Spring 2022 Newsletter
This issue includes: 1) updates on program activities to engage with the New York EC workforce; 2) SoundLab resource recommendation; 3) an interview with ECE provider Devonna Lewis regarding recent workforce shortages; and 4) an update on the CDC's milestones concerning language and speech for young children.
This issue includes: 1) updates on program activities to engage with the New York EC workforce; 2) SoundLab resource recommendation; 3) an interview with ECE provider Devonna Lewis regarding recent workforce shortages; and 4) an update on the CDC's milestones concerning language and speech for young children.
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ATLAS TRAINING
SPRING 2022 NEWSLETTER
IN THIS ISSUE
New York
Connections: Atlas
Training Staff
Network at Annual
NYAEYC Conference!
Resource
Recommendation:
Chrome Music Lab
Essentials for
Working with Young
Children drawing
winner announced
An Interview with
Devonna Lewis:
Advocating for
Dignity in our
Profession
CDC Lowers
Guideline for
Developmental
Milestones for
Language and
Communication
NEW YORK CONNECTIONS:
ATLAS TRAINING STAFF NETWORK AT ANNUAL
NY AEYC CONFERENCE
As a young organization that is just beginning to develop its
relationship with the New York ECE community, the staff of Atlas
Training was excited to participate in the 2022 New York Association
for the Education of Young Children (NYAEYC) conference, held at
Turning Stone Resort in April of 2022.
The conference kicked off with a welcome keynote on the Power of
Joyful Reading, with guest speaker Eric Litwin, followed by an opening
keynote on Advancing Equity, Building Power, and Unifying the Early
Childhood Education Profession by presenter Lauren Hogan. From
there, conference participants enjoyed workshop sessions on such
topics as Active Play, Caring Spaces, and the Pyramid Model.
Atlas Training Program Director Maureen Hogan and Program Assistant
Elisa Wilson attended the conference and were thrilled to meet so
many of the important ECE providers serving children in New York.
Reflecting on the event, Maureen Hogan recalled, "It was a pleasure
to collaborate with colleagues in New York, where we plan to build
formidable partnerships in the coming years."
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ATLAS TRAINING
SPRING 2022 NEWSLETTER
WINNER OF BOOK
GIVEAWAY DRAWING
ANNOUNCED!
During the recent NYAEYC Conference, our booth
offered a drawing for a free Essentials for Working with
Young Children textbook. Our winner was contacted
and generously elected to donate the textbook for a
future student experiencing financial hardship.
If you or someone you know recently enrolled in our
program and are experiencing financial hardship that
makes the purchase of your textbooks challenging,
please contact Elisa Wilson and ask about this textbook
donation.
RESOURCE
RECOMMENDATION:
CHROME MUSIC LAB
Whether you are doing a unit on sound or
simply need to expand your inventory of
appropriate technology, the Chrome Sound Lab
offers a number of excellent games appropriate
for children 3-4 to explore and interact with
sound.
You do not need to register or provide any
information to access these games; simply go
to Chrome Music Lab (chromeexperiments.com),
select a game, and start playing! Some of our
favorite sound activities include:
Spectrogram: Children can "see" what their
voice looks like through a spectrogram.
Lines appear and shift in response to
changes in pitch and volume. Can the
children use their voices to make a straight
line? A hill? a zigzag? Check out the
spectrogram to find out!
Kandinsky: In this activity, children can free
draw and then "listen" to the music their
drawings make! Pro tip: different shapes will
produce different types of sounds!
Sound Maker: In this game, children select
cell blocks that represent different musical
tones. Once they have selected their blocks,
children can press play to hear their songs!
Give it a try and let us know what you think!
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ATLAS TRAINING
SPRING 2022 NEWSLETTER
ADVOCATING FOR DIGNITY IN OUR
PROFESSION: AN INTERVIEW WITH
DEVONNA LEWIS
Devonna is a childcare provider who works in
New Haven, Connecticut. A student of Atlas
Training and an advocate for the early childhood
profession, Devonna recently agreed to
interview with Atlas Training staff member Elisa
to share more about her advocacy efforts and
views on where the workforce is headed.
E: Thank you so much for your time today. You
are clearly a busy woman. Tell me about the
work that you have been doing over the past
months.
Presently I am the lead preschool at Gentle
Hands Academy. Because I have years of
experience, not only do I teach the children, but
I help train staff to think quickly on their feet and
think outside of the box. I also communicate
with parents about behavioral expectations,
keeping open communication between staff
and parents so that the parents feel not only
included, but also understand that we aren’t just
babysitting.
I've also been trying to share with other people
how important early childhood education is.
We’re setting a foundation and helping children
to communicate effectively and understand
their emotions so that when they go into the
school systems, they have a step up. This is not
just a job but a mission. We are on the frontline,
setting the bar high so when children leave our
center, they are more equipped to adapt to
different environments.
E: What are some of the biggest challenges
you see providers facing?
