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Once upon a time, a group of family childcare providers made a difference.
They found many little ways to lift each other up by making support group meetings better and more fun. They shared years of wisdom and knowledge at those meetings.
The meeting format they adopted helped them to feel at ease with each other and build confidence in their roles as professional family childcare providers.
Through years of monthly practice, they tweaked the method until it worked smoothly. Two of the providers, Joan Laurion and Cherie Schmiedicke, wrote a book about the method and published it through Redleaf Press. The name of that book is Creating Connections. If you want to learn more about their book, you can click on the book cover.
That support group, which we eventually named Sojourn, has been the major reason I've been able to stay in the field of early childhood care and education for 50 years. The group helped me to feel confident and to thrive.
If you want to learn more about what it takes to help teachers thrive, read this article from The Greater Good Magazine, UC Berkeley
In case you need a boost in communication at your place of employment, I'm including 5 ideas that have worked for our group over the years.
1)
Sustenance
Provide a light meal or a snack. We rotate this task. In our field, we never know if and when we'll find the time to eat. Having a bit of food and drink available helps us all to feel cared for and to think better. After all of the care we give to others, it's the least we can do for ourselves.
2)
Share
To give us the capacity to hear and honor what all are saying, We find a way to share the tasks that help the meeting run smoothly. Leaving it all to the facilitator can be a big problem.
Here's how we break it down. Feel free to adjust this according to your needs.
Facilitator
arranges for food or a snack (could be a potluck, a meal, or coffee and dessert)
sets up and begins the meeting on time
announces confidentiality rules for check-in
assigns notetaker or/or chart writer, timekeeper, and process monitor. Monitoring the process is also the task of the group at large.
Notetaker
documents meeting
writes ideas on a chart
Timekeeper
Set timers for check-in and burning issues.
Set the schedule for burning issues and business items
Process Monitor
observes for logistical issues and asks for an adjustment (ie seating, temperature, staying on the subject)
3)
Check-in
We always begin with a timed, confidential, check-in. Everyone gets a chance and it's OK to pass. Newer groups might like an open-ended question to start. The timer must be set at the start of each participant's check-in. 1-3 minutes works but ask for group input on timing. When the set time isn't long enough for a particular guest, we offer to talk about it during the burning issues time.
4)
Burning issues
The group picks out the topics to discuss from the check-in ideas and asks the participants how long they need. The time is broken down by the timekeeper and listed for everyone to see. Issues we don't have time for or issues that take longer than the designated time get tabled, not ignored. We set a later time to discuss.
The timekeeper always sets the timer at the beginning of a topic. If more time is needed it can be approved by the group. During the discussion, the person who asked for help has the floor and can choose to ask for advice or just to vent respectfully.
This is how we make sure everyone in the meeting feels heard! The timer might seem harsh at first, but it's the difference between a meeting where only a few feel heard and one where everyone feels heard.
5)
business
Ask the group to help identify business topics and set the timing for discussion. Make sure the times are recorded and move on after the timer goes off.
You could close the meeting when the time is up by asking for topics for the next meeting and/or doing a go-around on a subject of the facilitator's choice. Be sure to be respectful of everyone by closing the meeting on time.
For more details about how to run a successful support group meeting, read Creating Connections. It includes so much more than my outline.
If you are a family childcare provider or a parent looking into family childcare, here is a must-read booklet by my colleague and long-time professional family childcare provider, Lorie Hind. Click on the book cover to see it all now! It's free! Enjoy.
Nanci J Bradley is an early childhood and family educator, author, teacher, family aerobics instructor, and an all-around fun-loving person. She believes in the power of sleep, healthy eating, lifelong learning, and most of all, PLAY! (click on the word) She studied early childhood ed at Triton College and received her BS in education in 1986 from NIU. She received her MA in human development from Pacific Oaks College in 2011. She has presented at statewide and nationwide conferences. She lives and teaches in Madison WI.
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