Lazy Days of Summer?

Does your child ever get to be lazy? Does your child ever have down time? Does your child get to do nothing, have no plans, or just plain waste time?

If not, maybe he/she needs this kind of time.

In today’s society, true down time is harder and harder to come by. Families are often over committed. Days in child care programs are often filled with scheduled activities and little opportunity for free play. Yet children, as well as adults, need time each day to relax and recover from daily activities.

It will take a conscious effort to incorporate time in each day for quiet, but the children will benefit, and it will make your life easier. You will have a happier and healthier child if his stress level is lowered.

Try some of these ideas below for a calming summer.

Have a day with no plans! Set no alarm clock, no goals for the day, no errands—just be.
Play board games
Turn off TV, don’t answer phones
Take a blanket outside—watch the clouds, listen to nature
Take a nap
Use no electronic devices—computer, IPOD, head phones, video games
Bring out the crayons, drawing paper, arts and crafts items
Read a book
Climb trees, wade in a creek, work in the garden
Cook a new food
Write a letter
Visit an elderly person
Stay in pajamas all day
Camp out in the back yard
Try origami

For other quiet activities, check out this website: http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/quiet_games_and_activities.htm

Written by Sarah Williams, Inclusion Specialist

Benefits of Developing a Professional Portfolio

A well organized professional portfolio can help you ace interviews and can document your ongoing professional growth.

Are you nervous about job interviews? A quality portfolio can help you feel prepared and help you clearly state your ideas and beliefs. An organized portfolio contains information that reflects your philosophy, goals, professional development, and experience. A portfolio can also help you find financing for new and expanding child care facilities.

What is a portfolio? It is a visual tool to help you document your beliefs, professional development, experience, involvement in the field, and classroom use of best practices. It can help you demonstrate a key point and help you stand out from other candidates.

A portfolio is not simply a photo album. While there should be photos in your portfolio, they should relate directly to a lesson plan or document in the portfolio. A portfolio also is not a scrapbook. Your portfolio should highlight your skills in a professional way. Keep in mind that interviewers may flip through your portfolio, rather than read it thoroughly from front to back.

What should you include in a portfolio?

You can include:
Table of contents
Resume
Statement of philosophy on early childhood care and education
Letters of reference
Records of workshops, seminars, and other professional development (Keep your certificates or get copies from your employer if they keep them)
List of professional memberships
Certificates of achievement for relevant volunteer work
Sample lesson plans
Photographs or samples of children’s work related directly to the featured lesson plans
Sample of letter to families or other forms of family communication
Examples of steps taken to guide a child’s behavior
Additional items to have available are:
Transcripts
Medical documents
Criminal history check
Other employment items as required by licensing

How do I organize the portfolio?
The first glimpse that someone gets of your portfolio is the cover. It should always be in good condition. Try using a three ring binder with insert panels for a self designed cover. Make sure the cover looks professional and that your name stands out clearly.

Some tips to aid in the development of a well-organized, creative, and highly effective portfolio are:
Insert all items into plastic sleeves (sheet protectors).
Divide the portfolio into sections — resume, philosophy, professional development, volunteer experience, classroom experience, and so on.
Use the section titles on the contents page.
Use a good quality resume paper for the cover insert, cover page, contents page, and section title pages.
Store extra copies of your resume, philosophy, and letters of reference in plastic sleeves behind the originals.
Support your sample lessons with photos of children engaging in the activity, samples of a child’s work, or words resulting from the experience.

Think of your portfolio as documentation of your professional growth and development. Keep it updated with new trainings you attend, new lessons you develop, and up to date information.

A carefully created portfolio will reflect who you are as a professional. It will help to clarify and reaffirm your beliefs, document your experience, and inspire you to try new things.

Written by Jacki Turner, Data and Referral Specialist

Adapted from:
Priest, C. (2010). The benefits of developing a professional portfolio. Young Children, 65, 92-96.

Super Bubbles Solution

Blowing bubbles is a fun and inexpensive outdoor activity that will keep children occupied for hours on warm summer days. You can purchase large jugs of bubble solution, or try this recipe from SteveSpanglerScience.com to make bigger and better “Super Bubbles!”

1 cup distilled water (minerals in tap water can affect the quality of your bubbles)
1 Tablespoon plain dish soap (Steve recommends Dawn, but any regular dish soap with no added moisturizers or anti-bacterial qualities will work.)
1 teaspoon glycerin (available in the pharmacy area of your store)
Mix ingredients together, and let the solution sit for at least 24 hours at room temperature. Steve says letting the solution rest is the secret to super bubbles!

