Welcome to Beyond the Classroom on PBS 39.

I'm your host, Joe Pacitti, and it's a pleasure to sit down with you this evening.

Sending a child off to school for the first time, be it daycare, preschool, pre-K or kindergarten, could be one of the most difficult transitions caregivers can go through.

When we sent each of our own three children off to daycare for the first time, we were constantly wondering whether or not we were doing the right thing.

We knew, as two working parents, that enrolling them in daycare before age one was necessary, but we questioned whether or not this would make them better off in the long run.

We all want our kids to socialize with others, learn appropriate play, navigate difficult situations and have a growth mind-set that encourages determination and grit.

But how early is too early?

What if my child misses the age cutoff for kindergarten?

Will this affect how they read when they're in third grade?

For those of us sending our kids to daycare, what services are provided during the day?

And how can I extend the benefits of these programs into my own home?

We're going to sit down with two leaders in early childhood education opportunities in the Lehigh Valley to explore these questions and more.

Let's get started.

Thank you both so much for joining us tonight.

I'm really eager to have this conversation, mostly because we have a practitioner, someone in charge of child care in the Lehigh Valley, and one of our major providers in the Lehigh Valley, as well as a professor of practice who is going to be talking us through the research components of early childhood.

So I know I'm going to learn a lot as a father of three, too.

So this will be wonderful.

Please introduce yourselves, though.

You can do more justice to it than I can.

Sure.

My name is Katrin Blamey.

I'm an education professor at Desales University.

I've been there for 12 years, really focusing on early childhood education, vocabulary research...

I also come to this as a parent of two young boys.

And so that really helped shape my perspective on early childhood education.

Before that, I was a literacy coach at a Head Start organization.

Wonderful.

Yeah.

My name's Charles Dinofrio.

I'm the president and CEO of Lehigh Valley Children's Centers.

We're an early education and child care facility.

We operate over 30 different locations throughout Lehigh, Northampton and Carbon County.

Excited to talk a little bit about the early childhood field and child care in itself and how important it is to have that base before you go into kindergarten.

Excellent.

And thank you both again.

So I'm going to start with the question that I get a lot, because people assume that, if you're in education at all, you know the answers to anything education related, which is not the case at all.

With early childhood, how early is the most optimal time?

When should I be putting my child either in daycare, pre-K, preschool, whatever the case might be?

What is the research showing us would be the best time?

Well, I always say that early childhood education really starts at birth.

You know, there are things that we're teaching our children.

Caregivers are providing a lot of that scaffolding early on.

But in terms of, you know, daycare, I think a lot of that depends on the family situation and work/life balance and also the high quality child care options that you have in your community.

I know I put one of my children into daycare at six weeks old, just out of necessity in terms of work.

And as long as you're comfortable with the early childhood setting, it can be really beneficial, even at that early age.

Certainly preschool for three- and four-year-olds, I think, is an incredible opportunity, to help set that foundation, the building blocks of their later academic career.

That's excellent.

I do have to ask you a follow-up question, though.

So in terms of what brought you to where you're currently at in your own research, in your own practice, what was the passion driving that?

So obviously you're a parent, but what brought you here?

The passion was I was working in a Head Start organization as a literacy coach and really working with children that were living in poverty and thinking about what kinds of literacy skills could we help develop and help develop in our teachers to foster those young children that would make the most difference in the long term, in terms of their academic success.

And it was vocabulary.

Vocabulary.

All the research was pointing me to that, you know, if we can help boost the oral language and vocabulary of young children, three -, four-year-olds, that would have a lasting impact on their ability to learn to read early and to be more successful in those attempts by the age of five.

And then all of the research indicates that, if children are reading on target by age eight, it's going to set them up for success throughout their elementary, middle and high school careers.

That's excellent.

We have Lehigh Valley Children's Centers.

So how exactly does your program facilitate those kinds of programs?

Obviously, we know vocabulary is important and all those other things.

Can you walk us through what your program offers students?

Yeah, as Katrin said, really birth through three is your main part.

It's where learning occurs at the most rapid pace.

