The Wild Things Love Finger Foods! As with any PIC class, a lot of eating goes on in the Wild Things room. The infants make a fuss when it is time for a bottle. The toddlers know when it is snack time and are eager to wash their hands and sit down at the table. The more precocious ones even climb...

In preparation of our biannual Keystone STARS validation visit this month, PIC teachers have made some exciting changes to their classrooms. Keystone STARS is a state-funded quality assurance program for child care centers throughout Pennsylvania. The program assigns stars based on increasingly...

Outdoors All Year! As adults, we often see the work required of us in colder weather: the hats, coats, scarves, and mittens to name a few. For all the extra trouble though, teachers always wish for snow because of how stimulating it is for young children. As teachers, we know from experience that...

Having Expectations in Common Stated expectations are a common thread between PIC classrooms. In the Grasshopper classroom, we call these expectations our “classroom practices.” We chose this language to foster a sense of community, and our hope is that everyone—children, teachers and parents—will...

The Afterschool Winter Gala During December, the four After School classes joined together to put on the annual Winter Gala for friends and family. It was a great success, featuring a variety of performances that showed the breadth of talents active in PIC’s After School program. From singing to...

Sensory Exploration and Discovery The Doodlebugs have been busy exploring sensory play with new and familiar materials. This type of exploration helps children discover various textures, tastes, smells and objects. One of our favorite experiences is using spoons to scoop wet oatmeal and fill nesting...

Conversation Starters As parents it is natural to want to know as much as possible about your child’s day at school. But sometimes it can feel like pulling teeth to get a couple of words about your child’s day! Getting children to talk about school is often harder than simply asking “how was your...

Understanding the Biter Recently, Moonbeam teacher Shayla Felton-Dorsey attended the 2013 NAEYC (National Association for the Education of Young Children) Conference and Expo in Washington, D.C. One of the trainings she attended was on biting as a developmentally appropriate behavior for infants and...

Never Too Young to Read Lately, the infants in the Caterpillar Room have shown great interest in reading books and looking at pictures. The older children in the classroom can go over to the book corner and get a book of their choice. They will sit and turn the pages and make different sounds like...

Encouraging Young Engineers I’ve been thinking and writing a lot about STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education as part of the Early Childhood Education degree that I am pursuing at Temple University. In particular, I’ve been addressing the underrepresentation of women and ethnic...