Journal 2

        In the childcare business, I frequently interact with many different individuals.  Parents, grandparents, guardians, children, colleagues, state workers, delivery personnel, corporate, superiors, are just a few.  It is important for me to always try and be professional when dealing with others. This demonstrates that I take my job seriously and am dedicated to my position.

        In a situation with biting, I always think it is important to let the parent know that the child who did the biting had to acknowledge that biting was/is not the acceptable way to handle whatever the problem was. I also believe that parents of the "victim" appreciate when the parents of the "biter" are notified.  We adhere to a biting policy that is a written policy which states that once biting becomes an issue with a child, steps are taken to try and get the behavior controlled. This lets parents know that biting can be a serious issue if not taken care of properly.

        I visualize my business as a high quality, educational facility that offers the best to my students, teachers, and families.  I consider myself an affordable childcare center. I do not have the cheapest rates, but the care and educational opportunities that are offered are far above average.  My staff is qualified and competent and adhere closely to all state and national guidelines.  Although academics are a priority in my facility, we also recognize the importance of learning through play. We offer a mixture of hands on learning through games, songs, activities, and other stimulating opportunities.  We provide a curriculum for teachers to use which we put together from our knowledge of early education and other websites and development books.  We do however encourage teachers to implement their own ideas and activites. Teachers submit lesson plans each week and they are able to implement their own ideas pending approval from their supervisor.  The strengths of my center are professionalism, dedication to families and children, and knowledge of childrens development.  I believe that the facility could improve on our communication between staff, and sharing ideas between classes. I believe everyone should be a team player and help each other out.