Good morning and HAPPY NEW YEAR! I hope everyone was able to take some time to relax and enjoy family, friends, or a bit of quiet (in between the chaos) the last couple of weeks. Now we are back to it, so let’s jump right in!
💡 This Week’s Thought
What Problems Are You Preventing Others From Solving?
There’s a fine line between supporting your team and consistently handling problems that shouldn’t be yours to solve, whether you are carrying others’ emotions, tasks, or responsibilities. Over time, compensating for your team can slowly become the norm, and then the expectation. People begin to realize that while they could do the work, there’s less urgency if you’ll step in and do it for them.
Most of the time, this isn’t intentional on anyone’s part. It just happens, little by little. So this week, I would like you to take a moment to notice where you’re stepping in out of habit instead of necessity. What should others be doing that you have started doing for them? Where can your team, or co-workers, attempt to solve their own problems first? There are lessons for everyone in uncomfortable moments, and when we rush to fix things for our team, we often take those lessons away.
✨ Something to Use
For those who may have missed it, the January 2026 Monthly Resource Toolkit dropped last week! This is a resource I created specifically to help childcare leaders reduce their mental load each month. Inside, you’ll find pre-written content to jump-start your staff and family newsletters, a staff learning spotlight, and several ideas for connecting with families in the month ahead, complete with timelines and printables to make implementation as easy as possible.
And yes, it’s all free. Be sure to check it out below!
📅 What’s Coming Up
Each week I break down your to-do list into bite-sized tasks so you can stay on top of running your program without feeling overwhelmed.
I. Send your monthly newsletter
With the first full week in January upon us, it is time to send your monthly newsletter to families! And if you haven’t yet started a monthly newsletter to your staff, this is the perfect time to give it a shot. This can be fun and lighthearted or include important reminders, depending on what you most need to communicate to your team each month.
II. Refresh your space after the holidays
Now that the holidays are wrapped up, ensure any holiday themed decorations or child artwork you may have put out are taken down and sent home, or packed away for next December. This includes holiday themed art, decorations, or themed signs/planters. If you want to replace this with something new, lean into the blues/whites, or channel some new year “clean slate” energy with neutrals and a “less is more” mindset.
III. Start thinking about your 2026 annual training plan
Yes… I know you probably just finished up 2025 annual training documentation and tracking. But as you look ahead to your 2026 professional development days, now is a great time to sketch out what mandatory trainings you want to cover at each one. Once those are mapped out, you’ll have a clearer sense of how much time is left for optional or enrichment training. Then you can start reaching out to trainers early, especially if your first PD day is coming up soon!
And that’s it for this week! Easy as A, B, C, 1, 2, 3.
As always, I am so grateful to all of my readers who share my work with other Directors in the field. Together we will do wonderful things!
🌟 Director Spotlight
Don’t forget to hit reply and tell me what you (or a fellow Director) are doing that you’re proud of, big or small. I want you to brag! Let me hear it!
