Essential Checklist of Must-Dos for Early Childhood Educators

Once you’ve earned that early childhood educator certification the work, and fun, have only just begun!

As a shaper of young minds and hearts, you have a keen responsibility to, not only assess student needs and create plans for their learning and development, but to ensure their program and days are designed to empower them to reach their full potential.

Whew. That can seem like a grand responsibility indeed.

But not to worry, beyond all the valuable knowledge and skills you gleaned from your ECE course/ECE program, we’ve got you covered. Here are highlights of what you need to consider, explore and implement into your days and years ahead, and your students, and their families, will be wowed by their progress and success.

Your Essential Checklist of Must-Dos to Empower Children for Holistic Success

1. Lay the Foundation for Social-Emotional Development

Progress and success of the whole child depends on our ability to encourage the cultivation of social-emotional awareness and skills. A child’s attitude, behaviour, and values relayed in thoughts, feelings and actions will influence their short and long-term success at school, home and in the community. To even begin to explore these fundamental areas, first an ECE must create an environment where a child feels genuinely cared for, secure and supported. With this there will then be trust and openness to learn about things like sharing, taking turns, expressing feelings appropriately, recognizing social cues and self-regulating.

2. Honour Diversity, Appreciate Uniqueness

Every child has precious gifts to offer, is beautiful for their unique nature and ways of learning, expressing, engaging and growing. The environment, curriculum, resources, interactions and activities all need to, consistently, represent and celebrate diversity, acknowledging our similarities and differences and the richness these offer to our human experience. Helping children to recognize and support one another as valued members of a community, will go a long way to empowering them throughout their lives. See and determine how to use each child’s special contributions to benefit the class and maximize learning for all and inject your enthusiasm for their individual interests all along the way.

3. Commit to Modeling the Way

Children are bright and intuitive, and your words and guidance are only as powerful as the actions you display. Don’t just tell them, show them. If you want to cultivate a sense of mindfulness in the classroom, emulate mindfulness as you move about your day. If you want children to understand restorative practices, model how to consider expectations, cultures and norms and how to express in an inclusive and respectful manner. Be aware of your own biases and ways of thinking and behaving and be conscious and vigilant in demonstrating consistently what you are looking to encourage in the children you care for. Children may do what you say, but they are perpetually watching what you do. Your ability to be an extraordinary ECE professional begins within. When you care for, consider and work on yourself, you will be better able to authentically serve others.

4. Design Programs and Process to Honour the Whole

Keeping close in mind points 1 – 3, when developing programs, you want to ensure they are considering and inclusive for all. Make sure resources truly reflect and represent the values and messages you want children to receive, that activities are relevant and appropriate for their skill levels and interests, appropriately challenging and stimulating. Children of all genders and cultures, with or without disability, must see themselves, their families, backgrounds and languages, meaningfully represented. Reflecting on the whole of your classroom and genuinely working to include each child in the process, activity and experience, will go a long way to driving your plans to reach the goals you set, and enhance the harmony you all will experience within every day.

5. Encourage Questions and Creative Play

Questions from children mean they are engaged in the moment, the material, the experience; celebrate each one! Questions can give you insight into a child’s thought process and may even open that wondrous door to a teachable moment. And as for asking questions? Make them open-ended ones, leaving “Yes”, “No” behind and encouraging them to think deeper, more creatively, with greater and greater detail as they learn and grow. Now add to that, play in all you do, make questions, answers, ideas fun in every way. Think outside the box about how to incorporate creative expression, art, drama, games, into all you long to instill and gain from connecting with your students. With an early childhood education diploma, you undoubtedly have ideas now to spare, but never stop expanding your resources and learning yourself. This way your days and life will too be filled with thrilling play!

6. Engage Families and Community All Along the Way

Your greatest resource is the family who knows, cares for, engages and loves those little ones you long to understand and influence. Involved parents enhance a child’s learning. Young parents may be looking for your guidance and strategies. Older and experienced parents may offer you the insight you need to best support that student in the classroom. Create systems for regular communication that includes your expectations, learning standards, what you’re encouraging and covering and how parents can contribute and help at home. And when it comes to supporting children through community, remembering that your behaviour is setting the tone for their expectations of self and others, get involved. Your involvement in community, considering and contributing, paves the way for tomorrow’s engaged citizens.
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As an ECE you have a wondrous, challenging, remarkable role to play in the life and development of a child. Ensuring that you explore more deeply each of the areas above and incorporate them into your research and routine will give you a soulful edge on educating, uplifting and encouraging the leaders of tomorrow. A student-centred classroom with an ECE who is consciously considering and creating from a place of passion with enthusiasm is the greatest give we can give our children. You should feel infinitely proud of the profession you’ve embarked on.

If you’ve not obtained your childhood education certification, and are still wondering if this path may be for you, you can take the “Anderson College Early Childhood Educator Career Training Readiness Quiz”.

Or if you’re ready to leap into learning yourself, our team is here to help you navigate every step of the exciting way in Early Childhood Education. Book a virtual appointment with our admissions team today!

Quick Links to Fuel Your Success!

We want to make sure you have what you need to succeed! Check out these reference links:

• Early Childhood Education – Anderson College diploma program
• ECE Shortages + Gov Support = Your Next Thriving Career
• 7 Powerful Reasons to Become an Early Childhood Educator
• Your Guide to Early Childhood Education Career Options
• Media Release – “Anderson College Launches Early Childhood Educator Program – Addressing a Dire Need for Qualified Professionals”