Leadership in Early Childhood Education:

Pause for Inspiration

Breadcrumb trail:

Find inspiration, joy, and creativity in everyday things.

Do you find that you often consider your needs last, or not at all? Maybe this happens because you don't have time, you're just too tired at the end of a busy day or week, or you haven't really thought about how you might relax? We all need to find ways to energize and renew ourselves in order to stay with the demanding work of early care and education. Only when we truly care for ourselves and stimulate our creativity, can we fully care for and stimulate others. CompSAT offers tools and surprises that will help you on your path to renewal and reinvigoration.

A teacher observes a young boy stacking toy rocks.

Try This!

A young girl finger painting.

Catching Ideas! Take a lesson from a four-year-old.

Teacher: "Marie, what are you thinking about?"

Marie: "I'm waiting to catch an idea."

Teacher: "So, you’re thinking about something?"

Marie: "I'm thinking! Then you say, "I know." Then, then you do things! If you don't know what to do with your idea, you just keep thinking to catch more."

  • What ideas are you germinating? Let your mind wander.
  • Think about your ideals. What will you do next?

There are no templates for the Pause for Inspiration Key. This is a place to take a moment for yourself.

Deepen Your Understanding

California Early Childhood Educator Competencies

Consider a source of inspiration found in Performance Area 1, Topic: Cultivating leaders in the CA ECE Competencies. Scroll to page 94.

What other sources of inspiration are meaningful to you?

Download the California ECE Competencies

California Early Childhood Educator Competencies