Wednesday Words- ECERS

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Wednesday Words

We will look at the words that define us. 

First let me apologize.  I know it is Thursday and I am just now posting for Wednesday.  We had our Kindergarten graduation today so I was at school late setting up.  Like 10:30 pm late.  It was worth it!  Everything turned out beautifully! Now onto the regularly scheduled programming...

Today we are looking at another acronym, ECERS.  Have you heard of ECERS before? I hadn't heard about it until I started working in an early childcare setting and a coworker introduced it to me. 
 
ECERS stands for the "Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale."  The University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute lists the major needs that a childcare setting must provide for as:

  • Protection of their health and safety
  • Building positive relationships
  • Opportunities for stimulation and learning from experience 
    • Source
     
    The idea with ECERs is you use the scale to ensure quality based on researched practices.  When simply looking at the rating scales it can seem a little like Kilngon (I already warned you I am a nerd). The rating book looks like this:
     
    
    Luckily, since the scale can be confusing they have created a book to help you translate. The "All About ECERS" book even has colored photos to really illustrate what they mean when they are describing centers.  Super helpful! 
    Since the "All About ECERS" book is over $100, I would suggest finding a friend, colleague or teacher soul mate to buy the book with to save you some money.

    Do you use ECERS at your school?  Are you a fan?

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