Encourage Creativity while Fundraising for Your Child Care Program

The staff of Workshop on Wheels are always eager to promote children's creativity and expression in their artwork. As you're allowing children to learn and grow in the art center, it's also important to show them that you value what they create. The Arsonia website is a wonderful way to showcase your childrens' artwork, and it even has ways you can raise money for your program.

Artsonia is the world's largest kids art museum online. It's the newest way to celebrate creativity in the classroom and get families involved in art education!

Kids develop a new sense of pride and feel like famous artists published in a museum!

Family and friends view the artwork, join fan clubs and leave personal comments for the artists.

Schools earn 15% when parents purchase custom keepsakes with their child's artwork – a great fundraiser for your arts program!

Thousands of Art Project Lesson Plan Starters have been submitted by teachers just like you, and are available as a resource for your classroom!

Visit the website to find out more. And if you have questions about developmentally appropriate art experiences in child care programs, contact Workshop on Wheels!

Trick or Treat! Halloween Safety Tips

There are many ways to keep your child safe at Halloween, when they are more prone to accidents and injuries. The excitement of children and adults at this time of year sometimes makes them forget to be careful. Simple common sense can do a lot to stop any tragedies from happening.

Help your child pick out or make a costume that will be safe. Make it fire proof, the eye holes should be large enough for good peripheral vision.

If you set jack-o-lanterns on your porch with candles in them, make sure that they are far enough out of the way so that kids costumes won't accidentally be set on fire.

Make sure that if your child is carrying a prop, such as a scythe, butcher knife or a pitchfork, that the tips are smooth and flexible enough to not cause injury if fallen on.

Kids always want to help with the pumpkin carving. Small children shouldn't be allowed to use a sharp knife to cut the top or the face. There are many kits available that come with tiny saws that work better then knives and are safer, although you can be cut by them as well. It's best to let the kids clean out the pumpkin and draw a face on it, which you can carve for them.

Treating your kids to a spooky Halloween dinner will make them less likely to eat the candy they collect before you have a chance to check it for them.

Teaching your kids basic everyday safety such as not getting into cars or talking to strangers, watching both ways before crossing streets and crossing when the lights tell you to, will help make them safer when they are out Trick or Treating.

Make Halloween a fun, safe and happy time for your kids and they'll carry on the tradition that you taught them to their own families some day!

Read the full article at: http://www.halloween-safety.com/halloween_safety_kids.html

Free Handwashing Poster

Handwashing can play a significant impact in reducing the spread of infection in childcare, and health experts are encouraging diligent handwashing to help prevent H1N1 (previously known as swine flu) influenza. Healthy Childcare has made available a free downloadable poster you can use to help children learn the importance of handwashing.

Visit the Healthy Childcare website to learn more about promoting healthy habits in young children.