In our recent webinar, “Real Educators, Real Impact: Implementing the Child Care Experience™ Program in the Classroom,” educators shared insights on how effective Child Care Experience Program implementation is shaping their early childhood education classes. By offering practical strategies for setup and student engagement, the session highlighted the real-world benefits of incorporating this hands-on training tool into classrooms. Here’s a recap of the key takeaways from the webinar.
What Is the Child Care Experience Program?
Child Care Experience Program is an advanced, immersive childcare simulation designed to provide real-world caregiving practice for students pursuing early childhood education. This program integrates hardware, software, and curriculum to deliver a fully interactive learning experience that simulates the complex responsibilities of infant care.
Tips for Successful Child Care Experience Program Implementation
Letha Hougland, Ponderosa High School, CO
Hougland tackles Child Care Experience Program implementation by setting up stations around her classroom that emphasize key elements of quality childcare, including mandatory reporting and safety protocols. These stations supplement the program and offer research opportunities for the rest of the class while two or three students are immersed in the simulation. Hougland uses the program as an extension of learning. She utilizes RealCare Babies for her own in-class childcare simulation and introduces the Child Care Experience Program to more advanced students seeking deeper challenges.
Hougland sets up two to three students in each Child Care Experience simulation. She has a small living room space set up in her classroom where the simulation takes place. Hougland even places the program’s included changing pad by the sink so students can wash their hands after changing the simulators’ diapers!
Hougland ensures each simulation includes at least one choking simulation and one infant health or parent communication scenario. She rotates students through the simulation every 30 minutes and uses difficult simulation schedules to minimize downtime between care events.
Hougland finds the choking simulation especially important as it teaches students how to react in stressful situations that could be life-threatening for the infants. Additionally, she uses the CPR simulation to give students practice with infant resuscitation. Some important soft skills she’s noticed students develop with the program are collaboration and communication, as they work together to care for the Child Care Experience Babies and problem solve the scenarios. Students who completed the simulation enjoyed it and found it both challenging and eye opening.
Maureen Riha, Oak Creek High School, WI
The Child Care Experience Program works perfectly with Riha’s curriculum, and she’s had great feedback from students! Wisconsin has an infant-toddler certificate program that requires students to learn skills related to caring for multiple infants of different ages and needs. For her Child Care Experience Program implementation, Riha runs the program in the highest-level childcare course at her high school. After this course, students can earn an infant-toddler certificate to work at a licensed childcare center in Wisconsin. Riha begins by demonstrating different infant care skills with the Child Care Experience Program. Then, students participate in the simulation in groups of two to four on an assigned date.
The Child Care Experience Program works perfectly as a larger hands-on project for students to showcase the skills they’ve learned in class and observed at local childcare centers. Students demonstrate both soft and hard skills during the simulation experience. Some soft skills they develop include teamwork, initiative, responsibility, and professionalism. The hard skills they practice are infant care and safety procedures, like changing diapers, swaddling, and proper head support. Riha even has her students simulate age-appropriate play interactions with the simulators and state licensing procedures, such as wearing gloves, mock disinfecting, and recording the care they provide in an infant daily report.
Riha has found that her students learn best through hands-on experiences. The Child Care Experience Program has benefited the students by allowing them to showcase their infant care skills and experience what it would be like to work in an infant care environment. Students fill out a reflection form after the simulation, and Riha has only received positive feedback. In fact, their most common suggestion is to run the simulation longer!
Maria Eid, M.S. Ed., Craven Community College, NC
Eid’s on-campus lab classroom was originally set up with materials for toddlers and older children. One of the first Child Care Experience Program implementation steps she took was creating an infant area to better reflect a real infant classroom environment. She set up a large, carpeted space with soft furniture and gathered developmentally appropriate toys for infants. She also added cubbies so that each baby would have a designated space for their diaper bag and supplies. Eid even took photos of Child Care Experience Babies and put them above their cubbies for realism. This setup ensures students walk into a fully modeled infant care environment, enhancing the simulation immersion.
With her students, Eid developed a few sample infant routines. Depending on the length of the class, students spent varying amounts of time caring for the Child Care Experience Babies. Students followed routines that included more than the program’s care events, engaging in structured activities with the simulators. Eid is currently developing assignments that connect directly to course content, requiring students to connect theory to practice, such as creating lesson plans, observing child behavior, and analyzing classroom environment. This program gives students hands-on practice before transitioning to real-world infant care environments
Eid’s students enjoy having the opportunity to engage in hands-on infant care. Although they complete many hours of observation and practicum experiences, most of those don’t include direct interaction with infants. Having access to the 3-Month and 9-Month Child Care Experience simulators provides students with practical experience. After each shift, students reflect on their experience by reviewing reports that show how effectively they responded to the Child Care Experience Babies.
Additional Resources
- Watch the full webinar for free here
- Check out the Child Care Experience Program implementation page
- Get an in-depth look at the Child Care Experience curriculum in this blog post