
1 minute read
Conclusion
Regardless of your role, program type, or the age of the children you care for, you have an impact on young children. Empowered by Wyoming’s Early Learning Standards, you can own that impact. There is not one perfect way to implement these standards. They were designed to be adapted to each unique setting in which children are cared for and educated. Because this tool was created by educators, for educators, it is focused on simplifying and streamlining the complex task of caring for and teaching Wyoming’s youngest children.
Standards are an important tool to help professionalize our field. They provide early childhood educators the language we need to help others understand how important our work with children is. They can lead to conversations with families, colleagues, and community members about what children are learning, and our essential role in supporting them. Standards require us to think deeply about teaching and learning, and hold us accountable to support children’s growth and development. Standards provide a way to celebrate the good things we are already doing with children.
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During the creation of this tool, team members reflected on the way the process and the resulting document made them feel. Words used included "excited," "hopeful," "heard," and "empowered". We hope that as you use the Wyoming Early Learning Standards in your practice you feel the same way.
I think this new tool will help elevate early childhood education across our state; it provides educators, caretakers, and parents with the language to see that the things we do in everyday life can be profound learning opportunities for young children.
- Kara Cossel, Wyoming Early Childhood Professional Learning
Collaborative, Sheridan