ESTABLISHING GOALS FOR YOUR PROGRAM
Establishing goals for your childcare program can be beneficial for you and the children in your care. One of the best aspects of family childcare is that each home is unique. That is because each family childcare provider is an individual. You each structure your business to meet your needs, which include accommodating your family members. Your program will reflect your personality.
It also reflects your vision of how you would like to see your program run. All these things are important to you and your program. However, there is one more important aspect of your program. A good program reflects not only your own personality, but the developmental needs of each individual child enrolled.
Establishing a goal will enable you to structure your program in a way that will benefit each child. Think about what you would like to accomplish with the children.
For example: Your goal may be that you would like each preschooler to be self-sufficient or school ready.
When you establish your program’s goal, it becomes easier for you to create a daily schedule of activities that allows individual children to meet and benefit from your curriculum. Your activities, books you read to the children, games, and daily routine would all reflect your goal.
Your environment has to be taken into consideration when you structure your program. Take inventory of your environment. Ask yourself is it designed to meet the needs of the children in your program? What is in your environment that will facilitate the children in reaching your goals.
For example: if your goal is self-sufficiency, are their areas where the children are responsible to store their coats, shoes and backpacks? Are they given responsibility to put their belongings in their appropriate place?
When setting goals, periodically assess how well you are meeting your goals. Are the children making progress in attaining the skills you have set out for them? Make sure the goals you set are attainable. Think about the age of the children in your care when you set your goals. Your program will change many times over the years. You may start with infants and toddlers and as they grow your program changes to a preschool program.
For example: if your program consisted of toddlers and infants, a school readiness goal may not be attainable for the children at this time. You may want to set a goal that helps the children feel safe and secure away from their parents.
There is another benefit of setting goals. Goals will help you to successfully market your program. When perspective parents come for an interview, you can explain your goals for their child and how your program’s curriculum works toward assisting their child meet the goals. This give perspective parents a sense of who you are and what your program has to offer their child.
When setting goals for your program, here are areas where you can develop goals:
• Social emotional - This includes sharing, getting along with others, kindness, taking turns, building confidence
• Physical skills – this includes small and large motor skills
• Communication - This includes conversational skills, listening, speaking, tone of voice.
• Discovery – This includes learning about the world around them, sensory activities, nature walks, hands on exploration
• Expression – This includes music, roll play, art, dress up, movement
Well established goals will help you when creating activities, selecting books, games, and toys.