So we actually have programs, six weeks to 12 years, actually.

We go all the way up into the school age program where we offer a social, emotional environment for children, their families.

As Katrin said, too, it really depends on the family itself.

We offer scholarships for families that can't afford.

We also help them find services or funding sources through, you know, the federal government, state government.

And we also have a plethora of free programs.

Pre-K Counts would be a large one.

It's a state-funded pre-K program.

We also have an infant toddler program that's free throughout the state as well.

So these programs kind of help families have that ability to have that high quality early education in child care.

The most important part, as you said, you know, when you were looking for your children, just the social and emotional problem-solving type of creative play, those types of things is what you benefit from early education in child care.

But it really does.

If you can start as early as possible, it does help the child understand, you know, main skills, language literacy, just even following rules and understanding what to do in an environment with children.

So when does a formal, I'm going to say curriculum, because that's often the term that people would use to describe that.

I have acquaintances who send their children to schools, daycares in particular, who claim that their curriculum for birth through age three is really, really robust.

And I've always asked, what does that look like?

Could you walk us through what that curriculum, so to speak, might look like?

Yeah, I mean, it is a robust curriculum.

So we at Lehigh Valley Children's Centers use creative curriculum, which is basically a theme-based play curriculum.

And a lot of people will say what, you know, play, they're just going to play?

But there is so much learning that comes out of that play of interaction with teachers to children, children to teachers, even at birth, one, two.

Before even language starts to develop, it's those key aspects of talking, having conversations.

And then when you get into the three-, four- and five-year-olds, understanding center-based play, creative play, social interactions with children, even understanding developmental milestones, from birth through five years old, understanding if there is a delay.

And that's the most important part.

You know, if you're in an early childhood program that's high quality, they do do developmental appropriate practices and assessments, and this just helps the family understand, will my child be ready for kindergarten?

And if they're not, what kind of services or supports can they have prior to kindergarten?

That's excellent.

And thank you for elucidating some of that.

I'm always... That's, again, not my area of expertise.

And I'm always wondering, what does that look like?

To hear about the creative play as one of those components is remarkably important.

So in terms of that, in terms of play, why is that so important?

You had touched on it, Charles.

In an expanded way, what does that prepare them to do when they matriculate into, let's say, kindergarten?

So young children learn through play.

Play is the most important instructional method, as Charles said.

The, you know...

I can't underestimate how important play is to the development.

They learn letters of the alphabet, they learn oral language, vocabulary, early math skills, early literacy skills.

They investigate science through play.

So developmentally appropriate play, it's not a free-for-all.

It's highly organized by teachers.

The teachers are playing with the kids in the classroom, in the centers to really explore new concepts.

So play is the primary instructional method for this age group.

So I think sometimes parents think, "Oh, play, you know, that... "Maybe that's not the most appropriate use of my time "when my child is at school."

But absolutely, for this age group, play is the most important thing that they can be doing.

So what is an example?

You had said science, right, as one of those opportunities for play?

What's an example of what that looks like in practice?

So one example could be students or children at a science center where they have tools of science.

They might have magnifying glasses and little journals where they can start writing or pretending to write some of their observations of a class pet, for example, could be something that they could play scientist.

And we know that by playing that kind of role, they're learning vocabulary words, they're learning how to write, they're learning how to investigate and ask questions.

So things that are involved in science.

So when we look at what the programs that are offered are for students or children in this age range, right, and we see home programs, right, or people who would elect to keep their children at home until, let's say, kindergarten, do we have an answer as to whether or not one is more preferable to the other?

Should I keep my child at home with me, or should I be sending them to daycare or preschool or pre-K?

Yeah, I think it really depends on, what are you doing at home?

Are they sitting in front of a TV, or is there still interactions happening?

You know, PBS has a lot of different things going on through the day that I see families coming in here.

And, you know, as long as that child is learning, the only thing that they're missing in a home by themselves is that social part, how to interact with others, how to understand rules, how to care about others that are in your class.

So that's a big component that you can't find by yourself at home.

