Home Center managementBack-to-School: Preparing to welcome new families to your center

Back-to-School: Preparing to welcome new families to your center

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In this webinar we were welcomed by Jackie Tom and Jovanna Sinanan, Registered Early Childhood Educators, previous childcare directors and now ECE community experts at HiMama! In this “ask an expert” session, we will discussed all things back-to-school and how to prepare your center for welcoming new families. We will asked experts questions such as “How do you prepare your classrooms for new children?” and “How do you put new parents at ease on their first day?”. Join us to get all your burning questions answered and make sure your center set up for success this back-to-school season!

Our Special Guests:

Jackie Tom – Registered Early Childhood Educator, Lillio

I have been a RECE for 20 years. I spent 15 of those years as a Director/Area Director. I mainly worked in the Corporate Childcare Sector and was able to help open and grow new locations in North America. I also did some Independent Childcare Consulting and opened a brand new childcare centre here in Toronto during the pandemic. I am now working in a new field as a Customer Success Manager for Lillio and very grateful that I am still able to help and support the ECE industry on a daily basis.

Jovanna Sinanan – Registered Early Childhood Educator, Lillio

Jovanna joined Lillio in December of 2021. Before Lillio, Jovanna was a Center Director at BrightPath, a large multi-center childcare organization, and has been in the ECE field for over 7 years. Jovanna is passionate about Early Childhood Education and how we, as educators, can make a difference in children’s lives. Her philosophy is to extend learning beyond the walls of a classroom. This means working and advocating for teachers and families to create an environment that stimulates and engages children based on their unique learning needs.

Key Learning Outcomes from the Jackie and Jovanna!

Start prepping as soon as possible. Get in touch with your families and collect as much info about the child as you can – likes, dislikes, ever been away from parents before, how they like to be soothed and comforted, etc.
Prep cubbies and send out lists of things to bring in gradually before official start date. Set up gradual intake if you can.
Give the family an opportunity to call and ask questions!
First days are often harder for parents than it is for the children. Some parents may need a little more support and patience at drop off especially first-time parents dropping off an infant. It’s important to remind them that if their little one sees them upset or nervous they will also mirror the behaviour.
Send regular check-ins on the first day this could be a call during nap or sending pictures and videos throughout the day. Also, remember to set the president with families that they’ll be receiving more updates than normal because it’s the first day. But going forward they will receive their updates at the end of the day or whatever works for your classroom.

Resources

[Website] – Lillio
[Blog] – How to put new parents at ease on the first day of school
[Blog] – Running a high-quality childcare center in 2023: Partnering with HiMama at Atelier Kids

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Running a Child Care Centre is Hard…

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Maddie is a Registered Early Childhood Educator with a Master's in Early Childhood Studies. Her specialty is in Children's Rights and she is currently a Content Strategist for HiMama!

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