Mrs. Georgia is a classroom support teacher at Giving Tree Early Learning, but she wears many hats in the program.  Mrs. Georgia bakes challah with each class twice a month.  She also does special baking projects around the Jewish holidays.  

Recently, Mrs. Georgia has been working with the Oak class on sewing!  She used a large plastic needle and thread to sew buttons on burlap.  Mrs. Georgia in conjunction with Mrs. Mahern, plan next steps to help children develop the fine motor skills to help sew projects together.  

  The Oak children continued practicing their sewing skills with more focused projects.  They created keepsakes for Rosh Hashanah.  Mrs. Georgia gave them more opportunities to work on their stitching skills.  Students work on several skills while sewing including hand eye coordination, fine motor skills, receptive and expressive communication, and creative arts.  

Mrs. Georgia continued working on sewing skills by introducing children to sewing machines.  She started small, by using the sewing machine to stitch the side of fabric and moved on to thinner fabric.  I wonder what they will make next!

Paths to QUALITY is a voluntary State wide rating system that guarantees that not only is the health and safety of your child reaching and exceeding minimum standards but that the level of care, daily interactions and curriculum are being conducted in the best interest of your child. 

Each year, our program goes through an annual inspection in which our rater spends the day moving through our program observing instruction, student/teacher interactions, classroom environments and validating documentation of program standards and procedures. 

Each level of Paths to QUALITY builds on the foundation of the previous one, resulting in significant quality improvements at each stage and in national accreditation at the highest level, level 4. The system validates early care and education programs for ongoing efforts to achieve higher standards of quality and provides incentives and awards for success.

Giving Tree Early Learning maintains a Level 3 rating and is working towards national accredication through NAEYC.

The difference between Level 2 and Level 3 are found not in the learning environment but in the instruction itself. The PTQ Rater observes teacher-child interactions, assesses the use of the Early Learning Foundation standards to ensure developmentally appropriate practice, reviews staff development, evaluates student portfolios as well as inspecting all of the standards from the two previous levels. 

The checklist for the rating visit is 11 pages long! While we have effectively met the minimum requirements, we strive to provide a learning experience that goes above and beyond. 

We are often asked by early childhood professionals to come into our program to observe developmentally appropriate practices in action. In the Indianapolis early childhood community, Giving Tree has become a local hotspot. Our Reggio inspired curriculum, commitment to the children and clear documentation of how learning occurs through play has shined brightly. Brittany Flaugher formerly of Child Care Answers referrred to our program as  reflecting "the tapestry of life" because she can see each thread- families, children, teachers, environment and curriculum, interwoven to create a rich and vibrant "tapestry of life."​
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Below are the components met in PTQ Level 3:

1. Portfolios- Each school year we assess, observe and collect work samples showing your child's growth. These portfolios include pictures, written observations, work samples important notes from home, and our ISTAR-KR assessments. 

2. Environment- each classroom contains 10 learning centers with a minimum of three components. Those centers are Reading/Literacy, Writing, Art, Mathematics, Science, Sensory, Music, Blocks, Manipulatives, Dramatic Play. In addition to the PTQ standards we also provide Reggio inspiration throughout with a focus on the use of open-ended materials and loose parts. The most important component of the environment, aside from the safety and learning centers, is on the representation of your child within the space. Each classroom must contain photographs, dictations and work samples of your child engaging in their day. This allows your child to feel represented and a part of the classroom environment. Loris Malaguzzi, the founder of the Reggio philosophy once said, ​