So that's an important thing.

It's also understanding cooperative play with other children, understanding rules and engagement in a school atmosphere.

So those are things that you can't get by yourself.

Obviously, you can always have a play date or something like that with other children, but you do lose that little component.

So is the research out?

Is there one that's better than the other?

I think it really depends on the child and the circumstance.

You know, you can have a very interactive home environment where there is a lot of learning and engagement and talking, and you can also have the opposite.

So, you know, really, it's highly dependent, I think, on the family situation.

So for those interactive pieces at home, and that's a big question that a lot of parents have also is, how can I equip myself with the tools to kind of continue the great work that's going on when they're at school or daycare?

What do I...how do I go ahead and have a conversation with my child appropriately?

What does interaction look like?

What can they take away?

I would say one of the most important things that family can do at home is establish a reading routine.

So it could be a bedtime reading routine, but it doesn't have to be right at the end of the day.

It could be any time during the day where they can sit down with their child and look at a book together, really kind of immerse themselves in that experience of enjoying the topic.

It's very important for the child to be able to have say in what they're selecting.

So motivation, a book that is on a topic that they love.

Dinosaurs or trains or whatever it might be, but that they just have that opportunity to sit down together, read through.

Even if it's in a language that they aren't fluent in themselves, just looking at the pictures and talking about what they're seeing in that book.

They learn about print concepts.

They learn how to hold the book.

They learn vocabulary words.

And just that process is really building their attachment to one another as well.

So that socio-emotional part comes in as well.

So I would think that's one of the most important things you could be doing at home.

So, Charles, I know that you wanted to jump in too with some additional strategies.

Yeah.

So a lot of the family engagement that involves in our center is a lot of take-home kits.

We partner with Da Vinci Science Center, where we do science and math activities inside the center, but then also bring those activities home so they have a science take-home bag that then they can do the activity at home with the parents, which gives them that robust learning, as Katrin did say, at the home.

So it gives them the materials if a family doesn't have those materials.

We also have a online program, Waterford Reading Academy, that is basically on a tablet.

And they can do that in the classroom, but then they can also take the tablet home with them and continue those activities.

If it's a Saturday, if it's a Sunday, if the child's sick or whatnot.

So they continue to learn and they continue to scaffold and go through our system of learning and continue that process.

That's fantastic.

And hearing all of the things that it has to offer parents outside of the context of the center is remarkable, too, because that needs to extend into their home lives as well.

And one of the questions that I grapple with all the time is, you know, kind of big picture, is access, though, and cost.

And, you know, it's no surprise that...

It's no secret to anybody that daycares in particular can be restrictively expensive, in many cases more than someone's mortgage.

So what do we do to navigate that challenging situation for folks?

Yeah, I mean, there's a lot of resources out there for families, especially working families.

There's childcare work subsidy.

We as a nonprofit offer scholarship for a lot of our programs.

There's a lot of state-run free programs as well.

Some families just don't, you know, they can't afford it, or they don't meet those income guidelines.

There is EITC tax dollars that they can apply for.

There's a child tax credit now that has come out.

So there is ways.

I think you'll find a lot of the quality centers, nonprofit or for profit, it is a reasonable amount of money that comes out of your pocket.

You have to understand that that's, you know, barely what it actually costs.

Usually the cost of care for an infant/toddler, most organizations will lose money on that age group.

It's the preschool and school age where an organization can actually at least break even in that age group.

And why is the care so much more expensive or significant for an infant or a toddler?

I mean, ratios play a big factor.

So, you know, any parent out there looking for care, there are ratios that we follow, under the Department of Human Services.

Infant is one to four.

So one staff for four children.

And younger toddler, older toddler.

Younger's, one to five.

One to six is older toddler.

Preschool is one to ten.

As those ratios go up.

But again, you know, that's one to four.

That's the minimum guideline.

So a lot of organizations will follow a lower ratio, one to three.

It's very difficult, and times are tough now, obviously, with staffing.

Just trying to find a spot, and quality of care, even if you have the money, is very difficult.