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There aren't enough providers because of the
pay. We don’t get paid enough to draw people
into this field. Unfortunately, it’s not seen as
something that’s very important. Staff become
frustrated and burnt out because there are not
enough educators in the building. So it gets
harder and harder for those who stay to do so
long-term. By there not being enough staff in
some facilities it leaves those that are there in a
place where there is no mental health days -
paid or unpaid - for Educators to regroup and to
avoid the burnouts.]
E: There have been a lot of calls to raise the
pay of early childhood workers. Why do you
feel providers should be earning more money?
Because this is a profession and a career. This is
not a stop on providers' career journey; this is
something they enjoy doing and something that
they want to do. But when people have to go to
a second job, they feel stretched thin. It takes
their physical energy and mental energy, and it
becomes hard to do a better job. People will be
more creative and enthusiastic about their jobs if
they have enough money from just one job.
Even for myself, I’ve had to keep a side hustle to
make things meet. I want to be able to do this
and then just be able to go home and take care
of my family. Even though I love early childhood,
my career has sometimes been a revolving
door, because I just can't afford to stay in this
career and have had to come back off and on
over the years.
E: If a generous budget increase is provided,
how would you urge policymakers to spend
that money?
There should be a designated portion to go
towards a pay increase and benefits, or even
state benefits. State medical so providers don’t
have to pay out of pocket.
The parents that we have now understand how
important early childhood is. They know that
they can’t be with their child and they know their
child should get supportive and high-quality
care. I got my start as a parent, and I think that
other parents might be attracted to the field if
they feel it is being fairly compensated. The
government needs to acknowledge this. Early
childhood teachers deserve it.
ATLAS TRAINING
SPRING 2022 NEWSLETTER
CDC LOWERS GUIDELINES FOR
DEVELOPMENTAL MILESTONES
Republished from Abbington Speech (CDC Lowers Guidelines for Developmental Milestones - Abington Speech Pathology
Services, Inc.Abington Speech Pathology Services, Inc.)
For the first time in nearly two decades, the CDC
has lowered developmental milestones for
toddlers. This means that “normal” standards of
development that were reserved for children of
two years old have now been extended to 2.5
years old.
Age 2 has always been a pivotal year in
children’s speech development. Many kids
make major speech strides between 18-24
months, which is why Early Intervention services
typically start at age 2. Accordingly, 2-year-old
milestones warrant special focus.
The announcement has been met with a diverse
set of reactions online, from speech-language
pathologists to pediatricians. We took a look at
the updated guidelines to examine what they
are, why they are important, and what this could
possibly mean for your child.
What Are “Developmental Milestones?”
The CDC describes developmental milestones
as: “Skills such as taking a first step, smiling for
the first time, and waving “bye bye” are called
developmental milestones. Children reach
milestones in how they play, learn, speak, act,
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ATLAS TRAINING
SPRING 2022 NEWSLETTER
CDC LOWERS GUIDELINES FOR
DEVELOPMENTAL MILESTONES (CONT.)
Republished from Abbington Speech (CDC Lowers Guidelines for Developmental Milestones - Abington Speech Pathology
Services, Inc.Abington Speech Pathology Services, Inc.)
and move (crawling, walking, etc.). How your
child plays, learns, speaks, acts, and moves offer
important clues about your child’s development.
Developmental milestones are things most
children (75% or more) can do by a certain age.”
Why are Developmental Milestones Important?
Developmental milestones offer important clues
about a child’s developmental health.
Reaching milestones at the typical ages shows a
child is developing as expected. Reaching
milestones much earlier means a child may be
advanced compared with his or her peers of the
same age. Not reaching milestones or reaching
them much later than children the same age can
be the earliest indication that a child may have a
developmental delay.
The CDC recommends that [parents] check the
milestones [a] child has reached by the end of 2
years by completing a checklist with CDC’s free
Milestone Tracker mobile app, or by printing the
checklist pdf.
What Did the CDC Change About the
Developmental Milestones?
Simply put, the CDC changed the milestones and
thresholds by taking milestones that were
previously assigned to 2 years, and extending
them by six months (or, 2.5 years old). Before, the
milestone guidelines said that at 24 months (or
two years of age) a child should be able to say
more than 50 words. Essentially, these new
milestones put kids back by six months, which, in
the context of early childhood development, is a
tremendous extension.
Additionally, the latest changes introduced a 30-
month milestone, which didn’t exist previously.
PRE PANDEMIC:
Pre-pandemic, two-year-olds were typically
repeating words and speaking two- to fourword
sentences as well as “knowing names” of
familiar things.
POST PANDEMIC:
Today, the updated milestones are heavy on
pointing and gesturing, and typical 2-year-olds
are only expected to say two words together.
For the first time, the CDC milestones
introduced expectations for the number of
words spoken to be at 50 words. However, this
directly conflicts with The American Speech
Language and Hearing Association (ASHA), (who
is clear that “saying fewer than 50 words” when
a child is two years old is a sign of a “language
problem.”
ASHA is the gold standard for speechlanguage
pathology. It is important to note that
other related organizations (including ASHA)
have not changed any guidance during the
pandemic.
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