About the Early Childhood Solutions Link

WHY / WHAT / HOW

Why the Early Childhood Solutions Link Bulletin Board?

When Early Childhood educators enhance their use of best practices, more children with special needs will succeed in school.
Early Childhood educators have more opportunities to share best practices with each other. Sharing success stories, solving problems, providing ongoing advice can go far to promote best practices in early childhood education.
The Early Childhood Solutions Link Bulletin Board provides a ready source of advice and information about real-life problems and solutions interactively, so that educators can pool their collective experiences with children.

What is the Early Childhood Solutions Link Bulletin Board?

A collection of ideas on successful early childhood education best practices that every user contributes to.
A messaging tool for early childhood educators to ask questions about problems, issues, or concerns they have in educating young children.
A place for suggestions, advice and results provided in response to inquiries.
A library for your posted ideas, problems and results, organized according to types of best practices or by key words.

How Do I Use The Early Childhood Solutions Link?

Review the Library containing chains of ideas, questions, or results.
Enter an Idea by contributing your notes or ideas on a teaching technique, strategy, or submit an illustrative story of something that's has been successful with your students.
Post a Question about an early childhood problem, to find out about, or get advice on an early childhood service, available curricula, or to present a concern you have about a child.
Offer Advice or a solution to a question, or make a suggestion based on techniques or strategies that have been successful for you.
Post Results by noting what happened after using the advice. Let others know what worked, what didn’t work. Your note may be based on suggestions offered via our web site, email or other help.

NOTE: PLEASE PROTECT CONFIDENTIALITY BY CHANGING REAL NAMES OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES IN ALL ENTRIES.

ORGANIZATION / SAMPLES / HOWTO

How Is The Early Childhood Solutions Link Bulletin Board Organized?

The Library: is a collection of the early childhood problems, questions, advice, Techniques, results and ideas that you and others, have given us. You may search the Library by selecting

the Category Menu, a "pull down" menu of best practice category options,
Message Type,
Subject,
Author, or
Message Content, with entry of a key word or phrase.

Each Question is automatically linked with the matching Advice and Results.

Entry space on the Early Childhood Solutions Link Bulletin Board is limited, so please keep descriptions brief. You may give more detail via personal email exchanges if the inquirer makes a contact seeking further information, but “cc” us at tqoweb@u.washington.edu too.

Ideas are a way to share information with others. This is a place to exchange information and learn about the different ways in which early childhood education can be provided. They should briefly capture an interesting or unique image regarding a child, his or her parents, a class or home activity or media materials. We hope that you will add to the ideas and be inspired by the information gained from these ideas.

Questions are a way to get help or advice from others. It can be something you would like to improve, a concern you have about a student, or a follow-up to your internship.

Advice allows you to offer possible solutions to someone’s question. If there is a Question on the current listings that you have some experience with, make a suggestion based on your experience or ideas you have about it.

Results are where you share what happened. Locate your original question in the Current Postings or in the Library and briefly describe what happened when you tried some of the suggestions. Be sure to cite any new or additional problems you found, as well your successes.

Click here to See Sample Entries To The Early Childhood Solutions Link Bulletin Board
Click here to Review "How-to" Instructions to Access and Post on The Early Childhood Solutions Link Bulletin Board
Go Directly to The Early Childhood Solutions Link Bulletin Board

Sample Entries for the Early Childhood Solutions Link

Sample Idea:

Submitted By: Esmerelda on Thu Feb 21 15:20:07 2002
Situation: Staff Communication Idea

Idea: We never seem to have time to meet as a team. So we decided to have a "brown bag" discussion so that we can plan activities and discuss the latest classroom events during lunch. It has worked out very well and we have even done a once-a-quarter potluck!!

Sample Question #1

Topic: Unmotivated Child

Submitted By: Bruno on Thu Feb 21 15:13:13 2002
Question: Yasmin does not like to play with puzzles, but parents want her to learn and it is an IFSP goal. How do I get her to show an interest in the puzzles?

Tried So Far: I've tried asking her to do it by praising and coaxing. She will do 1 or 2 but will get fussy if I ask her to do more.

Sample Advice for Question #1

Submitted By: Bruno on Thu Feb 21 15:27:59 2002
Suggest You Try: Start with simple in/out activities, such as putting balls in a tube. Then try simple shape sorters. If she likes those, then maybe the puzzles you have are too difficult. Also, puzzles with fewer and larger pieces with knobs may be easier for her to grab onto.

Sample Results for Question #1

Submitted By: Esmerelda on Thu Feb 21 15:22:46 2002
Results: Thanks for your advice, Bruno. Turns out that she didn't like puzzles because they were difficult for her to manipulate. We tried the kind with larger knobs and she can grap them much better.

Sample Question #2

Topic: Transition

Submitted By: Bertha on Thu Feb 21 15:11:44 2002
Question: I have this little boy in my class who loves to play with cars during freechoice. When it is time to clean up, I ring the bell and he cries and screams. How can I get him to give up his cars when freechoice is over?

Tried So Far: I've had him ring the bell, but he doesn't like the sound of the bell and knows that the bell means freechoice is over. I've also removed the cars from the classroom, but he usually has some in his backpack he can get.

Sample Advice for Question #2

Submitted By: Esmerelda on Thu Feb 21 15:15:57 2002
Suggest You Try: He may be fussy because he doesn't have enough time to prepare for the transition. Try giving him a warning, such as " it will be clean up time in 5 minutes" so that he knows the transition is coming. Maybe using pictures to show him that the activity will be over and also pictures of what activity will come next. Also, if the bell is aversive you could also sing, turn off the lights, use a train whistle or any other way to signify the end of the activity.

Sample Results for Question #2

Submitted By: Bertha on Thu Feb 21 15:20:31 2002 Results: We started giving the whole class a warning and then one specifically to him that freechoice would be over soon. We also told him what the next activity was. He will now transition much easier knowing what is expected. THANK TOU!

How Do I Access and Submit An Entry For The Early Childhood Solutions Link Bulletin Board?

You and your colleagues will need to regularly access the Early Childhood Solutions Link Bulletin Board. Provide a brief idea, present a question, or offer advice or solution to someone else's question. We (ECE-TQO project staff) will facilitate the use of the Bulletin Board, manage the information flow and organize the Library. In order to test its usefulness, we need to establish a routine. We recommend that during the first six months, you follow the aim criteria described below:

Access the Early Childhood Solutions Link Bulletin Board at Least Once Per Month
Give us a convenient date (e.g., 2nd Tuesday of each month) and we will help you to remember. Of course, you may provide Bulletin Board information at anytime. We will expect an entry at least once a month when your date arrives. Create your entry (or entries), look through the new or library of ideas, questions, and advice given for those questions.
Enter One Idea Per Month (30-100 words)
For the first six months we would like to have some of your favorite ideas.
(click here to find description of ideas)
(click here to find samples of ideas)
Make Two Questions Per Month (30-100 words)
Enter the best practice early childhood category that best fits your query.
(click here to find description of questions)
(click here to find samples of questions)
Give Some Advice Once per Week (30-100 words)
(click here to find description of advice)
(click here to find samples of advice)
Post Some Results Once per Month (30-100 words)
(click here to find description of results)
(click here to find samples of results)
Facilitating the Use of the Link.
ECE-TQO Project Staff realize that you are very busy and that getting used to something new may require special reminders. We will monitor, edit, and categorize the Library to establish and maintain a cumulative reference listing under each of the best practice categories. Eventually, this will comprise a valuable "pool of expertise" based on what you and your colleagues have found to be most effective and practical.

OK! I'm Ready -- Take Me To The Early Childhood Solutions Link Bulletin Board

Thank you for visiting our site! For more information, contact:
Joe Stowitschek
Experimental Education Unit at the University of Washington
Box 357925 / Seattle, WA 98195-7925
E-mail: tqoweb@u.washington.edu