Abstract
This project is an alternative culminating experience for a Master of Arts in Education: Curriculum and Instruction with an Elective Emphasis on Arts in Education. It follows Pathway V: Art Educator as Advocate and Leader Promoting Arts Confident Teachers through Professional Development. The author researched the lack of relevant information available to the in-home provider of care for young children and determined that an online resource readily available to family childcare providers would provide a benefit to very young children across the country. Providing a consolidated online location to which a provider can turn for ideas in instruction, tips on how to run her business, information and ideas about healthy meal planning, and feedback from others in her field can only lead to the betterment of the in-home childcare program, and, ultimately, a healthier, more diverse learning environment for the very young child. The author studied the work of several well-known theorists in early childhood education, consolidated years of business practice, pulled information from nutrition experts, researched other useful websites, and narrowed years of study in art and music into a format for distribution to make this and other information available to a largely overlooked employment demographic. The author also argued in favor of including the study of the arts in education and emphasized the valuable role of play in early childhood education.