The Director's Planner: Week of July 7th, 2025
With amazing BONUS content!
Happy Monday! I hope everyone had an amazing long weekend and was able to enjoy some much needed rest and relaxation. I wanted to thank everyone who shared their thoughts about what would be the best way to support you during the summer months. It sounds like many of you would like to focus on leadership and team development over the summer, along with preparing for the fall. So that is what we are going to do!
I will be shifting my weekly summer planner a bit to accomplish these goals and be a bit more flexible. But, as always, I encourage you to reach out directly with any thoughts, ideas, or other ways this space can be beneficial in supporting you.
This Week’s Thought
You don’t build a strong team by fixing weaknesses. You build it by capitalizing on your team members’ strengths.
Whether it’s the quiet assistant who’s amazing at calming dysregulated kids or the float who can organize chaos like magic—your team’s superpowers are already there.
Take a moment this week to reflect on each team member’s strengths. Then, consider your center’s biggest challenges right now. Where’s the overlap? There may be something they’re uniquely equipped to take on and take off your plate (if you create the space for it.)
Something to Use
This spring, I poured a lot of energy into creating an 80-page Childcare Enrollment Playbook for my Insiders—but I’m thrilled to share that it’s now available to everyone!
As you start to look ahead to fall, enrollment should absolutely be front and center. Now’s the time to get those tours going and applications rolling so you can head into September with less stress and more confidence.
That’s exactly why I built this Playbook: to take the guesswork out of enrollment and give you real tools that work. Inside, you’ll find:
Proven Strategies: Learn how to attract, nurture, and convert prospective families into loyal members of your community.
Mastering Tours: Create unforgettable first impressions that leave families saying, “This is the place for us.”
Retention Techniques: Turn current families into your best ambassadors with referral programs and creative retention strategies.
Printable Tools and Worksheets: Practical, ready-to-use resources to help you take action immediately.
If you find this helpful, my only ask is that you share this resource with fellow Directors on social media or in Director groups so I can continue to reach others in the field. The more we grow, the more power we have to change the industry from the inside-out.
What’s Coming Up
I. Schedule your end-of-summer carpet cleaning
Many programs build in a day or two at the end of August for teachers to reset their classrooms before fall. Now’s the perfect time to get your carpet cleaning scheduled so you can lock in your preferred date, give teachers a heads up, and ensure there's time to shift shelves and materials onto hard flooring.
💡 Pro Tip: Can’t schedule it right before a prep day? Aim for a Thursday evening. That way, classrooms are only in “chaos mode” for one day—Friday—instead of teachers walking into a mess on Monday morning.
II. Begin planning fall professional development
Fall will be here before we know it, and with it comes staff meetings, in-service days, and required training hours. Now’s a great time to start mapping out your PD plan for the remainder of the year—whether it's bringing in a guest speaker, building in time for reflective practice, or aligning your sessions with licensing requirements and classroom needs.
💡 Pro Tip: Ask your team what topics they’re most interested in! Giving them a voice increases engagement and helps you plan meaningful sessions that actually stick. Need help with this? Keep your eyes peeled for a post later this week on the best way to determine what type of training your team really needs this year!
III. Grab fresh flowers for the entrance!
Freshen up your curb appeal with a few new flower baskets or planters—especially while summer blooms are likely on sale! A welcoming entrance makes a big first impression on touring families and gives your team and kids a little mood boost each morning.
💡 Pro Tip: Choose low-maintenance flowers like petunias or marigolds that can handle the heat and still look great through the end of August.
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!