There's long wait lists at a lot of organizations and child cares in and around the area.

So those are some difficult challenges and I think, you know, not only centers, schools are certainly feeling that pressure as well, as well the private industry too, just because it affects our kids so directly.

It's something that hits home, I think, for all of us.

When it comes to...kind of going back to the academic components and developmentally, when we're talking about where they should be by the time they exit, let's say preschool, what should a student be able to do by that time?

In terms of a four-year-old getting ready to go into kindergarten for the first time, our literacy targets, we want them to know the letters of the alphabet.

It would be great if they knew the letter sounds as well.

To be able to play with sound.

So nursery rhymes, being able to manipulate sounds is a really helpful skill.

Book skills.

So knowing how to hold a book, what an author does, what an illustrator does.

Vocabulary.

So the more vocabulary words, the better.

When they're going to encounter them in an actual text, they'll already know what they mean.

So that's a huge component.

Emergent math skills.

So knowing the numbers, how to count at least one to ten, knowing how to write the numerals.

Emergent writing.

If they know how to write their name already going into kindergarten, that would be a huge piece that they're going to learn at the very beginning.

And, you know, some of the socio-emotional pieces.

So knowing how to share would be super helpful.

And just knowing how to listen and follow directions, I think, are incredibly important skills going into kindergarten.

That's good, because I always... You know, I'm not one of these people, I swear, that says that my child is ahead, right?

They know all of their letters already.

They know how to read.

They're totally fine and they're in kindergarten.

It's remarkable.

Do those markers matter, or is that just me... Again, it's not me, but let's say it's me.

Is that just me imposing my bias on my own child?

So every child learns to read and acquires that at different pieces.

Some of them are much faster than others.

Some are slower.

They tend to all catch up.

And so around third grade is the most important marker.

So if they are on target for their reading at the end of third grade, then we know they're set for the rest of their literacy skills, at least in terms of their academic career.

Longitudinally, there was a study, right?

And I can't remember the exact date.

I do recall it being...

It was Pre-K Counts.

And it was a program that followed students from essentially birth all the way to 40 years later and found that students who had gone through the Pre-K Counts program fared much better than peers who did not go through that program.

Do we still find that to be true?

Is that something that we still need to be pushing for?

Yeah, I think, you know, understanding, just getting ready for kindergarten, right?

So as early as possible, if you can get into a quality program, it benefits you.

Some children will just see that they're not ready for kindergarten.

And it's no fault to them.

As Katrin said, they're all on a different learning spectrum.

The key to that is developmental milestones, understanding that.

If you're at a high-quality center, they're going to assess that, just as that study did.

You know, with that, you can then provide either services or support or resources to that family so that when they get to kindergarten, they're that far ahead.

There's also a study with that one that, essentially, if they do go through pre-K, the amount of money saved in a public school is that much more, because if there is any services, delays, anything that's not right, it's already taken care of prior to even entering into kindergarten.

So there are positives.

It's not always just being prepared.

It's also then having those supports and resources prior to entry.

So if I'm looking for additional supports and resources - let's say that my child is in one of your centers - who am I talking to?

Very basic level - I pick up the phone, who do I call?

Yeah, that's interesting.

So we do do parent-teacher conferences, just like the school district does.

We do an Ages Stages, questionnaire within 45 days of an enrolment, depending on the age of the child.

Right there is an open conversation.

If they're not meeting developmental milestones, you'll talk to the teacher.

The teacher will then bring the director in.

We usually do a family meeting.

We do have a family engagement specialist and others that will take part in that meeting if services would be needed or some type of resources would be needing.

We do have educational consultants that come into those meetings, and they kind of do a road map.

So it is a very difficult and scary road map when you're there and you don't know what to do.

But those individuals, pooling them all together, helps that family succeed even more in the future.

In terms of academic resources, things that I can take home as a parent, what are the types of things I should be looking for with my child as young as 11 months, up to five years old?

I think educational, engaging toys and manipulative.

So things that engage the child.

If they're not interested in it, it's not going to do any good.

