Steffen Saifer - Practical Solutions to Practically Every Problem: The Survival Guide for Early Childhood Professionals

Published by Redleaf Press

10 Yorkton Court

St. Paul, MN 55117

www.redleafpress.org

1991, 2003, 2017 by Steffen Saifer

All rights reserved. Unless otherwise noted on a specific page, no portion of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or capturing on any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a critical article or review to be printed in a magazine or newspaper, or electronically transmitted on radio, television, or the Internet.

Third edition 2017

Cover design by Jim Handrigan

Cover photograph by TatyanaGI / iStock

Interior design by Wendy Holdman

Typeset in Arno Pro and Open Sans

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Saifer, Steffen, 1951 author.

Title: Practical solutions to practically every problem: the survival guide for early childhood professionals / Steffen Saifer.

Description: Third edition. | St. Paul, MN: Redleaf Press, [2017] | Includes bibliographical references.

Identifiers: LCCN 2016017676 (print) | LCCN 2016029544 (ebook) | ISBN 9781605545134

Subjects: LCSH: Education, PreschoolUnited StatesHandbooks, manuals, etc. | Preschool teachingUnited StatesHandbooks, manuals, etc. | Preschool teachersUnited StatesHandbooks, manuals, etc.

Classification: LCC LB1140.2 .S235 2017 (print) | LCC LB1140.2 (ebook) | DDC 372.21dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016017676

Printed on acid-free paper

This third edition is dedicated to the worlds children.

May their caretakers be loving and wise,

may their communities be peaceful and safe,

and may their early years be joyful and free.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

This book reflects the collective wisdom and inspiration of many, many dedicated and caring teachers, administrators, and early childhood professionals (of all stripes) that I have had the good fortune to observe, work with, and learn from. I have been very lucky to have been given opportunities to experience and participate in a wide variety of programs across four continents. I am compelled to name as many of the amazing people who have influenced me and whom I so admire as I can recall. All are tireless crusaders for the right of every young child to have a happy childhood. I know I will forget to mention some, so please accept my apology in advance.

My first job was as an assistant teacher in Baltimore in the mid-seventies in one of the first YMCA-sponsored child care programs in the U.S. My supervisor and lead teacher was Sarah Watson, who taught me that having fun was an important element of a quality program.

In the early eighties, at Clark College in Vancouver, WA, the professionalism of Maggie Anderson, Kathy Bobula, and Harriet Levi was inspiring. And later, as a Head Start director in the mid-eighties, I learned a great deal from Joe Verano and Sue Bernt.

My thirteen years at Portland State University were amazing. During this time I wrote the first version of this book and worked with Head Start Programs in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Alaska. My boss, Cari Olmstead, who continues to be my dear friend, was a master diplomat who led with grace, humor, and one of the sharpest minds Ive ever met. Incredible colleagues included Linda Crum, Mary Perkins, Mary Foltz, Melissa Endicott, Jenna Bauman Adams, Margie Tattersfield, Johnnie Cain, Chuck Smith, Sally Skelding, Olga Talley, Sally Mead, Bonny Headley, Bonnie Kitteridge, Beryl Cheal, and Ginger Fink. Other important colleagues at PSU were Barbara Friesen, Nancy Koroloff, and Amy Driscoll (also my doctoral thesis advisor), among many others. In the Department of Ed, I learned so much from Dell White Ford, Gayle McMurria-Bachik, Maya Close, and Anita McClanahan. The brilliant Head Start RAP network (many of whom I worked with later in the Open Society Foundations Step by Step program) included Joanne Brady, Roxane Kaufmann, Kris Hansen, Barbara Wolfe, Sue Smith, Luis Hernandez, and Alan Taylor. On the front lines in Head Start programs were amazing teachers and administrators such as Ronnie Herndon, Elaine Harrison, Alan Berlin, Marilyn Harrison, Pam Greenough, Michael Eichman, Jennifer Cahill, Susan Brady, Suzanne VanOrman, Annie Soto, Jo OLeary, Jan Elyse Witt, Dennis Huft, Caroline Huft, John Bancroft, Doug Fagerness, and Nanette Sieman.

In the 2000s, I had the pleasure of working with and knowing Tim Speth, Lena Ko, Debbie Ellis, Amy Stuczynski, Becky Harmon, Delia Palomeque Morales, Rex Hagan, Nancy Henry, and many more at Education Northwest. An Early Reading First grant gave me the opportunity to collaborate with Deborah Leong, Elena Bodrova, and Ruth Hensen.

Among my professional colleagues, I want to particularly acknowledge Nico Van Oudenhoven, Bengt Ageros, Lory Britain, Kim Browning, Sam Meisels, Roger Neugebauer, Martin Whitehead, David Hawker, Stephanie Feeney, Sue Bredekamp, and Ellen Galinsky.

I greatly appreciate George Soros, Sarah Klaus, Divya Lata, Hugh McLean, Tina Hyder, Kate Lapham, Almaz Ismayilova, and others at the Open Society Foundations for giving me the opportunity to do international work and for their unrelenting commitment to equity and justice for all young children and families. I was lucky enough to have worked with Cassie Landers on several projects. She has been a role model, mentor, supporter, and friend whose caring, creativity, drive, and intellect are boundless. My terrific Step by Step colleagues included Iryna Lapitskaya, Radu Jusovic, Cornelia Cincilei, Natalia Sofiy, Gerda Sula, Tatanya Vonta, Ulvyia Mikailova, Dawn Tankersley, Bob Stake, Larry Bremner, Linda Lee, and many more. In Bangladesh I worked with and learned from Faith Lamb-Parker, Mahmuda Akhtar, Fahmida Tofail, Nishat Rahman, Golam Kibria, Shanti Chakma, and Muhammad Wahedi, to name a few. In Russia, I partnered with a great team led by the brilliant and heroic Lena Lenskaya and including Elena Cherkashina, Elena Yudina, Elena Kozhevnikova, and Tigran Shmis, among others.

Among my wonderful friends and colleagues in The Gambia were Elizabeth Ndebe Joof, Lisong Bah, and Herve Akinocho.

Open Society Foundations-funded projects in several southern African countries gave me the opportunity to work with Justine Ngulube, Patrick Makokoro, Lynette Okengo, and others.

I thoroughly enjoyed working in the Republic of Georgia on a UNICEF-funded project to develop a national curriculum with Nato Panchulidze, Ana Janelidze, Tamuna Bakradze, Tsira Barkaia, Nutsa Pruidze, and so many more.

I have always had great support from close friends and family, particularly Sunny Cohen, Jonah Saifer, Debbie Read, Lilia Doni, Felicia Doni, and Laurentiu Doni.

Finally, I am extremely grateful to the team at Redleaf Press for publishing this book, for all their support over more than a quarter of a century, and for accepting my next book for publication, currently titled