Start with the Arts for HOME-based providers Deb Norris July 18, 2024

**Providers earn 20 PD hours for completing the entire FREE program, 6 of these can be used for Advanced Specialized Care** Start with the Arts is an inclusive, intensive mentoring program for home-based childcare providers caring for children preschool age and younger. Quality children’s books are extended with rich, arts-based experiences, from every genre, to help the children and providers explore and find their best expressive means. Our program includes content focused on social and emotional learning. Our teaching artists model the program for the first 12 weeks, and providers create, deliver, and document their own arts-based literacy activities after that, for a total of 16 lessons. One goal of the program is that at the end the providers will have the inspiration and confidence to continue using the model on their own. Start with the Arts Program Outline: Consists of 12, weekly, 1 hour visits led by SWTA teaching artist, with teaching artist and provider working together as a team With 4, 2 hour professional development gatherings held outside of traditional daycare hours 4 additional weekly visits led by the provider, with SWTA teaching artist support During the next 3 months providers independently lead weekly sessions with the children, with monthly follow up visits led by SWTA teaching artist for support. (Summary: Total number of visits including the children =19, 16 are weekly, then 3 monthly. Also 4 total professional development gatherings, 2hrs each. Scheduling of all of these sessions is flexible depending on what works for both the teaching artist and provider.) A public display is planned by the provider and teaching artist to celebrate the provider's and children's commitment and participation in the program and to encourage family and public awareness. Providers will document the lessons that they lead on their own in the form of logs, copies of which will be collected by Inclusive Arts Vermont for PD documentation