Health & Safety Handbook For Early Childhod Program

Health & Safety Handbook for Early Childhood Programs

The purpose of this assignment is to develop a health and safety handbook for use in urban early childhood programs that serve children and families from diverse cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds. The focus is on maintaining and promoting the well being of infants, toddlers, and young children through health, safety, physical, and nutrition education. The age/grade level will be one of your choosing from birth to grade 2.

NAEYC Standards Assessed Standard 1. Promoting Child Development and Learning (1a) Knowing and understanding the child’s characteristics and needs, from birth through age 8 (1c) Using developmental knowledge to create healthy, respectful, supportive, and challenging learning environments

Standard 2. Building Family and Community Relationships (2a) Knowing about and understanding diverse family and community characteristics (2b) Supporting and engaging families and communities through respectful, reciprocal relationships (2c) Involving families and communities in young children’s development and learning

Standard 5. Using Content Knowledge to Build Meaningful Curriculum (5a) Understanding content knowledge and resources in academic disciplines: language and literacy; the arts – music, creative movement, dance, drama, visual arts; mathematics; science, physical activity, physical education, health and safety; and social studies

Standard 6. Becoming a Professional (6b) Knowing about and upholding ethical standards and other early childhood professional guidelines (6e) Engaging in informed advocacy for children and the early childhood profession

Handbook Sections

Your completed handbook should include each of the following sections:

1. An introduction that describes the purpose of the handbook, including the specific age group targeted, and the importance of early childhood programs in promoting and maintaining the health and wellness of young children, especially for children living in urban settings and from diverse cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds. Be sure to use citations from assigned readings and resources to support the introduction in accordance with APA Style 6th edition. (Standard 1a)

2. An explanation of early childhood program policies and practices regarding: a. Children’s physical safety in the center/school; this includes building and classroom safety, fire safety, safety on the playground, and on field trips b. Children’s physical activity c. Children’s nutritional needs (Standard 6b)

3. A detailed list of 6-8 classroom-based learning experiences to maintain and promote children’s health, safety, nutrition, and physical activity. For each experience: a. Provide a rationale based on children’s development and learning at the selected age/grade level. (Standard 1a) b. Develop step-by-step instructions, including materials related to health, safety, nutrition, and physical activity content, procedures, and methods to assess children’s learning. (Standard 5a) c. Identify how it promotes healthy, respectful, supportive, and challenging learning environments for young children. (Standard 1c) d. Include references to class theory, readings, and resources, using citations in accordance with APA Style 6th edition.

4. A detailed list of 6-8 home-based activities that families can use to maintain and promote children’s safety and healthy eating practices. (Standards 2a, 2b, & 2c)

5. A detailed list and schedule of 5 health/safety-related events to be held at the center/school for families. Include a brief (1 paragraph) description of each event. (Standards 2a, 2b & 2c)

6. An annotated list of 10 age appropriate books and online resources for young children on health, safety, nutrition, and physical activity. (Standard 5a)

7. A directory of New York City services and resources (10 minimum) for families that address health, safety, nutrition, and physical activity. Be sure to include a description of the services, costs, and outreach to diverse, urban families. (Standard 2a & 2c)

8. A bibliography that lists the resources you used in preparing the handbook (you do not need to include listings from sections 6 and 7 if the complete information is already included). Be sure to follow APA Style format 6th edition.

9. A brief (1-2 pages) reflection describing what you learned from creating this handbook and two specific ways that you can advocate for young children’s health and safety as an early childhood educator. (Standard 6e)

2 Evaluation Rubric

NAEYC Standard Does Not Meet Meets Exceeds Expectations Expectations Expectations 1a. Knowing and Candidate demonstrates Candidate demonstrates Candidate demonstrates understanding the limited or no knowledge adequate knowledge of strong knowledge of child’s of children’s children’s characteristics children’s characteristics and characteristics and characteristics and needs; and needs by describing needs by richly describing needs, from birth no support is provided relevant background relevant background factors through age 8 using references. factors and age-specific and age-specific development; some development; strong support support is provided is provided through multiple through references. references. 1c. Using Candidate does not Candidate adequately Candidate explains in detail developmental explain how the explains how some of the how each classroom-based knowledge to create classroom-based classroom-based activity promotes healthy, healthy, respectful, activities promote activities promote respectful, supportive, and supportive, and healthy, respectful, healthy, respectful, challenging learning challenging learning supportive, and supportive, and environments; strong support environments challenging learning challenging learning is provided through multiple environments; no support environments; some references. is provided using support is provided references. through references. 2a. Knowing and Candidate does not Candidate adequately Candidate thoroughly understanding address the needs of addresses the needs of addresses the needs of diverse family and diverse, urban families in diverse, urban families in diverse, urban families in all community the home-based some of the home-based of the home-based activities, characteristics activities, schedule of activities, schedule of schedule of health/safety health/safety events, or health/safety events, and events, and directory of directory of resources. directory of resources. resources.

2b. Supporting and Candidate does not Candidate adequately Candidate thoroughly engaging families engage families; less engages families in engages families in highly and communities than 6 home-based respectful and reciprocal respectful and reciprocal through respectful, activities and less than 5 relationships through the relationships through the reciprocal health/safety events are inclusion at least 6 home- inclusion of 8 home-based relationships included. based activities and 5 activities and 5 or health/safety events. heath/safety events. 2c. Involving families Candidate does not Candidate adequately Candidate thoroughly and communities in include or includes less describes at least 6 home- describes 8 home-based young children’s than 6 home-based based activities and 5 activities and 5 health/safety development and activities and less than 5 health/safety events, and events, and includes a learning health/safety events that includes a directory of comprehensive directory of involve families. resources; some involve resources; all actively families. involve families.

3 5a. Understanding Candidate demonstrates Candidate demonstrates Candidate demonstrates content knowledge limited or no content adequate content strong content knowledge in and resources in knowledge in the knowledge in the the classroom-based academic disciplines: classroom-based activities classroom-based activities activities and books/online language and and books/online and books/online resources for children; literacy; the arts – resources for children; resources for children; includes 10 age appropriate music, creative includes less than 10 age includes 10 age books and online resources movement, dance, appropriate books and appropriate books and for young children on drama, visual arts; online resources for online resources for health, safety, nutrition, and mathematics; young children on health, young children on health, physical activity. science, physical safety, nutrition, and safety, nutrition, and activity, physical physical activity. physical activity. education, health and safety; and social studies 6b. Knowing about Candidate demonstrates Candidate demonstrates Candidate demonstrates and upholding limited or no knowledge adequate knowledge of strong knowledge of ethical ethical standards of ethical and ethical and professional and professional guidelines and other early professional guidelines guidelines regarding regarding children’s physical childhood regarding children’s children’s physical safety, safety, physical activity, and professional physical safety, physical physical activity, and nutritional needs in the guidelines activity, and nutritional nutritional needs in the detailed description of needs in the description of description of program program policies and program policies and policies and practices. practices. practices. 6e. Engaging in Candidate does not Candidate identifies at Candidate clearly identifies informed advocacy identify how to advocate least one way to advocate two ways to advocate for for children and the for young children’s for young children’s young children’s health and early childhood health and safety as an health and safety as an safety as an early childhood profession early childhood educator. early childhood educator. educator.