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Cobb Childcare & Preschool Moves to a Sliding Scale Tuition Model

COBB CHILDREN’S LEARNING CENTER LAUNCHES “GROW YOUR OWN TEACHER” PROGRAM, INCLUDING A FREE COLLEGE TUITION PROGRAM FOR EARLY EDUCATORS

Playing with Loose Parts

Loose parts are natural and recycled materials that provide endless possibilities for children to develop creativity and deepen critical thinking and problem-solving. What others may see as “junk” or items to be discarded, children see as endless exploration and opportunity! We’ve all heard the tale of the child who would rather play with the box a toy came in rather than the toy itself; this is a prime example of the tantalizing wonder loose parts bring to the early childhood environment. What appears as a pile of seashells, dough, twist ties, pipe cleaners and bobbins to adults can quickly become a fairy village, unicorn utopia, superhero land, bear cave, rocket ship, or more to a child.

In 1972, architect Simon Nicholson developed the Theory of Loose Parts during his work with playground and school design, rethinking static environments and instead using loose materials to encourage a child’s natural creativity. In an emergent environment such as ours, loose parts reflect Loris Malaguzzi’s image of the child: if you believe the child to be inquisitive and creative, competent and capable, intelligent and whole, then you will create environments that reflect this. Loris Malaguzzi was the founder of the Reggio Emilia educational philosophy, a philosophy that believes children use many, many different ways to show their understanding and express their thoughts and creativity. Many different ways of thinking, of discovering, of learning through drawing and sculpting, through dance and movement, through painting and play, through modeling and music, and that each one of these ways deserves to be valued and nurtured.

An emergent curriculum is one where the projects and ideas emerge from the children’s interests. Rather than a pre-packaged curriculum that dictates the activities for the class without consideration of the child’s interest or ability, our staff observes, documents, and practices inquiry to determine the projects, activities, and materials presented within the classroom environment. This process allows our school to not only meet, but exceed the developmental milestones and standards established by the Oregon Department of Early Learning, in a method that is relevant, meaningful and engaging for our students.

Physical play happens with loose parts as children pick up and move materials, both big and small. Constructive play occurs with materials such as blocks, fabric, boards, boxes, nuts & bolts, and a variety of tools. Dramatic play occurs when children build playhouses, castles, and forts. Children use loose parts to create games with rules, establish leadership and develop a sense of self. Loose parts can support collaborative group play with many peers, or be used by one child alone, or two children playing side by side in parallel play. The use of open-ended material can also lead to risky play (more on this later!) From play comes learning and the research is clear: this is how learning happens.

Loose parts are the tools used by our educators to nurture and stimulate discovery, prompt meaningful connections, and provide ample opportunity for open-ended play. The process is the most important aspect of our approach- more important than the end product, which will be different for every child depending on their own individual approach.

COVID-19 Update 5.24.21- Updated Regulations

Hello,

It has been a few months since the last COVID-19 update! We’ve recently received new guidance from the Oregon Department of Early Learning regarding restrictions and regulations. Effective Tuesday, June 1st, The following changes will be implemented: No more carpool line! We will welcome parents back into the facility with the following restrictions:

• Everyone over the age of 5 must wear a mask that covers the nose and mouth- no exceptions.
• No one may enter any classroom for drop-off or pickup; caregivers must wait outside of the classroom to be greeted by the teacher. The teacher will also bring the child to you for pickup.
• When dropping off or picking up your child outside, you may enter the exterior boundary of the play yard, but may not remove your mask, and may not come into contact with children other than your own.
• No more hand sanitizer at dropoff. Instead, all children must wash their hands upon arrival. To make this an easier process for staff (verifying sign-in/out, welcoming children, greeting parents, plus supervising the other children in care), we are requiring the parents to own responsibility for hand washing. All children must wash their hands with soap and water in the Piazza before entering the classrooms. There may be a line to wash, but such is the nature of the restrictions, so you may wish to plan accordingly. Please do not circumvent the system because you are in a hurry or ask the staff to wash your child’s hands. Infant and toddler hands will be washed by staff.
• Adults must certify to the health questions each day. Effective May 25th, this will be available at check-in on BrightWheel during dropoff. If you forget to certify to the health questions or check your child in, you will receive a phone call so that we may maintain compliance.
• 6 feet of social distancing must be maintained at all times when possible. Please keep your children with you as they walk down the hallways so they aren’t exposed to a maskless child from another classroom.

