Update to Child Care Facilities Improvement Grant Application

If you downloaded the application for Missouri's Child Care Facilities Improvement Grant prior to 1/22/10, please note that there have been some updates which require applicants to download a new application.

This grant is a wonderful opportunity to make improvements and updates to your facility. Do you need a new roof? Is your stove older than dirt? Are the manipulatives in your table toys area worn out? Would you like to make your program more accessible to children with special needs?

Download the new Grant Application today! If you have questions about the grant process, please call the Help Desk at 1-800-663-2647.

Support for Every Mom

Momtourage is a great website that recently came to our attention, and we wanted to share the resource. If you're a mom, you can find helpful articles about parenting on their website, read ideas for crafts, sign up for a free newsletter, or join an online support group. Providers can share this helpful information with moms in your program.

Research has shown that having a support network is one protective factor which can reduce parental stress and reduce the likelihood that a child will be abused or neglected. Giving parents access to supportive resources, like Momtourage, is a great way to help families in your community.

Check out their website and their blog, Mothering Made Easier.

Learning in a Winter Wonderland

Winter provides a wonderful setting for themed activities in your program. Whether you focus on ice, penguins, snowmen, or the Arctic, you can provide many fun and educational experiences for the children.

In the sensory table: Of course you can simply fill your table with fresh clean snow on one of those days when the weather has you cooped up inside. If real snow isn’t available, use Insta-snow (available from Steve Spangler Science), or simply fill your sensory table with ice cubes. You can also freeze plastic animals inside buckets of water. Then provide the children with safe tools to “rescue” the ice-bound creatures.

In the block area: Cover cardboard boxes with white paper, or allow children to paint boxes white. Then use these giant “ice cubes” to make igloos in the classroom.

Allow older children to build “ice sculptures” using large and small marshmallows and toothpicks.

Dramatic play: Replace your usual dress up clothes with cold weather staples like boots, scarves, hats, mittens, snow pants, and coats.

In the art center: Provide blue or black construction paper and a variety of white or silver writing utensils such as crayons, colored pencils, and chalk. Also put out other white or silver items like cotton balls, scraps of ribbon or fabric, cut paper, or foam pieces. Encourage children to create snowy scenes. Older children will love cutting out snowflakes. Show them how to fold the paper, then let them be creative with their designs.

Science: Did you know you can create big fluffy clouds of snow using an ordinary bar of Ivory soap? Place one bar of Ivory bath soap (Only Ivory works!) in a large bowl, and microwave it for 2 minutes. Watch as the soap erupts into big snowy mounds. Allow the soap to cool for one minute before touching it. The water and air in the soap expand, creating this fun effect.

You can also focus on cold weather animals like penguins, walruses, polar bears, seals, caribou, and whales. Children will love learning more about how these creatures live in arctic temperatures. Check out books on these animals from your local library. Cut pictures from magazines, or print them from the internet. Ask children what they’d like to know about the animals, then use your resources to find the answers with them.

Show children how a whale’s blubber keeps him warm by putting some shortening inside a large ziplock bag. Place a smaller bag inside that one and mold the shortening around the small bag. Have children take turns placing their hand inside the small bag, then placing the whole thing in a bowl of ice water. Note how their hand stays warm!

Make bird feeders. One simple method uses pine cones. Tie yarn to one end for a hanger. Let children cover the pine cone in peanut butter or softened lard, then roll in birdseed. Hang the feeders outside near a window where children can observe the birds. Provide binoculars near the window, along with paper and writing utensils for children to record what they observe.

Literacy: Share favorite children’s stories with a winter theme. Try:
The Mitten by Jan Brett
The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
Frederick by Leo Lionni
Owl Moon by Jane Yolen
It’s Snowing! It’s Snowing! by Jack Prelutsky
A Drop of Water by Walter Wick
Winter Days in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Group Time: Have children classify winter items like thick socks or mittens and gloves. They can group them by color or size, or in matching pairs.

Enjoy the winter season with the children in your care. It can be a warm, cozy, and educational experience for everyone!

Written by Janet Robison, Training Coordinator

Did You Know?

The U.S. Department of Labor has established law that applies to the time a child care staff member spends attending workshops/classes and whether/how they are paid for that time.

Workshop attendance that any State requires for staff, so that a facility can maintain child care licensing, must be counted as work time and compensated. In Missouri, the Section for Child Care Regulation requires that everyone counted in the child-to-staff ratio earns 12 hours of approved workshops or classes each year. The time that a staff member spends earning those required 12 clock hours is considered work time and she or he must be paid.

If the time of the workshop/class is included in a standard full-time work week as defined by the employer’s personnel policies, staff should be compensated at their usual salaries. If the time of the workshop/class is overtime beyond the standard work week, staff should be paid at the overtime rate consistent with the U.S. Department of Labor guidelines and established in the personnel policies.

Are there any exceptions?
There is only one exception to this requirement. If ALL four of the following items are true, then the training is not counted as work time:
• The workshop/class occurs outside the normal scheduled hours of work AND
• The individual’s attendance is completely voluntary AND
• The workshop/class is not job-related AND
• No other work is performed during the workshop/class period

For more information, contact the U.S. Department of Labor at 1-866-4-USWAGE or visit the Wage and Hour Division Website.

DSS Announces Child Care Facility Improvement Grant

All information about how to apply can be found at the Department of Social Services website.

If you are interested in applying, you are invited to attend an informational meeting:

A pre-application conference regarding this Request for Application (RFA) will be held on January 14, 2010 at 9:00 a.m., in Room 492 of the Harry S. Truman Building, 301 W. High Street, Jefferson City, MO 65101. Additional conference dates may be added if warranted.