The Collaboration for
Early Childhood Care and Education
Projects - The Dialogues Project
In an effort to create an integrated web of support for young children and their families, the Collaboration for Early Childhood Care and Education initiated a series of grant supported dialogues, which will help forge stronger relationships between early child care providers, including the elementary schools and their feeder programs. We believe that this process will lead to increased program quality, including enriched learning environments that effectively support the development of children as unique individuals.
The Collaboration for Early Childhood Care and Education is completing the first year of its Kindergarten Dialogues Project, consisting of a series of dialogues between early childhood care and education providers and teachers in Oak Park. Participants include family care providers, directors and staff from for-profit and not-for profit childcare centers, preschool directors and teachers, public and private school kindergarten teachers, and early childhood educators from local colleges and universities. The Dialogues Project has a planning committee whose members are the Convenor of the Collaboration, director of an outstanding Oak Park nursery school, the past president of the West Suburban Home Day Care Association, the Director of District 97’s Preschool Kindergarten Program (a Golden Apple winner) and three outstanding kindergarten teachers.
Following are the goals of the Dialogues:
•
Identify key predispositions for learning among young children;
Identify key predispositions for learning among young children;•Foster the adoption of practices and approaches which are most likely to support
Foster the adoption of practices and approaches which are most likely to support these predispositions within early childhood settings;
•Create and institutionalize a forum for communication between all early childhood care and education providers, including those in home-based, center-based and
Create and institutionalize a forum for communication between all early childhood care and education providers, including those in home-based, center-based and school based settings;
•Increase parental knowledge about what best practices to look for in early care
Increase parental knowledge about what best practices to look for in early care and education settings.
The Dialogues will generate the following products:
•A written set of predispositions for learning and best practices that support them. These will be widely distributed to early care and education providers and
A written set of predispositions for learning and best practices that support them. These will be widely distributed to early care and education providers and human service organizations.
•A set of key messages and tools that can be used to educate parents, providers
A set of key messages and tools that can be used to educate parents, providers and the public about key learning predispositions and best practices for early
care and education.
•Identification of key training needs for early care providers and educators to
Identification of key training needs for early care providers and educators to support the implementation of agreed upon best practices.
•Design of a forum to continue the Dialogues.
Design of a forum to continue the Dialogues.•Activities to ease the transition for very young children into formal elementary
Activities to ease the transition for very young children into formal elementary school settings.
In February of 2004, a plenary session for Oak Park early child care providers was held to build excitement about and commitment to the Dialogues Project. Keynote speaker Judith Harris Helm addressed the critical importance of the early childhood field and its practitioners. Discussion focused on the key endeavor of supporting children’s development of pre-dispositions for learning. The general body identified five priority areas that required in-depth analysis and discussion. These were:
Children as Social BeingsChildren as Active Thinkers, Learners and ExplorersHabits of the MindHabits of the Heart: Emotional DevelopmentThe Physical Matters: Children as Physical BeingsFollowing the symposium, the participants broke into five small groups to address the identified priority areas and met a minimum of 3 times, throughout the spring and summer of 2004. During these meetings the participants:
1)Defined their objectives for the priority areas;
Defined their objectives for the priority areas; 2)Reviewed and discussed relevant research;
Reviewed and discussed relevant research; 3)Reached agreement around key concepts and practices they believe should be
Reached agreement around key concepts and practices they believe should be embraced by all early childhood practitioners in Oak Park;
On February 5, 2005, the final meeting in this component of the project will model a “constitutional convention”. This symposium will be held at Oak Park’s 19th Century Club and will feature Bev Bos as the keynote speaker. The small groups’ recommendations, in the form of a flip book and a poster, will be presented. The flipbook will be immediately distributed to the participants. The poster, demonstrating the principles learned through interaction between a child and an adult, will be distributed immediately to the convention’s participants, and, later, throughout the wider community of Oak Park.
Future activities in the Dialogues Project include:
oThe development of a set of key messages and tools that can be used to
The development of a set of key messages and tools that can be used to educate parents, providers and the public about learning predispositions and
best practices for early care and education.
oIdentification of key training needs for early care providers and educators to
Identification of key training needs for early care providers and educators to support the implementation of agreed upon best practices.
oDesign of a forum to continue the Dialogues.
Design of a forum to continue the Dialogues.oActivities to ease the transition for very young children into formal elementary
Activities to ease the transition for very young children into formal elementary school settings.
The Collaboration for Early Childhood Care and Education
320 Lake Street, Oak Park, IL 60302
Phone: 708-613-6122 Fax: 708-434-1259 info@collab4kids.org
