Steps to Earn your Preschool CDA Credential

All amazing preschool teachers have a CDA credential

The Child Development Associate (CDA) credential is recognized in  the field of early childhood education. Professionals can use this credential as a stepping stone to advance their career.

The CDA credential is based on a set of competency standards determined by the Council for Professional Recognition. These guide education professionals striving to become qualified. If you are an early childcare professional, getting a CDA is a great step to moving your career forward.

Getting your credential means you have vital knowledge to put the competency standards into practice. You comprehend how it can help move children from one development stage to the next. As a CDA, you will know how to nurture children emotionally, intellectually, physically, and socially.

Earning the CDA credential can benefit you in more ways than one. And if you want to become a CDA, below are the steps you need to take.

PREPARATION

Those who wish to apply for a CDA credential must:

1. earn a high school diploma, GED
2. or be a high school student enrolled in early childhood education program
3. or complete the required 120 hours of professional early childhood training which should include at least 10 hours of training in each of the following CDA subject areas:

• Planning a safe and healthy environment
• Supporting children’s social and emotional development
• Managing an effective program operation
• Observing and recording children’s behavior
• Advancing children’s physical and intellectual development
• Building productive relationships with families
• Maintaining a commitment to professionalism
• Understanding the principles of child development and learning

Up to 3 years before applying, you must get a total of 480 hours of professional experience working with children. This work experience must be with the age group that matches what you wrote in your application.

Within six months of your application submission, you must prepare your CDA professional portfolio. This should include a collection of reference materials and documents related to your work. The professional portfolio includes family questionnaires, education documentation, 10 resources, 6 reflective statements of competence and a professional philosophy statement.

APPLICATION

The application for the CDA credential can be done online, or you can furnish a paper application provided in the CDA Competency Standards Book. The online application costs $425 while the paper application costs $500. The council will review your application and once accepted, they will send you a “Ready to Schedule” notification.

VERIFICATION VISIT

As soon as you get your “Ready to Schedule” notification , you can schedule your CDA Verification Visit as well as your CDA exam. You will have to find a Professional Development Specialist using the Council’s directory. This CDA Professional Development Specialist will be doing your Verification Visit. The PD specialist will visit you at your workplace and take the following steps:

•         Review of your professional portfolio
•         Observe how you work with children
•         Reflect and discuss your strengths and opportunities

CDA EXAM

The final step would be the CDA exam which includes 65 multiple choice questions, 5 of which are scenario questions that require narrative answers. You are given an hour and 45 minutes to complete the exam.

A council committee will be tasked to review the results of your Verification Visit and CDA exam and render a decision on awarding you the CDA credential.

SCENARIO-BASED TRAINING

Because the CDA Exam is a crucial part of the CDA credential process, National CDA Training is here to help you be better prepared. At NCDAT, we use scenario-based training. The scenario-based approach will train your mind to react to each given classroom situation. You will get adequate mental practice so that you’ll know how to respond to situations that may arise in a classroom. Aside from being effective, our training is fun and unique!

It’s about time to advance your career! Take our CDA courses and apply for your preschool CDA credential now!

The post Steps to Earn your Preschool CDA Credential appeared first on National CDA Training.

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Boost Your Business While Exploring The Great Outdoors

June is National Great Outdoors Month! Don’t miss out on the opportunities this has to offer you and your business.  With a little bit of strategic planning, your business can on its way to generate additional revenue while enjoying the Great American Outdoors.

Here are some tips for you to go by this month-long celebration of the great outdoors:

1. Promote your business

The great outdoors has some beautiful scenery

There’s nothing wrong promoting your local small business while enjoying the natural environment.  In fact, running a business and promoting environmental protection can work hand in hand.

If you run a local restaurant, put out some displays about the scenic beauties surrounding your business.  Do you have a door-to-door delivery business? Print some extra fliers promoting the nearby outdoor activity in your state (don’t forget to include your business logo).

Do you see tourists flocking your state?  Make sure you have items such as pens with your logo to give away so they’ll remember your store while enjoying outdoor activities near you.

There are many ways to slant National Great Outdoors Month to your business’ favor.  All you need to do is to get those creative juice flowing and occasionally woo the “muse” to give you bright business ideas.

2. Team building for your staff

Want to enjoy the Great American Outdoors during work hours? What better way to do it than to enjoy each moment with your employees!

Taking your staff outdoors can rejuvenate them after months of stressful work.  There are plenty of group activities to choose from:

• Boating
• Camping
• Fishing
• Hiking
• Stewardship

Regardless of the activity your team engages in, the outdoor experience will bring your employees closer together.  Plan ahead and think of activities that will help your staff take a little bit of recreational rest and get their pent-up energy out in the open.

Have them wear your company t-shirt or wind breakers while doing activities.  This adds visibility for your company and make others in the area know your company exists.  Extra eyeball advertisement for your brand will surely help drive your business forward.

3. Increase your staff’s productivity

Are you having trouble increasing your staff’s productivity?

This is related to #2. Enjoying the great outdoors could spell dramatic increases in your employees’ performance.

Why?

People who spend more time enjoying the great outdoors develop a special kind of social skill—they tend to work better in groups.

Do you have staff members who don’t work well together?  Let them indirectly sort things out by putting them in the same team activities!  It may be awkward at first but reminding them that this is a fun activity could cool things down. It could eventually lead to a much more harmonious collaboration among team members.

4. Health benefits

A sedentary routine is one of the biggest threats to a healthy life.  When you spend majority of your time sitting down in front of a computer, don’t be surprised if you feel pain or get sick more often.

Humans are social beings.  We all began living closely tied to the outdoors hunting for food and later, tilling the soil. But advancements in technology, while extremely beneficial, brought with it several painful changes in our work-life balance.

You can get your health back by simply stepping outside! And what better time to do it than this month!

Climb a mountain with your friends, trek with your employees, go on that fly fishing trip with your dad that you’ve been planning to do for months now but keep putting off.  The health benefits are enormous!

By the way, when we say health benefits, we don’t mean only physical health benefits.  Perhaps you’ve been looking inward for so long now and it’s time to look outward. Being outdoors helps reestablish the balance you need and want for your mental state.

There are so many benefits the Great American Outdoors can give you. One of the best benefits? You get to take control of your health back.

5. Care for the environment

With all the talk of global warming and climate change, you and your business can make positive impacts on the environment. Take the time to show the world that you care about the environment.

Give out small notes to tourists to remind them to “clean-as -they-go” once they’re done with their recreational activities.  (Don’t forget to include your business logo in your notes.) Or you can give them quick guides how to be safe in their trip or an easy local number to call in case of emergencies.  (Again, don’t forget your business logo.)

These reminders, though not earth-shaking, can leave a small but positive impact on the environment.

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