Now that we’ve listed all of the new restrictions, let’s discuss happy things! We are excited to have you back in! We hope with the changes to BrightWheel and the extra handwashing station, drop-off and pickup will remain pretty painless and effective. We know you are excited to see and talk to your child’s teacher as well, and so are we! Please keep in mind that your child’s teacher has a responsibility to the other children in the classroom and cannot hang out in the doorway with their backs turned in order to chat. As we continue with this new version of normal, we believe we will figure out a way to balance the lack of classroom entry with communication with parents, so your patience is appreciated as we figure out the logistics!

Meet the Director

We are so pleased to introduce Cobb Families to our new Director, Carol Hinchliff!

Carol currently resides in Switzerland, but will be joining us stateside soon to further drive our mission of providing equitable access to high-quality care and early education for Douglas County families. With robust experience in a child-centered approach to early learning, Carol brings expertise in teacher coaching, curriculum implementation, and classroom support to Cobb Childcare & Preschool. Jessica will scale back her role as Executive Director, focusing on capacity building, organizational growth, pedagogy support and overall operations of our small but mighty non-profit.

Carol is originally from Canada where she earned her Bachelor’s degree in Education and taught third grade for 2 years. She then moved to California; attained her Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction, taught for 17 years, and raised her two daughters. Carol was also a teacher in the states of Washington, Colorado, and New Mexico before moving to Switzerland where she implemented a three-year-old program at TASIS (The American School in Switzerland).

When not working with children, Carol enjoys gardening, hiking, skiing, and traveling. She is excited to be joining the Cobb Childcare and Preschool team and is looking forward to her new home in Oregon.

Current Cobb families will be receiving a special invitation to a virtual meet and greet, schedule for Thursday May 27th 2021.

Cobb Children’s Learning Center Receives $10,923.85 Grant Towards COVID-19 Support

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For more information, contact:

Jessica Gaul

Executive Director

541-957-1008

Jessicag@cobbschool.org

COBB CHILDREN’S LEARNING CENTER RECEIVES $10,923.85 GRANT FOR COVID-19 SUPPORT

Roseburg, Oregon (01.21.21) — Cobb Children’s Learning Center has received a $10,923.85 grant from the Douglas County Childcare Coalition to support high-quality care at its Cobb Childcare and Preschool location while operating under an emergency license.

Jessica Gaul, executive director of Cobb Children’s Learning Center, said the funds will go directly towards staff salaries. “The Douglas County Childcare Coalition recognizes that expenses have increased for childcare providers since the implementation of COVID-19 regulations. For Cobb Childcare and Preschool, our greatest increase has been staff salaries to meet the new group sizes” executive director Gaul said. “Across the country, it is estimated that as many as half of all child care centers will close permanently due to COVID, according to a recent report by the Center for American Progress (Malik, et. al, 2020). Rural communities will perhaps be hit hardest, most especially in terms of recruiting and retaining staff; we are pleased to be in a position where we can continue to provide high-quality care and early education for families for the foreseeable future, thanks in part to grants such as this.”

About Cobb Children’s Learning Center

Cobb Children’s Learning Center was started as Cobb Street Children’s Learning Center on Cobb Street, in 1994 by Sister Jeanita Richter to meet the growing demand for secular childcare services in Roseburg, Oregon. Today, the organization is known as Cobb Children’s Learning Center, a nonprofit organization, operating the Cobb Childcare & Preschool located on Walnut Street in Roseburg, serving 100 Douglas County children annually ages 6 weeks to 5 years. For more information about Cobb Children’s Learning Center, or the Cobb Childcare and Preschool, call 541-957-1008 or visit www.cobbschool.org.

About the Douglas County Childcare Coalition 

The Douglas County Childcare Coalition is co-led by the Douglas ESD Biz4Kids program and Care Connections and Education with a mission to come together as a community to strategize and develop a collective plan for childcare solutions for Douglas County. They have partnered with the City of Roseburg to allocate funds for childcare providers to cover increased expenses as a result of the pandemic.

You can learn more about the coalition and its work here: https://biz4kids.org/douglas-county-childcare-coalition/

COVID-19 Update 11.6.20… Where We’ve Been and Looking Forward

It has been almost eight months since our first COVID announcement; almost eight months since we were first required to cease operations under Governor Kate Brown’s Executive Order. Times were uncertain and even more uncertain was the wonder “what would happen to childcare services?” At that time, many of our families began working from home, and didn’t need childcare upon our reopen. On May 1st, we reopened our doors to 27 children. This was an adequate number at that time seeing that seven staff members did not return with us, but it was still far from the 100 children we are able to serve. As worries stabilized, and health & safety guidance was released to employers, children began to return. However, at that time we, along with other childcare providers, faced a new dilemma: we were unable to recruit and retain staffing at the levels we once did. At the same time, employee qualification exceptions were made for federally funded programs, including public education providers, allowing them to attract employees who might typically apply to work in private childcare.

We were no longer receiving multiple applicants for each job posting; all the while our waitlist continued to grow- more families than ever were seeking care as parents were called back to work. While we are pleased to be able to continue to provide care in any capacity, it is important to note that we do so without the luxury of maintaining “business as usual.” We are currently providing care for 54 families (with more than 70 on our waitlist) but gone are the days when staff are able to commingle children (and themselves) for social interaction. Gone are the flexible schedules and ample time off for staff.  To say our staff are resilient is an understatement! These are uncertain times indeed, but here is what we do know:

• Each person who chooses to show up and commit the greater part of their day to caring for and education our youngest citizens deserves accolades in normal times. To do so when days are long, the worry of a viral infection is real, and when every day is different, deserves the absolute most respect we can offer!
• We may unfortunately lose additional staff as a systematic result of our current times. In this scenario, we will continue to hire staff to fill open positions, and we will continue to seek the very best early educators our rural community has to offer!
• Now is the time to be kind. Kind to the people who care for your children, kind to the school administrators who go home worried about how it’s all going to come together each day and who make those hard and unpopular decisions, and certainly kind to strangers and each other, as we carry many of the same worries and stresses.

As part of a childcare coalition I belong to, I learned yesterday that 6 child care providers in Douglas County closed. That is 6 more providers who had to make the hard decision that there was NOT a light at the end of the tunnel and my heart goes out to them and the sadness I know they feel. We enter this field out of passion and a belief that we can make a difference in our communities and in the lives of the children we serve. Cobb as an organization is fortunate to be in a relatively stable place and we continue to create magic in each classroom every single day! Also, we know staffing will improve as the overall climate improves! In the meantime, we will continue to make decisions that allow us to continue to provide high quality care. When adjustments need to be made to the classroom setting, we appreciate your understanding that these times are difficult for all of us and your trust is greatly appreciated. We will take full advantage of all opportunities to keep children in the same classrooms, with the same friends whenever we are able, but know there may need to be temporary changes as we adjust to unforeseen circumstances in order to keep our current families enrolled.

I can also tell you with certainty that we are more committed than ever to continuing our emergent approach to early education and continuing to offer an experience that is unmatched in Southern Oregon. Being able to implement a research-backed and immersive experience for our students during the most difficult of times is a source of constant inspiration and joy for those of us within these walls. We unequivocally have the best and the brightest staff working with us, and we will continue that same high standard as we recruit going forward.

I will continue to provide operational updates as appropriate and in the spirit of open communication. Please do not hesitate to use BrightWheel to keep in communication with your child’s teacher on a daily basis! If you or your family have any questions about your child’s participation at Cobb, please reach out to Rica, our Director.

Let’s continue to be kind and support each other!

In Partnership,