The purpose of this tool is to allow educators a helpful website to give to parents that may have a child that is displaying signs of a common mental health disorder. 

This tool can be used when an educator brings up a concern about a child in their care having symptoms of a mental health disorder to their parents. This tool allows parents to see researched eveidence on the symptoms of different mental health disorders and may assit them in receiving professional help if they wish. The link to this website is https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/childrens-health/in-depth/mental-illness-in-children/art-20046577

The purpose of this tool is to have stronger relationships with children. This allows children to feel more comfortable with you as an educator and allows the educator to be able to understand the child better and what certain behaviours the child may be displaying means. It also allows the parent's to feel safer with leaving their child in your care.

This tool should be used everyday. It can be used when an educator feels as if a child may feel unsafe under their care, they have difficulty when it comes to the children listening, and when a child may be displaying behavioural actions. The first step in building a positive relationship is having effective communication, in childcare it is important to have effective communication with not only the children, but the parents as well. More ways to foster relationships with children include:

• One-on-one time with a child

• Eating lunch with the children 

• Know the child's like and dislikes 

• Conversating everyday to parents about their child's day

• Parent-student events

More ways to build relationships with children can be found at https://www.thepathway2success.com/50-ways-to-build-relationships-with-kids-teens/

The purpose of a visual schedule is to prevent children from being stressed/uneasy when thinking about what's coming next. For instance, if a child doesn't like potty time, they may think about it all morning causing stress. With a visual schedule they are able to prepare themselves for potty time and can help them with their stress levels around potty time. This may also help when it comes to communication, a child may not understand what you are saying and will be able to look at the picture to better help them understand. 

This tool should be used everyday to promote consistency, the educator should ensure that the visual schedule matches the schedule of the day. It is important that if the educator switches up the schedule in the middle of the day to inform the students and also makes changes on their daily schedule. The visuals that are provided for the schedule should be clear and simple for the child to understand. It is also beneficial for the educator to review the schedule in the morning with the children to provide a better understanding of how the day may look. A tool that may be helpful is a chart that hangs in the classroom, children will be able to know where to look when they feel the need to know what is coming next.

This visual schedule may be downloaded here https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Daily-Routine-Visual-Schedule-for-Toddlers-Pre-K-Kindergarten-6164016. Educators may also purchase different ones of multiple different websites such as amazon or make their own based off your classroom schedule.