oung children rejoice from spending time outdoors any given day. Playtime also provides important physical, mental and social development opportunities for young children. Summertime lets kids be outside where they can absorb new skills, discover new activities and learn about safety rules. Safety may not sound fun, but it is necessary for all early childhood educators to teach because they are responsible for the well-being of all children under their care.
Teaching young children about safety requires reinforcement and repetition of clear and consistent rules – especially in an early education environment. Early childhood educators must account for children of different ages, abilities, and outdoor distractions. To help make a walk, field trip, or even a water activity in your backyard safer for little ones, follow these three guidelines.
The Basics (e.g. going for a neighborhood walk or just playing in the front or backyard)
• Hold on to a child’s hand when crossing the street.
• Walk on sidewalks. If there is no sidewalk, walk on the left, facing traffic, while holding the child’s hand. The adult should walk on the side closest to the road.
• When crossing a street, look for the pedestrian crosswalk. Look both ways (left, right, and left – in the U.S.) again before crossing the street.
With a Group (e.g. fieldtrip or walking with a group
• Make sure that each child wears a tag with the name of your setting and phone number on it.
• Carry a list of the names of all the children you are supervising and their emergency contact information.
• Maintain required adult-child ratios for optimum supervision.
• Bring a cell phone and a first-aid kit. Note: you may need other items depending on your activities.
• Practice traffic safety rules with children ahead of time. Tip: Games such as “red light, green light” help young children become aware of traffic lights and safety measures.
Pedestrian safety gives children the basic guidelines they will use throughout the rest of their lives, even when they aren’t at a child care program. Share your guidelines with their families. That will help parents reinforce these rules so kids become more mindful of others, better aware of their surroundings, and look out for one another when in a group.
• Children’s feet should reach the ground for riding toys without pedals. A tricycle is the right size for a child if he or she can reach the foot pedals.
• Children should use only riding toys in good repair with seats, handlebars, and wheels firmly attached.
• Children should only ride on flat, hard surfaces, such as designated tracks or blacktops; and, they need to be taught to recognize and obey traffic safety signs.
• Children must wear helmets and have them securely on before riding.
• Bumping other drivers or bike riders should not be permitted.
Riding toys allow children to use their gross motor skills and muscle control when stopping and starting, turning, backing up, and going fast or slow. It even helps them to differentiate a dangerous situation (falling if going too fast) from a safe one (going a moderate speed and being able to stop), and also teaches them to take turns and share the riding toys with other children.
• Do not leave children unattended around any water activities e.g. water table, tub, or wading pool.
• Stay dry by wearing smocks when playing with water.
• Prepare water activity near a water source and on washable flooring (if playing in non-grass area).
• Play with only a few props at a time in a water table, tub, or wading pool.
• Avoid splashing. • Wipe or mop any floors spills immediately (if playing in non-grass area).
• Put away any water toys and props when finished using them.
Water and sand tables are great for children to express their feelings and calm themselves. You can use this activity to teach simple math and geometry skills such as patterning, volume, and shape as they make sand constructions and pour water.
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Elisa Shepherd is the Vice President of Strategic Alliances at the Council, where she leads initiatives to advance the Council’s mission and strategic plan through designing, managing, and executing a comprehensive stakeholder relationship strategy.
With over 25 years of experience in early childhood education (ECE), Elisa has dedicated her career to developing impactful programs, professional development opportunities, and public policies that support working families, young children, and ECE staff. Before joining the Council, Elisa held numerous roles within the childcare industry. Most recently, she served as Associate Vice President at The Learning Experience and as Senior Manager at KinderCare Education, where she influenced government affairs and public policies across 40 states.
Elisa’s commitment to leadership is reflected in her external roles on the Early Care and Education Consortium Board of Directors, the Florida Chamber Foundation Board of Trustees, and as the DEI Caucus Leader for KinderCare Education. She has been recognized as an Emerging Leader in Early Childhood by Childcare Exchange’s Leadership Initiative.
Elisa earned a Bachelor of Science in Psychology with a focus on child development from Pennsylvania State University in State College, PA.
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In Janie’s prior role, she was the Vice President of Administration at Equal Justice Works, where she was responsible for leading human resources, financial operations, facilities management, and information technology. She was also accountable for developing and implementing Equal Justice Works Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion strategy focused on attracting diverse, mission-oriented talent and creating an inclusive and equitable workplace environment. With more than fifteen years of private, federal, and not-for-profit experience, Janie is known for her intuitive skill in administration management, human resources management, designing and leading complex system change, diversity and inclusion, and social justice reform efforts.
Before joining Equal Justice Works, Janie was the Vice President of Human Resources and Chief Diversity Officer for Global Communities, where she was responsible for the design, implementation, and management of integrated HR and diversity strategies. Her work impacted employees in over twenty-two countries. She was responsible for the effective management of different cultural, legal, regulatory, and economic systems for both domestic and international employees. Prior to Global Communities, Janie enjoyed a ten-year career with the federal government. As a member of the Senior Executive Service, she held key strategic human resources positions with multiple cabinet-level agencies and served as an advisor and senior coach to leaders across the federal sector. In these roles, she received recognition from management, industry publications, peers, and staff for driving the creation and execution of programs that created an engaged and productive workforce.
Janie began her career with Verizon Communications (formerly Bell Atlantic), where she held numerous roles of increasing responsibility, where she directed a diversity program that resulted in significant improvement in diversity profile measures. Janie was also a faculty member for the company’s Black Managers Workshop, a training program designed to provide managers of color with the skills needed to overcome barriers to their success that were encountered because of race. She initiated a company-wide effort to establish team-based systems and structures to impact corporate bottom line results which was recognized by the Department of Labor. Janie was one of the first African American women to be featured on the cover of Human Resources Executive magazine.
Janie received her M.A. in Organization Development from American University. She holds numerous professional development certificates in Human Capital Management and Change Management, including a Diversity and Inclusion in Human Resources certificate from Cornell University. She completed the year-long Maryland Equity and Inclusion Leadership Program sponsored by The Schaefer Center for Public Policy and The Maryland Commission on Civil Rights. She is a trained mediator and Certified Professional Coach. She is a graduate of Leadership America, former board chair of the NTL Institute and currently co-steward of the organization’s social justice community of practice, and a member of The Society for Human Resource Management. Additionally, Janie is the Board Chairperson for the Special Education Citizens Advisory Council for Prince Georges County where she is active in developing partnerships that facilitate discussion between parents, families, educators, community leaders, and the PG County school administration to enhance services for students with disabilities which is her passion. She and her husband Randolph reside in Fort Washington Maryland.
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