In addition to regular bubble wands, try dipping other items into your solution. Bend a wire coat hanger into a circle, square, or other shape (have children guess what the bubbles will look like from each shape). Use plastic tubes from the hardware store. Try a clean, new flyswatter. Use kitchen utensils like whisks, colanders, and slotted spoons. Cut up an old laundry basket, and let kids use the pieces to blow bubbles. Try using an old tennis racquet.

For a giant super bubble a child can stand inside, pour bubble solution into a small kiddie pool, have a child stand in the pool, then use a hula hoop to make a giant bubble around them.

Let children experiment with the science behind bubbles. What else can they use to make bubbles? Look at the colors reflected in the bubbles. Encourage children to catch the bubbles (Hint: A glove helps. The oil on our skin is what makes the bubbles pop.) See which objects make the biggest bubbles, or bubbles that last longest.

The key to science is asking questions, then coming up with ways to test different theories. Follow the children’s lead, and encourage them to try out their ideas.

Written by Janet Robison, Training Coordinator

Offering Parents and Providers Advice on Separation Anxiety

Parent-child separation puts stress on all members of the family. When adults feel comfortable about a new situation, they will be relaxed, and the child will respond accordingly.

When the parents have doubts and concerns, they communicate their uneasiness to their child, and the child will have a much harder adjustment period.

Children need to know ahead of time what it will be like in a new setting. The book Help for Teachers of Young Children by Gwen Snyder Kaltman gives some tips for working with children who are entering your child care setting, as well as tips for parents who are getting ready to send their children to school.

Parents should be offered help devising a smooth departure strategy after dropping a child off at child care or at school. They need to be cautioned about the downside of leaving without saying goodbye. Encourage parents to use reassuring words like, “Mommy will be back after nap time,” or ”When it gets dark out, Mommy will pick you up.”

Kaltman gives these additional tips for making drop off times successful:

Remember, saying “Mommy will be back soon” is open to different interpretations by the children. The adult “soon” is not even close to the child’s “soon” (which is usually less than 60 seconds).

Young children find comfort in routines. Do the same things each day at drop off time.

Help the child thoroughly wash his or her hands (which should be required each time a child/parent enters a center).

Do a puzzle together, or another short activity the child enjoys.

Read one book before leaving.

Wish the child well, and clap hands with “High Five!”

Develop a special hug or kiss routine. For example, try a kiss on each cheek and one on the nose.

Advise parents that, as they are leaving, they need to communicate to the child through their
words and their body language that they are confident the child will have a good day.

As teachers, we know that usually within five minutes after the parent is gone, the child settles in, plays with the other adults and children in the program, and becomes involved in the activities of the day. To help put the parents’ minds at ease, encourage them to stay for five minutes in another room or in a nearby hallway that is out of the child’s sight to wait until the child stops crying. Knowing that the child is content before a parent starts her day means a great deal.

Another way to ease parental anxiety is to videotape the child five minutes after the parent has left so they can see for themselves that the departure trauma is short lived.

Child care providers and teachers can become very attached to children in the years before the child enters school. The provider often is like a member of the family, and is someone the parents look to for advice.

Before the children start school in the fall, prepare a letter with helpful hints to ease the trauma of this big change. It could include the following suggestions for the parents:

• Use the new teacher’s name often at home in a positive way to show your confidence in the new setting. Even taking a picture of the new teacher with the child could be helpful so that the child could often look at the teacher before he/she starts school.
• Talk often about children the child knows who are also attending the new school.
• Talk often about school in general. For example, use common school words such as gym, snack, lunch time, cafeteria, and recess.
• Take your child to school for a visit to meet the children and the teachers.
• Tell your children where you will be and what you will be doing while they are in school.
• Let your child know that you will miss him/her. This is an honest emotion (but it should not be over dramatized).
• Do your very best to be on time picking the child up each day.
• Several weeks before school begins, change the sleeping schedule so that the child is going to bed earlier each evening and waking up about the time that school begins.
• All teachers who work with young children could benefit from reading Gwen Kaltman’s book, Help for Teachers of Young Children.. In addition to these tips on easing separation anxiety, it gives easy to follow tips for developing children’s social skills and creating positive teacher-family relationships.

Written by Pam Raffurty, Director

Source:
Kaltman, G. S. (2006) Help for teachers of young children. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

T.E.A.C.H. Missouri Scholarships

Are you interested in earning college credits towards a degree in Early Childhood Education?

Do you want to start classes this Fall 2010?

Would you like a scholarship to help pay for tuition and books plus other perks and a bonus?

Then NOW is the time to contact the T.E.A.C.H. MISSOURI Scholarship!! We have funding NOW for all those interested in starting college and working towards a CDA, Associate Degree or Bachelors Degree in Early Childhood Education.

Already in college and took classes in spring or summer 2010? Contact us about enrolling NOW and being credited for the classes you just completed.