So things that capture their attention in terms of colors or connected to a favorite book character or television show.

Something that they can engage in together as a family is really important.

Things to talk about.

Books, certainly.

Going to the library and checking out books on all different topics and interests is a really important resource.

And then just making the best out of, you know, going to the grocery store and talking about, what kinds of fruits are you seeing, what kinds of vegetables?

Just normal life.

There are so many different kinds of prints and numbers all around us that we can make use of.

And I think that that's one of the biggest concerns for most people.

I know it is for me, in terms of time crunch, right?

Is, you know, when I come home and I want to be doing these things that provide my child with a really, really rich environment, what does that look like?

And how do I, you know, assign that time appropriately?

Charles, what recommendations does the center have for parents that express that...?

Maybe they work a second shift, maybe there's not a lot of availability at home.

Yeah, it is difficult, especially if you have two working parents.

They spend probably more time at childcare than they do at home, which is understandable.

But as Katrin said, there are times where you can bring learning, you know, out in the home.

Simply sitting down for dinner, talking about the different colors of food and, you know, how many helpings you're having.

Any way that you can do basic learning abilities at home is helpful.

A lot of print, especially for an infant or a one-year-old.

Having those board books with colorful pictures that they can constantly engage in.

Actually having to play with them, right?

To play and kind of go through different motions.

It's difficult.

You can also, at any one of our centers, you can ask one of our teachers for ideas.

We have a lot of take-home things to take home with all parents - book bags and kits like that.

So if you don't have the resources, you can ask us and we'll get them for you.

And there's a lot of other agencies out there.

So you have, you know, PBS, as I said before.

LV Reads comes out with cards that talks about what you can do at home, what questions you can ask in the fall versus the winter.

So there is a lot of resources out there.

You just have to open your eyes and kind of try to find them.

So that's my other question, too, is if this is my first go-around, putting a child in daycare, who exactly is going to be the one that's navigating me if I'm completely clueless about where to start?

Yeah, I mean, I would start at the Early Learning Research Center.

We have one here in the Lehigh Valley.

The ELRC is a great place to understand, OK, what childcares are out there?

What resources do I have?

They kind of map everything together for you.

If you go in there, you can make an appointment and they'll kind of give you a flyer and give you an understanding of what's out there and what they can do to find that education.

Thanks a lot.

And, Katrin, I don't mean to put you on the spot, but if you had to give parents one takeaway, something that you really wish that they knew about early childhood education, what would that be?

Hmm.

Well, I think the most important thing is just to encourage a love of reading.

Reading sets you up for learning in all of the other content areas.

And we don't often have a lot of time for reading in our lives as adults now, with technology and all the other demands on our time, but we can encourage children to love to read by modeling it ourselves, having them see us read and reading with our children.

Like I said, if you can just read one book a day together as a family, it's going to make a huge difference.

Yeah.

Charles, same question for you.

Yeah, I would say, you know, don't be fearful.

They have to go to school.

They have to, you know, socially engage.

Ask questions.

Don't be fearful of, you know, going to a new place, having them experience different ideas and different creative activities.

And just kind of take a step back.

At any center that is regulated by the Department of Human Services, you can observe your child in the classroom.

I'm not sure you would want to because you want them to be alone and find themselves.

But if you are fearful, ask to observe for a little bit and just kind of take that fear away, because eventually they are going to have to go to school.

And with that, they'll learn a lot of different things.

But you kind of have to let go at certain times.

That's excellent advice.

I wish I had it initially.

Thank you both so much for joining us tonight.

This was a great conversation.

Katrin, thank you.

And, Charles, thank you so much.

And thank you both for all the work that you're doing with our youngest learners.

It's fantastic to have you here.

I also know that you will have a series of resources probably for folks to take a look at, so they can check that out online, too.

So thank you again.

As the proverb goes, it takes a village to raise a child.

And we hope you'll consider our program a part of your village.

Do you have questions or comments?

We want to hear from you.

Go to PBS39.org/classroom or join the conversation on social media.

I'm your host, Joe Pacitti.

Goodnight.