childcare centers with a small staff stretched thin and wearing multiple hats do amazing things with the resources they have. And if you take a close look, you will see how they accomplish more because of strong leadership. Having strong leadership in childcare is incredibly important because exemplary leadership will instill confidence and help children solve problems creatively, work in a team, and work collaboratively.

The Difference Between Leadership and Management in Childcare

The difference between leadership and management in childcare is the degree of trust the followers or team members have in their leader. Management is based on control and authority, while leadership is based on influence and trust. Leadership lies in behavior, which is also known as “character.” A good leader leads by example, but the best leaders never stop growing. This is because great leaders aren’t about their skills; it is about how well they can influence others.

The main difference is that management is about organizing; it’s the glue that holds organizations together. Leadership is about inspiring others and directing the organization towards ambitious common goals.

Management tends to use rational thinking, planning, and execution to achieve specific work outcomes. Leadership tends toward the more emotional aspects of helping people perform optimally and is more closely tied to individual personality and authenticity. But when combined, leadership and management in childcare create an inspiring and well-organized program.

How to be a good leader in childcare

While there are many definitions of what a leader is, we believe that leadership goes beyond titles and positions. It is the sum of an individual or group’s ability to guide and facilitate others’ success through influence, communication, and a collection of important characteristics for strong leadership in childcare.
Being a strong, respected leader comes naturally to some, but others have to work hard to make it happen. Regardless of how easy it is for you, certain qualities can be taught and help you become a valuable leader in early childhood education, including:

Never Stop Growing

It is through learning that leaders are made, so it is crucial for the growth of individuals and their organizations. If a leader stop learning, it is likely that they will no longer be one in time.
Being a learner is about being open-minded. This means that you need to be able to accept new ideas and new experiences, even if they are drastically different from what you have been used to. These days, there is no shortage of ways to learn, so take advantage of whatever works best for you and the childcare program.

Inspire Others

Support others, encourage them, and empower them to achieve greatness. Showing your colleagues how important they are as part of a team will raise their performance and self-confidence.

Know That it’s a Journey, not a Destination

Improvements in your professional life happen over time. A one-day course won’t be enough to make you a better leader or improve your team’s skills. You need to commit to this for weeks, months, and/or years.

Have a Clear Vision

Make sure that you are getting regular feedback from your team, so you know where they’re at. Bringing them into a dialogue and making them feel part of the process will help you make the most out of your team.

Create a Positive Environment

By being empathetic to your colleagues and ensuring their workload doesn’t interfere with their happiness and stress levels at work, you’ll be able to create a productive working environment where enjoyment of work and the boss’s visions are shared between all.

Make People Feel Valued

Help your team to feel valued. Make sure your staff know when you’re available and how to reach you and show them praise when you can.

Leadership Styles in Childcare

Knowing your leadership style—influential, authoritative, or participative—may also remove the need for getting feedback. Each leadership in childcare style has its pitfalls, allowing you to remediate areas of improvement proactively. This is critical because some employees might hesitate to speak up, even in an anonymous survey.

Participative Leadership

The Participative leadership style works closely with the team; they remove the hierarchy without eliminating boundaries. This leader connects with each team member and makes decisions based on input from all sources. Until a project is complete, all employees have an equal say in its direction.

When you practice participative style leadership, you allow lower-level employees to make decisions and exercise the authority they’ll need to use wisely in future positions they might hold. This style also is known to lower staff turnover.

Everyone has an opinion, and the participative leader is willing to hear them and eager to listen to them. Unlike authoritative leaders, these leaders are chosen because they seek input.

Authoritative Leadership

Authoritative leadership is the inverse of participative leadership. In this leadership style, there is a defined hierarchy. A change in direction isn’t communicated to the employees until after the decision has been made.

An example of this could be when a manager changes directions in a project without consulting anyone — especially the employees who have spent hours working on the original project.

In truth, there are a lot of problems with authoritarian leadership. It leads to secrecy and mistrust, which can tear apart an organization. The best leaders establish communication and use their intellect to guide.

