DOUBLE TAP TO ZOOM WITH PHONE OR TABLET Introduction: Teaching through Quality Care As we learn more about how young children learn and grow, it becomes increasingly apparent that a quality family child care program can and should have a lasting effect on participating children and their families. Quality family child care provides children with education and loving, continual care. It is the best of both worlds. In that spirit, the objective of this curriculum is to demonstrate how multiage groups of children in family child care can be taught through quality of care. Very often the word teach brings to mind a formal learning setting. But children begin to learn from the moment of birth. Children learn from what they see, hear, and do. As a result, you are teaching during every interaction that occurs in the course of the day. In providing quality care to young children, it is impossible not to teach. Chil- dren learn by watching, listening, and attempting to replicate your behavior. Child care, with an emphasis on the word care, has to include all the components that allow for healthy development. For example, a provider who has developed effective and creative learning activities but neglects to change diapers when needed is not provid- ing quality child care. Successful family child care programs have the best organiza- tion of space and time. Maximizing all the points of contact during a typical family child care day provides an opportunity to meet all the early child care curriculum objectives. The word curriculum as it applies to family child care generally means a method of instruction. Curriculum objectives (what a curriculum should accomplish) in early child care include understanding several developmental domains: 1 COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL