Child Care Chat
Step Up To Quality Child Care Rating I’m sure if you have been looking into child care centers, you have probably come across the term: Step Up To Quality. The state of Ohio came up with this great program that truly challenges licensed child care centers to “Step it up”! By this, I’m referring to stepping up the quality of the educational programs that support your child’s early learning experiences and it also provides the parents with a tool to help select a child care center that has the educational programs that meet the guidelines of a star rated program. This is a voluntary 3-star rating program and the rewards for participation are many. The opportunities for professional development have grown over the past 2 years. The staff has a variety of classes to choose from including infant, toddler, preschool, and school age topics. All staff is required to take 10 hours of in-service training for just a 1 star rated program. Step Up also increases the hiring qualifications for the site administrators (person in charge) and the teachers (child care giver) as well as decreases the child/teacher ratios in order to support the stronger educational experiences and smaller group sizes. The ultimate reward for the centers is the financial rewards. Grant money is available to the centers for starting and maintaining their star rating. The Step Up standards became available to centers in 2007 and the number of participating child care centers is increasing. I encourage parents to go on-line and become familiar with the Step-Up Program, www.stepuptoquality.org. We owe it to our kids!! Page Rostetter, M.Ed. (Master of Education), and Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist is the Child Care Director of Sylvania Community Services, the only pay-as-you-stay licensed child care in the area. The program serves children age 3-11. Page can be reached at 419-885-2451 or prostetter.scs@sev.org Safety When searching for a daycare setting, I hope parents are remembering to ask about the safety plans, which should be in place at any child care center or home care. We always like to think nothing will ever happen to our children, but it’s always a plus to be well prepared for any event!! I’m always reminded of the story about the daycare located in the twin towers. They successfully evacuated all children safely. Their plan worked!! Here are some safety programs you might want to inquire about when looking for a safe child care setting. Are they doing monthly fire drills? Are they reviewing tornado safety during the spring and summer months? Do they have lock-down procedures in place if a stranger enters the center or home? If something were to happen and they were not able to return to their daycare setting, where is their evacuation site? If your daycare is licensed by ODJFS (Ohio Dept Jobs & Family Services), most likely they have these procedures. If your child care is in a school setting, it’s probable they have used the schools plans and tailored it to meet the needs of the daycare setting. It is always a privilege to be the chosen as the caregivers of our precious young people. And it is our duty to take care of them as if they were our own!! Page Rostetter, M.Ed. (Master of Education), and Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist is the Child Care Director of Sylvania Community Services, the only pay-as-you-stay licensed child care in the area. The program serves children ages 4-11. Page can be reached at 419-885-2451 or prostetter.scs@sev.org Summer Camp Field Trips Summer Camp field trips! Kids love them!! A successful field trip starts with a child who is completely prepared for the day. Most children are pretty independent these days, but parental guidance is always a plus when packing the backpack for a day “on the road”. The first and most important is a well packed lunch. If your child is attending a program licensed by ODJFS (Ohio Jobs and Family Services) they have specific requirements for a meal, in our case a lunch. According to the ODJFS guidelines, 1 meal should meet 1/3 of the recommended dietary allowances. Minimum requirements for a lunch include: 1 serving of meat (or meat alternative); 1 serving of milk; 2 servings of veggies/fruits (One of each is recommended); 1 serving of bread/grains. Field trip lunch hints: 1) When sending a sandwich that has meat, make it the night before and freeze it. This keeps the meat safe to eat and it is thawed by lunch time. 2) Brown bags are great as they can just throw everything away after lunch and they don’t have to carry it around and risk the chance of losing a lunch box. Gallon bags are great too, but are not as “green”. 3) Don’t send re-usable plastic containers. The staff will thank you as they are usually the ones to carry these containers for the entire field trip. Other helpful hints include making sure they have a sturdy pair of shoes for the trip. Flip-flops are not the ideal hiking shoe. Leave the flip flops for swim time unless of course it’s a swimming trip. Sun screen, hats, a warm sweatshirt in case it’s a cool day can just add some comfort to your child’s day. Page Rostetter, M.Ed. (Master of Education), and Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist is the Child Care Director of Sylvania Community Services, the only pay-as-you-stay licensed child care in the area. The program serves children age 4-11. Page can be reached at 419-885-2451 or prostetter.scs@sev.org Connecting with Parents Parents want to know!! Whether your child is in Pre-school or in a before and after school-age setting, it’s very important that parents are kept informed on how their child is doing in this setting. A good child caregiver will say hello and refer to you the parent or your child by name. Giving the parent a brief, positive word or two about your child’s day and acknowledging you with a wave as you come in the door to pick up your child is good quality care. When a child is injured or becomes ill during daycare, an incident report is one means of communication. This form informs the parents what happened “in writing”. If a child has behavior problems, other forms can be used as a way to keep the parents and teachers informed on how different intervention strategies work in the daycare setting. Most daycares have pre-made forms which are specific to the child’s interventions. This way it’s a quick check off system where they may receive rewards at home or in the classroom for good choices. Some parents struggle with feedback because they might be hit with the negatives as soon as they pick up their child. It can be very frustrating for some parents at the end of the day to hear their child has had a challenging day. It is reasonable to expect your daycare staff to find 1 or 2 positive things to say several times a week. It helps both parent and child to have a positive daycare experience and more “willing” to work on behavior issues. Page Rostetter, M.Ed. (Master of Education), and Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist is the Child Care Director of Sylvania Community Services, a pay-as-you-stay licensed child care in the area. The program serves children ages 3-11. Page can be reached at 419-885-2451 or prostetter.scs@sev.org When Play is Educational Play can be very educational and the child is not always aware they are learning. Preschools are focused on learning through play in the variety of “learning centers” they offer in their classrooms. After-school programs are focused on play and continued education even after the school day has come to an end. After-school programs focus on socialization as well as other educational areas. Science and math activities are encouraged to show the “fun” side of the subject. For example, the game of Mancala is math oriented game, which is really fun to play. Science experiments are always popular with the kids, especially if they are messy. Making a volcano, and then using a combination of baking soda and vinegar to complete the mess. When the children are “pretending” or in a dramatic play situation, such as playing house, store, or doctor, they are practicing skills they have learned from their parents such as sharing and confrontation. Daycares choose toys, games, and activities with learning in mind. I encourage parents, especially the pre-school parents, to ask what learning experiences will be happening in the classroom that day. I’m sure the teacher will be excited to share their lesson plans with you. Page Rostetter, M.Ed. (Master of Education), and Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist is the Child Care Director of Sylvania Community Services, a pay-as-you-stay licensed child care program in the Sylvania area. The program serves children ages 3-11. Page can be reached at 419-885-2451 or prostetter.scs@sev.org Packing a Healthy Lunch My hat goes off to the mom’s and dad’s who pack the lunches of our little ones every day. There are some children who want the same thing every day and there are others who will trade half their lunch for all the sweets at the table. So really the challenge is getting them to eat their lunches and make healthy choices. The Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services (ODJFS) set guidelines for daycares in regards to the lunches. They suggest a lunch should constitute 1/3 of the child’s RDA’s (Recommended Daily Allowance.) Daycares are basically the “nutrition police” and it encourages daycare staff to check the children’s lunches and supplement where needed. Vegies are always a challenge. Keep trying to put a variety of veggies in their lunch. One day, they just may try it. Examples are grape tomatoes, carrots sticks, cucumbers, and celery. Only try a few pieces, so not to overwhelm them. Sandwiches can be made with wraps as well as bread. You can use a cookie cutter to shape your sandwich. Or just send lunch meat with some cubed or string cheese. Yogurts, dried fruits, bagels, beef jerky, hard boiled eggs are just a few easy ideas to pack. And of course the “treat”. Don’t feel you have to do a sweet treat every day. Maybe on Fridays. But most important part of the lunch is the “note” saying I love you!! Page Rostetter, M.Ed. (Master of Education), and Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist is the Child Care Director of Sylvania Community Services, a pay-as-you-stay licensed child care in the area. The program serves children ages 3-11. Page can be reached at 419-885-2451 or prostetter.scs@sev.org Transitioning your Child to Daycare Most families at some time will find they need to use daycare. Some families choose a family member, in-home care, or a daycare center. No matter where you take your child, the transition process is very important. One of the suggestions we make to parents is to come into the daycare setting with your child to help them become familiar and comfortable with their new setting. Schedule a day before you actually need to start and stay for about 30-45 minutes. Sit in with the group during circle time, allow them to explore the “learning centers”, let them talk with the other little friends who are there. This allows the child to meet some new faces and discover new toys they will be excited to play with when they return. It also helps them to shape an idea of what is expected of them. If the daycare doesn’t allow you to do this, then I would really think twice about going there. Another suggestion is to communicate with the teachers/caregivers. A good daycare person will ask questions about your child to help in the adjustment period. Putting your child in someone else’s care is always a tough decision. Look at it as you are adding a new dimension to their lives!! Page Rostetter, M.Ed. (Master of Education), and Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist is the Child Care Director of Sylvania Community Services, a pay-as-you-stay licensed child care program. The program serves children ages 3-11. Page can be reached at 419-885-2451 or prostetter.scs@sev.org Daycare Centers and Special Needs Since I have been in the child care field, I have met many families who have children with special needs and finding daycare can be somewhat of a challenge at times. Daycares are obligated to make reasonable accommodations to help these parent’s as they have the right to daycare services per the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act.) I would suggest starting off by going into the daycare and letting your child experience the setting. This also allows the administrator/director to assess the child needs with of course input from the parent. Some accommodations can be as simple as creating wider pathways, removing chairs, or decreasing some of the stimulus in the room. Also be sure to ask questions about their toileting and staffing policies. Having special needs children in the daycare setting is just a wonderful experience for everyone. It has been for me! Page Rostetter, M.Ed. (Master of Education), and Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist is the Child Care Director of Sylvania Community Services, a pay-as-you-stay licensed child care program. The program serves children ages 3-11. Page can be reached at 419-885-2451 or prostetter.scs@sev.org When you say Good-Bye and your Child Cries My heart always goes out to the parent’s whose child cries and screams when they are getting ready to leave the daycare. Your child care provider should be able to make suggestions to help you make it out the door successfully. One suggestion is to keep your time at the daycare to about 5 minutes. If you are not consistent with your time and you end up staying longer and longer, your child will pick up on this. Ask your child if they have something they want to show you before you leave in 5 minutes or just help them unpack their belongings for the day and say your goodbyes. Maybe they could stand by a window so they could watch you go to your car. Please don’t sneak out. This can be pretty traumatic to the child as well as stressing out the daycare provider and the other children in the classroom. Gently remind the child who will be picking them up and maybe tell them what you will be having for dinner as a family to reassure a reunion at the end of the day. And keep the smile on your face. If you looked distressed, the child will most likely pick up on this. Ask your daycare provider how long they cry. Most of the time, the tears turn off as soon as the car is out of sight. If things aren’t improving after 1-2 weeks, talk to your daycare provider. They will be very insightful to your situation. Page Rostetter, M.Ed. (Master of Education), and Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist is the Child Care Director of Sylvania Community Services, a pay-as-you-stay licensed child care program. The program serves children ages 3-11. Page can be reached at 419-885-2451 or prostetter.scs@sev.org What your child does all day at daycare I love walking into the pre-school during mid morning. The children appear to be playing, but the learning that is really taking place is phenomenal! Most daycare centers are using the Early Learning Content Standards to guide their learning centers. All day long, your child is having experiences with Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies. And it all starts with the lesson plans written by the preschool teacher. And lessons can be changed based on where their imaginations take them. The adult’s role in the classroom is to encourage more of what they are doing by asking them questions. For example, the theme to start out the week may be animals with science and social studies as the content standards. But then the children decide they want to open a pet store. The teacher may ask the questions: “what do we need to start up a store?” or “how do you pay for the animals?” This would add the math content standard. And of course you need to post signs for the store so now we have added the language arts content standard. Get the picture? This is the kind of planning and impromptu thinking that goes on in a pre-school classroom every day. There are busy little minds at work! So the next time you are in a pre-school, ask to see the lesson plans. They should be very informative! Page Rostetter, M.Ed. (Master of Education), and Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist is the Child Care Director of Sylvania Community Services, a pay-as-you-stay licensed child care program. The program serves children ages 3-11. Page can be reached at 419-885-2451 or prostetter.scs@sev.org Techniques to Engage Children In the day care setting, we always seem to have a few children who may not feel comfortable engaging in play and conversation with the other children at first. Every child is different in the way they interact to others and their environment. In the daycare setting, we have different techniques to help children feel comfortable at their pace. The learning/play centers are set up for large/ small group play and individual play activities. Our little ones who are not ready to confront the “group setting” right away may choose individual or small group activities to ease their way into the play setting. This type of learning/play setting should also be offered in a school-age environment as well. Setting aside space for privacy is a must. A little play tent or a soft, comfortable area where children can go if they want to get away or have a quiet moment to themselves is recommended. This allows for a staff member to spend some one-on-one time with them to re-engage them into the group. The daycare staff member is the one to set the atmosphere for the classroom. Making the surroundings comfortable and helping the children feel at ease will encourage play and conversation. To play is to learn, so encourage the engagement of play at their pace!! Page Rostetter, M.Ed. (Master of Education), and Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist is the Child Care Director of Sylvania Community Services, a pay-as-you-stay licensed child care program. The program serves children ages 3-11. Page can be reached at 419-885-2451 or prostetter.scs@sev.org |
