In a recent webinar, we asked seasoned teachers as well as subject matter experts to give us some RealCare Baby tips and tricks for running a successful program. These Baby users let us in on their secrets to staying organized, preparing students to work with Baby, making learning impactful, and more. If you’re looking for ideas to elevate your Baby program, consider these tips.
1. Keep Each Baby’s Items in Their Own Container
Trude Sowada, a Minnesota FACS teacher, stores each Baby in its Realityworks case and keeps separate plastic boxes containing each Baby’s sensors, extra clothing, and other accessories. Sowada numbered her Babies and wrote the corresponding number on each box. This keeps everything organized and easy to access.
Pro tip: Check out our convenient Baby storage solutions to help keep your classroom neat and organized!
2. Proper Preparation Is Key
Sowada sends a letter home with the students explaining to their parent or guardian what is expected not just from the student, but from the parent as well. Parents/guardians must sign a permission slip and students must sign an agreement form before they’re allowed to take Baby home. Denise DuBois, Realityworks Product Manager and co-chair of the Alliance for Family and Consumer Science, suggests sending out permission slips at least two weeks in advance to ensure you get them back on time.
Sowada’s students also get to sign up for the weekend they want Baby to reduce potential scheduling conflicts. Sowada has a form for student to fill out if they have any special situations that require Baby to turned off such as Friday evening sport practice. She keeps the form on file and references them when programming the babies. DuBois also recommends having students fill out a signup sheet where they can pick their baby’s name and gender as well as let you know of any conflicts that you can program quiet time for.
Finally, Sowada’s students receive a printed list of all the supplies they need to take with them for the project and then their project begins.
Pro tip: Visit our RealCare Baby User Center to download printable permission slips, deployment checklists, and more.
3. Let Students Practice During Class
Students in Sowada’s courses are given three to five class periods to practice caring for Baby before taking one home. Sowada demonstrates all the care scenarios and how to respond to them before having students practice with a partner or small group. She reports that students often enjoy the practice time and even want to hold Baby during other class activities!
4. Get Feedback From Parents/Guardians
It’s important to involve parents and guardians to get their support for your Baby program. In addition to outlining parent expectation before the Baby project begins, Sowada also has parents fill out a reflection form at the end of the project. She asks parents to think about their observations of the student, what the students may have learned, and if they thought the project was valuable.
Watch Sowada’s full interview below:
5. Require Students To Take Baby Out on the Town
Ashley Edmonds, a Parenting and Child Development teacher in North Carolina, has her students take Baby home during class on Friday and return it in class the following Monday. She requires her students to take the Baby out in public on the weekends and report on how people reacted to seeing a young teen with a baby. This allows students to experience the discomfort and the feeling of being judged that can often come with being a young parent.
Edmonds has her students take Baby to the store where they must price out all the items they would need to buy as a single parent. Students must also take pictures while out and about to document the experience.
Cheryl Beckman, a Missouri FACS educator, has her students care for Baby for a whole week. Students must carry and protect Baby during the school day; however, Beckman keeps them from interrupting other classes by switching them to daycare mode.
6. Encourage Open Communication With Students
Edmonds prints her students’ reports and talks with them about any problems she sees in it. She asks them to expand on the issues presented and discusses what they could have done differently. Edmonds finds that students love talking about their experience with Baby, so she asks them to tell her what happened, what went wrong, and what went right. Sowada and Beckman will even provide students with their number so students can call or text if they have concerns or an emergency while caring for Baby.
View the video below to get more RealCare Baby tips from Edmonds:
7. Have Students Take Responsibility for Harming Baby
If a student in one of Beckman’s classes has more than two instances of rough handling or shaking, she has them appear before a panel of teachers representing a division of family services. Students must then explain to these teachers why they harmed Baby. This makes the Baby project feel more real and encourages students to think about the consequences of their actions.
8. Take Advantage of Realityworks’ Resources
Beckman uses many of the included Realityworks forms such as the contract stating that students will treat Baby as if it were real and the reflection sheet which she has customized by adding her own questions. DuBois recommends using the curriculum that comes with Baby. The Basic Infant Care curriculum is perfect for classes focused on preparing for childcare careers with topics such as child safety, emergency procedures, and more. Alternatively, if your class has more of a sex education focus, the Healthy Choices curriculum will fit nicely with your course as it covers relationships, self-esteem, refusal skills, adolescent health, and reproductive issues.
Pro tip: Download printable checklists and other resources from our RealCare Baby User Center.
Check out the video below to learn all about Beckman’s Baby experience:
9. Experience the Simulation for Yourself
If you haven’t gone through the RealCare simulation yourself, DuBois suggests you do so. This way you know exactly what you’re asking of your students and what they’re going through. If you have a free weekend or evening, program the simulation, and try it out. You may be surprised by what you learn!
10. Keep Baby on Display
If you aren’t going to use your babies right away, have them on display so students can see them. This builds excitement and anticipation for the big Baby project. Students can also help you prepare the babies for deployment by taking inventory and making sure everything is clean.
Watch the video below to hear DuBois’ full list of RealCare Baby tips:
Resources for Learning More
Wondering where you can find more RealCare Baby tips and tricks? Consider these resources:
- Visit our RealCare Baby User Center for printable checklists, updated curriculum links, and any other resources you need for your Baby program
- Check out our RealCare Baby implementation page to find a cast study on the impact of infant simulators, implementation ideas, and curriculum details
- Watch our complete webinar, “Making an Impact with RealCare Baby: Secrets from Successful Users,” on-demand anytime:
