Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale

Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale of Little Mozarts

Jessica Walton
Seton Hill University

Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale

ECERS What is it? The Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale (ECERS) is an
observational assessment tool used to evaluate the quality of early childhood programs,
specifically in the key areas of: space and furnishings, personal care routines, languagereasoning, activities, interaction, program structure, and parents and staff (Environment Rating
Scales). Why use the Environment Rating Scale? Because children deserve to be in quality
environments and parents need the assurance of knowing their children are safe, healthy and
learning. The scale provides valuable information regarding strengths and areas of growth
needed in each classroom (Introduction to the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale).
Using this information can assist providers in making decisions about what areas of quality can
be addressed in the early learning program. For this assignment, I conducted the assessment of
Little Mozarts Pre-School and Daycare Center. I deemed what areas were of quality or were
requiring additional attention and an action plan to do so.
Firstly, my evaluation took place on Friday, February 8, 2012 at Little Mozarts PreSchool and Daycare Center. It is located on 1300 Broad Street, South Greensburg. Little Mozarts
has better childcare, small limited enrollment, and extraordinary curriculum. Little Mozarts
emphasizes on the performing arts. They offer expressive opportunities in music, music listening,
creative dramatics and art, dance and modified dance, along with phonics, vocabulary, math and
social studies. Children are exposed to movement, singing, rhythm, and listening to classic
composers especially Mozart. The famed research studies on The Mozart Effect have
confirmed that the brain works at more optimum levels when young children are immersed in
listening to, moving and performing music, specifically Mozart. Hence, where the center gets its
name. The performing and expressive arts have proven to be essential to early learning and

Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale

development for children ages birth through five years old. Music, dance, creative dramatics and
art all enhance cognitive and creative thinking skills (Little Mozarts Preschool).
Children ages twelve months through five years are accepted at Little Mozarts. Currently,
the oldest child in the center is five and the youngest is sixteen months. The highest number of
children allowed in class at one time is twenty-seven. On the day of my evaluation, there were
nineteen children and two teachers present. There was also one aide present due to one child
being evaluated for autism.
After about two hours, I was able to evaluate all items from the ECERS instrument.
Based on my evaluation, the classroom strengths were book selection, gross motor equipment,
blocks and staff-child interaction were of strong, positive quality. Overall, I was highly
disappointed in the center as a whole. The center had a vast amount of weak areas. It was lacking
in a majority of the ECERS subscales. The areas that I chose to focus on are hygiene, safety, and
supervision. These three areas are in need of definite improvement.
What first caught my eye at the center was how many books were present. Wide
selections of books are accessible to the children at all times. The books were age appropriate
and covered a variety of topics, appealing to all. However, during my evaluation the staff did not
read to the children. The children would select books, look at them, and within minutes put them
back on the shelf. The books were stored on shelves and in bins. I expected to see a defined
library space filled with mats, beanbags, and other comfortable items. This would promote
quietness and relaxation when reading.
The center strived in the subscale involving gross motor equipment. All of the equipment
appeared to be in good repair. The equipment was appropriate for the age and ability of the
children. All of the equipment was child sized. The outdoor play area stimulates a variety of

Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale

skills and different skill levels. It also was equipped with stationary and portable equipment. The
outdoor area was filled with tricycles, slides, swings, cars, coops, basketball hoops, and climbing
walls. There were also jungle gyms and swing sets. I personally believe that time spent outdoors
in a large area is extremely beneficial to a childs wellbeing and health. Children need an
unstructured environment where they can recharge, discover who they are, and practice skills
they have learned in the classroom. This opportunity to run, climb, explore, and investigate is
extremely important. There were also slides and climbers inside. The children receive thirty to
forty-five total minutes a day for gross motor equipment.
Blocks are the only fine motor activity that really caught my attention. There were a
variety of types of blocks in the center. For example, the blocks were wood, cardboard, and soft.
The blocks were organized according to type. They were accessible to children throughout the
day. However, I did not feel there was a vast amount of space for the children to build and play
with the blocks.
I was thoroughly fascinated with one of the teachers, Miss Leyna. She was such a
charming individual, who really loved being a teacher. I could feel her passion as soon as I
walked into the classroom. She was so inviting, I felt welcomed by her presence. She was also
extremely helpful and answered any questions I had. Her attitude was always positive and was
contagious among the children. She treated each child as a unique individual, gave her students
her full attention, and showed them a great deal of respect. She loved singing to the children and
promoting conversations. She would challenge the students through open-ended questions and
encourage them to communicate with her and one another. She inspires me to follow in her
footsteps as a future educator.

Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale

One of the many downsides to Little Mozarts is hygiene. Overall, the sanitary conditions
were not maintained. The staff did not cut down on the spread of germs. During meal/snack time,
the tables were not sanitized. There was also no nutrition policy posted. During diapering, the
changing table was not sanitized after each use. The changing table was not wiped down. I did
see a box a gloves, however they were never used.
My action plan would be to implement hygiene practices. When children are young,
healthy and unhealthy habits are formed. If the children are practicing unhealthy habits at the
center, then they are going to carry those bad habits into adulthood. The children need to know
how to keep their bodies healthy. They need to be informed on why it is important to be healthy.
No one likes to be sick and in pain; we all want to stay well. Happy people are healthy people!
Healthy eating is important so the childs body is well nourished. Teaching the children about
nutrition will prevent the children from becoming over or under weight in the future. Hygiene
such as hand washing is important so that the children learn to keep germs away. Healthy
routines lead to healthy children. Children need to practice good health so that they develop into
strong, healthy adults.
The next downside of the center was safety and supervision. When first walking into the
center, I was surprised to see how safe the security door was. The door maintained locked until
we rang the buzzer and were let in by Ms. Chrissy. However, once I was evaluating the center
there were many hazardous occurrences. The overall space of the center was crowded and
cluttered. The classroom felt rather small for all of its occupants. Although a ramp was available,
I felt as if a physically disabled student may have had difficulty maneuvering around all of the
furniture. The floors were hard, but covered with carpets and rugs. The carpets were uneven,
which made it very easy to trip or roll an ankle. My classmate, Lindsey Lash, experienced this.

Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale

She nearly tripped and rolled her ankle when walking around to observe the center. The
supervision of the children was inadequate. At times, the children were left alone. At one point, I
was the only adult in the room with all of the children. One child fell off the steps while trying to
wash her hands. Another child was standing on his head. Lastly, a child was hiding under an
easel trying to knock it over. I was appalled during these situations. The children have potential
to get hurt when they are left unsupervised.
My action plan would first to be rearrange and remove some furniture. More free space
and less clutter would be beneficial to this center. The carpeting also needs to be redone to
prevent any injuries. An action plan for supervision would be to have an adult with the children
at ALL times. The children can never be unattended. This would promote safety amongst the
classroom and prevent any children from becoming injured.
When implementing my recommendations regarding hygiene, safety, and supervision, I
think the center has potential to grow. Changing the classroom environment will affect the
classroom learning. More space will benefit all children including children with disabilities.
There will be more space for activities such as defined centers. Implementing hygiene practices
will keep germs away, keeping the children healthy. Applying constant supervision to the
classroom will prevent anyone from becoming injured. Not only will the center be cleaner, it will
also be safer.
I enjoyed using the ECERS instrument. It provided me with a precise outlook. I was able
to evaluate the center from a different perspective. I believe the results of the ECERS are
accurate in depicting Little Mozarts Pre-School and Daycare Center. Although the results
portrayed a low quality early childhood program, I think Little Mozarts has true potential to grow

Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale

if changes are implemented. By maintaining a higher quality setting, children will have better
school success in the long run.

Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale

Works Cited
"Environment Rating Scales (ERS)." Pre-K Counts Environmental
Rating Scales. Web. 24 Feb. 2013. <http://www.pakeys.org/pages/get.aspx?
page=Programs_PreK_ERS>.
"Introduction to the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale
(ECERS)." Illinois State Board of Education. Web. 24 Feb. 2013.
<http://www.isbe.net/earlychi/pdf/ecers_presentation.pdf>.
Little Mozarts Preschool. Pre-School Performing Arts. Web. 24 Feb. 2013
<http://www.littlemozartspreschool.com/pre-school-performing-arts>