If you are serious about your education, we want to help you NOW.

Who is eligible for the T.E.A.C.H. MISSOURI is a scholarship?
All teachers, directors, on site owners, assistants, group home and or family home child care professionals who:
Have a desire to earn college credit towards a National CDA Credential or an AA/AAS or BA/BS degree in early childhood care & education
Work 30 hours or more a week directly with the children 0 to 5 years old each day in a licensed child care
Are 18 years or older and have a GED or high school diploma
Make under $14.50/hr as a teacher or assistant or $16/hr as a director or owner

For more information and applications, visit our web site at
www.moccrrn.org/teach-mo.html NOW! Don’t delay, apply today!

Making it FUN!

How about planning some fun themed days this summer? Read on for some great ideas!

Before the Fourth of July, the children can help you make stars and stripes decorations. Weave red, white, and blue crepe paper through the fence and place streamers on the posts to blow in the wind. Cover cardboard stars with aluminum foil and hang from the ceiling indoors.

Plan a lunch outside serving picnic items. Put a few drops of red or blue food coloring in softened cream cheese and spread between slices of bread. Cut the sandwiches into a star shape with a cookie cutter. Serve blue lemonade (just a drop or two of blue food coloring) and of course, have cake or apple pie for dessert!

A 9x12 inch cake can be decorated by using candy red hots for stripes and silver balls for stars. Have children make paper flags using stars and dots which can be purchased at an office supple store. To make the red and white strips, they can stick the dots in rows. Just remember, that you can show them what our American flag looks like but let them be creative to make their own flags.

“Beach Day” is another fun theme day. Mix water with sand in the sandbox. Provide styrofoam cups and various empty cans and jars of all sizes. Pack the wet sand into the jars/cans and let the children come up with wonderful sand castles!

Next, place a sheet on the ground to represent the ocean. Put on some surfing music. While the music plays, the children can “surf back and forth across the ocean.” When the music stops, the surfers are “caught,” unless they are back on the beach (off of the sheet). Surfers must move continuously back and forth across the ocean, they can’t always stay close to the beach. If the surfer is caught, they wait on the beach, and whoever “surfs” the longest wins.

Sandy paintings can be made by placing sand in medium sized margarine containers. Mix a few tablespoons of tempera paint with the sand. Give each child a baby food jar and a spoon. Let them spoon the colored sand into layers inside the jar. The sand should come to the top of the jar. When the painting is finished, place a piece of cotton on top before putting the lid on. This will keep the sand from shifting when the jar is moved. For a finishing touch, cover the lid with aluminum foil or paint it with tempera paint.

Two fun variations of musical chairs can be played on hot summer days. The first variation is called Beach Blanket Bum. Place towels on the ground, side by side. Have one fewer towel than the number of children. Have the players walk around the towels to music and when the music stops, the last person to be laying on a towel is the “Beach Blanket Bum.”

On a really hot day, help the children play “Musical Icy Tubs”. Place dish tubs of icy water in a circle. Have one fewer tub than the number of children playing. When the beach music stops, they actually sit in the icy tub, and the person who does not get a tub can push the button to the CD player for the next round. Keep playing until the last person has to sit in the single tub. This is really fun on a day that you let them bring swimming suits.

Another idea for a Summer Splash Day is to have a wet sponge throw. Set up some empty cans and plastic bottles as targets. Soak some sponges in water. Have the children line up behind a marker and see if they can hit the targets.

Also try barefoot painting on a long strip of butcher paper.

Have a wash day and wash everything from doll clothes to swing sets, all outside, of course.

The theme days are limitless. A wonderful book that has these and many other themes like “Winter in July,” is the book Summer Sizzlers and Magic Mondays by Edna Wallace. These ideas work well for summer school-age programs as well.

Written by Pam Raffurty, Director

Source:
Wallace, E. (1994) Summer Sizzlers and Magic Mondays. Nashville, TN: School-Age Notes.

Keep Children Safe in the Sun: Following Licensing Rules

Sunscreen is an over-the-counter medication. The FDA monitors it and labels it as an over-the-counter medication. This means that if a provider chooses to put sunscreen on children, the following licensing rules at centers need to be followed:

19 CSR 30-62.192(3)(A) The provider is not required to administer medication but may choose to do so.

19 CSR 30-62.192(3)(B) All medication shall be given to a child only with the dated, written permission of the parent(s) stating the length of time medication may be given.

19 CSR 30-62.192(3)(D) All nonprescription medication shall be in the original container and labeled by the parent(s) with the child’s name, and instructions for administration, including the times and amounts for dosages.