Laissez-Faire Leadership

The Laissez-Faire leadership style has an abundant amount of trust in its staff. This type of leadership is the “hands-off” approach that allows the team to set their own rules and make decisions.

An empowering leadership in childcare style, laissez-faire, encourages personal responsibility and creativity.

This leadership style is often seen in a young startup; for example, you might see a laissez-faire company founder who makes no significant office policies around work hours or deadlines.

Although the laissez-faire leadership method can empower employees by allowing them to work on their own, it can hinder company growth and limit their development.

Transformational Leadership

Transformational leadership in a company is constantly “adapting” to challenges and improving upon current conventions by setting and hitting goals. Employees might have a basic set of tasks and goals that they complete every week or month, but the leader constantly pushes them outside of their comfort zone.

Although there are standard ways to handle tasks, this leader constantly finds new ways of getting employees out of their comfort zone.

Although there are a lot of benefits to this style of leadership, managers with this style can risk losing sight of individual learning curves in each employee because they’re always looking at reports.

Mentor-Style Leadership

The leader is considered a mentor and coach to the team. Instead of focusing on subject-specific teaching, this type of leader identifies each person’s most vital skills and creates common goals for the team to accomplish.

This leader will create a team where everyone is valued for their unique skill set and personality. This team will work together to ensure that they all have the knowledge and communication skills to get work done.

Transactional Leadership

Transactional leadership in childcare is about creating and overseeing an efficient structure so that employees know what’s expected of them and how they will be rewarded. There is not much room for flexibility or creativity. The leader isn’t concerned with what motivates their workers; they want results.
Although this leadership style may produce results and hit goals, empathy is not as valued, leading to a higher turnover rate.

Leadership Skills That Are Critical for Childcare

To be an effective leader, you must set a strong example for others to follow. Those children watch your every move, so being a great leader will go a long way in the childcare industry. Although everyone’s different, most strong leaders will carry these set of skills:

Have a Vision

People will only embrace the change if they feel that it is being made for a good reason. To earn their trust, you need to have a clear vision of where your business is heading and why these improvements are necessary.

Build Relationships

The most effective leaders have a close relationship with each of their employees and take the time to get to know who they are and what is important to them.

Speaking directly to your employees’ hearts will show them you care about them as people and not just as cogs in a machine. And treating them like your friends is undoubtedly much more enjoyable than barking out orders at them. Plus, when you treat people with kindness, you’ll find they are more open to trusting you with the details of their lives, including their goals and milestones. And that can be an incredible help to a business owner who wants to learn what problems they can solve that is of genuine interest to their employees.

No matter your position or seniority level in your company, getting to know the people who work for you should be a priority.

Effective Ambiguity

Remember that what you say is just as important as how you say it. Whether you speak with your peers or a customer, it’s essential always to be yourself and never exaggerate.
Share key information in a format that will engage your team and ensure everyone parts the conversation with a clear understanding of expectations. If your team does not understand what you are trying to do or how this plan will help you achieve your end goal, it will be difficult for them to move forward.

A Great Listener

Because communication is a two-way street, it is important to make sure that your team feels heard. To facilitate this, we provide you with the opportunity to share your thoughts in a structured way. This will help identify any obstacles or concerns about the project and ensure that everyone gets on board for success.

Positive Mindset

You’ll need to set a positive tone and work environment to uplift your employees. Things have a way of trickling down an organization from the top. If there is uncertainty or resistance at the top, so too will it most likely appear at other levels in the hierarchy. This is why those in charge must be clear on what they want and how they want things done and help the rest of the organization see where this new direction is taking them.

Inspire

Leadership in childcare plays a significant role in business, and even in a childcare setting, the principles are the same: a leader needs to get their team excited about what’s to come and give them the confidence to get there.

Looking for More Time Saving Resources?

Planning, building and designing a daycare daily schedule takes time, which you and your staff are short on. Avoid the stress of starting from scratch. Check out these daycare schedule templates our team built to simplify the task for you. These schedules are printable and easily editable PDFs you can share with parents looking for greater insights on what their child’s day at your center looks like.