I Want To Further My Education....

[DaycareMama]

I have been doing daycare about 14 years now in the same location. I do pretty well and stay fairly full. I am planning on moving next year to an area where I know absolutely no one. I am afraid that my lack of schooling is going to hurt me. There will be a tremendous difference in pay too.
I would like to find an online school to start getting a degree towards Early Childhood, I most likely would like to keep doing it from my home or perhaps work in a preschool.

I having a hard time figuring out which path would be better to take. Do I go with a CDA or should I just go right for an Associates to start with? I am so confused

If it matters I will either be relocating to fl or south Carolina

[Blackcat31]

I have been doing daycare about 14 years now in the same location. I do pretty well and stay fairly full. I am planning on moving next year to an area where I know absolutely no one. I am afraid that my lack of schooling is going to hurt me. There will be a tremendous difference in pay too.
I would like to find an online school to start getting a degree towards Early Childhood, I most likely would like to keep doing it from my home or perhaps work in a preschool.

I having a hard time figuring out which path would be better to take. Do I go with a CDA or should I just go right for an Associates to start with? I am so confused

If it matters I will either be relocating to fl or south Carolina

If you are going to earn an associates degree in early childhood, skip the CDA...its just a certificate and is a lot of repeat info you will re-do while earning the associates.

I earned my degree online through our local community college (A.A.S) and then a nearby university (B.A) so I would start with the local community college and see if they offer ECE degree/programs. Most colleges now offer degrees/program options entirely online.

HTH

[AnythingsPossible]

My state (WY) provides funding for providers to further their education. They will pay for providers to earn a CDA and will also provide 1000 dollars per semester if you are obtaining an early childhood degree through an approved school. Once you get settled in your new state, you may want to inquire to see if any such programs are available in your area. I will be done with my Associates this fall and there is no way I would have done it without the assistance. I do owe hours of work in early childhood after I obtain my degree, but it's what I am doing anyway, so that is no big deal!

[Nisaryn]

I'm in the same situation but I will most likely have to get the CDA. I already have a degree in education but it wasn't in ECE specifically so I still have to take the classes anyway so I signed up for classes at on of the community colleges. Recently I found out that I most likely won't even be able to get the AS degree since it would require me to be able to do a full semester of practicum, they won't accept my daycare experience so unless I am willing to take an entire 3 months off from my job I can't complete the requirement. So you might want to look into this as well. For me the CDA or the NAFCC certificate is more "do-able" because I wouldn't have to shut my daycare down to complete the requirements.