19 CSR 30-62.192(3)(E) All medication shall be stored out of reach of children or in a locked container.

19 CSR 30-62.192(3)(F) Medication shall be returned to storage immediately after use.

19 CSR 30-62.192(3)(H) Medication shall be returned to the parent(s) or disposed of immediately when no longer needed.

19 CSR 30-62.192(3)(I) The date and time(s) of administration, the name of the individual giving the medication and the quantity of any medication given shall be recorded promptly after administration. This information shall be filed in the child’s record after the medication is no longer necessary.

For Family Homes, these rules are the same, but the #’s are: 19 CSR 30-61.185(3)(A), (B), (D), (E), (F), (H), and (I).

License Exempt rules also support the above. 19 CSR 30-60.060(10)(A) through (G)
Although you are not required to administer sunscreen, rules do require that you protect the children from over-exposure to the sun. If you choose not to use sunscreen, you must demonstrate other ways that the children will be protected from the sun, such as shaded areas, hats and protective clothing, or changing the time of day that the children go outside.

It is the child care facility’s responsibility to protect the children in their care from the sun. Remember that if you choose to use sunscreen, you must follow all the licensing rules for over the counter medication to protect yourself from licensing violations.

Let's Get Messy!

I recently reviewed two books that are full of wonderful ideas for getting messy and having fun! These activities would be great for all ages, including school age children.

Both written by Nancy Blakey, the titles are: Lotions, Potions, and Slime: Mudpies and More and The Mudpies Activity Book: Recipes for Invention. Many of the activities would be good to do outside, but they could be used inside on rainy days.

Most children love messy activities, but children who have sensory issues may need to have the activities adapted by using gloves, wooden spoons, or other modifications.

Bubble Solution: The sheer volume of this recipe contributes to the fun of blowing bubbles! You’ll need 12 cups cold water, 1 cup liquid dish soap, 2 ounces glycerin (available from you pharmacy)

Pour the water into an empty one gallon container. Add the dish soap and glycerin, and shake gently to mix. Try blowing bubbles using foam cups with a pencil hole poked into the bottom, six pack rings, wire hangers bent into circles, jar lid rings, plastic berry baskets, or funnels.

Nest Pickings: What makes a nest? The children will be so surprised! Supplies: Onion bag, or any wide-webbed bag, wire hanger, foil, feathers, leaves, straw, yarn ,cotton, small twigs, moss, or strips of fabric.

Have your child pull the hanger into a diamond shape. Cut a small hole a the top of an onion bag for the top of the hanger to slip through, and let the children weave the nest pickings into the webbing of the bag in any configuration. Hang it outdoors in the spring and watch the birds choose their nest materials. Small groups of children could work together, and several could be hanging in the yard. What fun it will be to watch the birds create their nests from found materials!

Oobleck: Read the Dr. Seuss Book, Bartholomew and the Oobleck to the children, and then make Oobleck together.

You’ll need 1 box (1 lb.) cornstarch, 1½ cups cold water, 1 tablespoon food coloring, a plastic dish pan or a big bowl.

Mix the ingredients in the container with your hands until mixture is smooth.
Once it’s made, have kids try this: Squeeze the Oobleck in your fist. Now open up your hand. Draw a finger down the center of the solution in the tub. Pound on the Oobleck, then touch it gently with your palm. What happens?

If you touch Oobleck gently, it is soft and yielding like liquid. When you squeeze it or pound it quickly, it is hard and crumbly. Why? Cornstarch is ground up into such fine particles that the molecules line up like little plates. When you pound the Oobleck, the cornstarch plates are rigid. The kids will have so much fun with this mixture!

Sources:

Blakely, N. (1994) Lotions, Potions, and Slime: Mudpies and More! Berkeley, CA: Tricycle Press.

Blakely, N. (1994) The Mudpies Activity Book: Recipes for Invention. Berkeley, CA: Tricycle Press.

Written by Pam Raffurty, Director

Department of Social Services Market Rate Survey

It is time again for the Department of Social Services to conduct the Market Rate Survey. Every two years the federal government requires states to conduct a survey to determine the average fee child care providers charge for providing care. The survey collection period will be from July 1, 2010 through August 13, 2010.

This survey is sent to all child care providers who are licensed with the Department of Health and Senior Services, Section for Child Care Regulation. Participating child care providers will have the opportunity to either complete the survey by mail or to complete the survey online at http://www.dss.mo.gov/cd/childcare/index.htm (select 2010 Child Care Market Rate Survey). If completing the online survey, a Departmental Vendor Number (DVN) is required for tracking purposes. All responses are confidential.

Your response is critical. Information you provide on this survey may be used to determine subsidy reimbursement rates in the future. Your response will not only assist us in establishing the base market rate for child care, it will provide valuable public information about the child care market for Missouri’s public policy makers.