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Services 
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This page will discuss the services we offer in detail. Please use the links below to find the topics you are looking for. Your can CONTACT US if you have any question that are not answered in our Handbook. NUMBER
OF CHILDREN IN MY CARE: ( back to top ) Children need to feel they are getting quality attention from the adults in their lives, and they also benefit from lots of one-on-one care. Therefore, for your children's' benefit and mine, I will attempt to keep the group as small as possible. Be assured that I will never accept more children for care than I believe would be safe and in the best interest of all families I serve. Occasionally, I will ask my mother to help watch the children in my home. You will have the opportunity to meet and get to know her, and I will always attempt to let you know in advance when she will be assisting me. You are always welcome to drop in at any time during business hours. TUITION
AND HOURS OF CARE: ( back to top ) Unless other arrangements are made in advance, charges for the next week's care will be due on Friday. This will enable me to purchase food and supplies on the weekend for the coming week. Tuition rates are as follows:
A late fee of $10 per day will be added to the weekly tuition charge, unless prior arrangements are made. Also, unless prior arrangements are made, there will be a late pick-up charge of $20 per hour, per child, if you arrive after regular scheduled hours. I will attempt to be generous on this since I realize job pressures, traffic, and weather conditions can occasionally affect your ability to arrive on time. However, since a habit of arriving late does affect my family life, I will need to charge a late fee if I feel a pattern of late arrival develops. Please feel free to discuss arrival and drop-off times with me if your needs vary, such as when you or your spouse need to travel for business. I will attempt to be flexible to meet your needs for occasional early arrival and late pick-up time, but these will need to be exceptions rather than a general rule so as not to unduly impact my own family. Payment is accepted in cash, checks and money orders. In the unlikely event of a returned check, I will require a $20 service charge in addition to the payment of any additional bank charges I may incur as a result of the inconvenience. If you prefer, you may pay once per month, at the beginning of the current month. The payment would be at the same weekly tuition rate, calculated for the number of days in that month. In order to provide my own family with a stable financial situation, I cannot offer any discounts for days your child is not in my care, such as when you are on vacation, or when your child is ill. Although I realize daycare is a major expense for most working parents, I also rely on this business to help support my own family. Since I will be holding a space for your child for you to use at will, I need to charge for full-time care whether you use it or not. Rare exceptions may be made at my discretion for extreme circumstances. You will always receive a receipt for payment of tuition. At the end of each year, I will provide you with a proper tax form showing the full amount of all charges for that calendar year. ENROLLMENT: ( back
to top ) Before your child enters my care, all required forms must be returned to me. These include:
HOLIDAYS,
VACATION AND SICK DAYS: ( back to top ) In order to spend quality time with my own family, I will be closed on the following major holidays:
I will also take one (1) week of paid vacation between the Christmas and New Year's holidays, from December 24th through January 1st, since most parents have this time off from work. I will also possibly take up to a maximum of one (1) additional week of paid vacation most likely during the summertime, but only with at least one (1) month notice. Working with exposure to many families and especially children, it is expected that I will become ill occasionally. Therefore, I reserve the option to take up to five (5) paid sick-days per calendar year. I will not take these days unless I am genuinely ill, and I will always attempt to give as much notice as possible when I am forced to close my home to care due to illness. Also, in the event that one of my own family members is ill, I will also give you as much notice as possible to allow you to decide if you want to risk exposure to your child. GENERAL: ( back
to top ) If you will not be reachable at your normal telephone number listed on your enrollment form please let me know and give me an alternate phone number if possible so that you may be contacted promptly in the event of an emergency. Parents are required to keep me informed of any change in address, telephone numbers and other pertinent information. IF
YOUR CHILD BECOMES ILL: ( back to top ) In order to protect the health of all children in my care, I will call you at work and request that you pick up your child within 30 minutes if he or she exhibits any of the following symptoms:
In the event your child is sent home due to one of the above conditions, he or she will not be allowed to return until accompanied by a signed note from your child's doctor. This is necessary to prevent the unnecessary infection of the other children in my care. Although it may seem inconvenient when your child is sent home, you will appreciate knowing your child's exposure is minimized when other children become ill. I will not send children home with a common cold. This sort of illness is going to occur among children, and unfortunately cannot be totally avoided. You should expect that any time a new child is introduced to the group, colds are likely to occur. I will do my best to prevent the spread of such illnesses through good hygiene and housekeeping, but total avoidance of this sort of illness is impossible. Likewise, I will not close the daycare if I am mildly ill due to a cold. I will, however, notify you as soon as symptoms appear in myself or any of the children, so that you can decide whether or not to have your child in care that day. Please alert me if you suspect that a member of your family may have a cold so that I can alert the other families to the possibility. ADMINISTRATION
OF MEDICATIONS: ( back to top ) Also, the medication must be in a clearly labeled childproof container. I would prefer it if you also bring the medication in a small sack or baggie labeled with the child's name, so as to avoid any possible confusion. DISCIPLINE
POLICY: ( back to top ) For children under the age of about 18 months, I find it most effective to remove the child from the situation, and redirect their attention elsewhere. Although I will most likely explain to the child that the offending behavior was inappropriate, children of this age are rarely able to fully understand what they have done. Fortunately, their attention span is also usually shorter than with older children, so simply showing them a different toy or activity usually does the job. For children of about age 2 and over, I will alert the child to the offense by saying firmly "NO", explaining why the behavior is unacceptable, and offering the child the choice to behave. If the child chooses not to behave appropriately, I will first explain to the child why their behavior is not acceptable, then I will place the child in a chair in another room under isolated observation for a period of about 1 minute per year of age. At the end of the time-out, I will ask the child if he or she understands why they had a time-out, ask if they understand why they shouldn't do that behavior, then ask if they are ready to play nicely again. This method not only stops the offending behavior, but also teaches the child consequence, responsibility, and empathy in a positive manner. Dangerous and hurtful offenses include hitting, biting, kicking, pushing, hair pulling, throwing objects at someone, climbing on an inappropriate structure, and willful destruction of property, tantrum throwing, and not following reasonable requests. These relatively minor offenses will be handled as described above, depending upon the child's age and developmental stage. To a point, kids will be kids - but only as long as the emotional and physical safety of all of the children in my care is protected. In the rare instance that I feel any child in my care has a serious discipline problem, I will request a conference with the parent(s). If an understanding cannot be reached, I reserve the right to terminate our contract with as much notice as possible in order to guarantee the comfort and safety of the other children in my care. NAPS: ( back
to top ) All bedding and linens will be provided. However, if your child has a favorite blanket or other comfort object, you are certainly welcome to bring these. Each child will have their own regular sleeping space, and each child's linens will be washed each weekend, or more often if needed. POTTY TRAINING:
( back to top ) Your child will need to remain in diapers or "Pull-UPs" during daycare hours until he/she has shown the ability to remain accident free in your home for a period of at least two weeks. This is for several reasons: children often appear to be trained in a (calmer, quieter) home situation, but are not yet able to "listen" to their body's signals when presented with the distractions of a group care environment. Asking me to allow your child to go without diapers before he or she is truly ready would cause unnecessary stress on you child, my home, and myself. SUPPLIES: ( back
to top )
I will provide all other food and supplies. Please do not send toys with your child. I will provide a variety of toys to try and prevent children from getting upset if another child is playing with his/her toy. MEALS AND
SNACKS: ( back to top ) I will provide a continental breakfast for all children arriving before 9:00am, if needed. This will typically consist of milk or 100% juice, cereal, toast, or muffin, and fruit. Snack times will be at 10:15am and 3:00pm. Snacks will typically consist of milk or 100% juice, crackers and cheese, or fruit. Occasionally, I will serve cookies such as fig bars, however highly sweetened snacks such as Kool-aid, soft drinks, cakes and candies will rarely if ever be offered during regular day-care hours. Lunches will typically consist of a balanced meal such as:
Also, to avoid triggering any allergic reactions, I will not serve the following foods to children less than 12 months of age, unless you specifically request them for your child:\
If your child has special dietary needs, please let me know so we can make a plan to accommodate them. All foods will be cut into safe-size pieces and served in child-sized portions. Children may always have seconds upon request, and no child will be forced to eat anything. It is my experience that children will eat when they are hungry, and will get all of the nutrients they need when consistently presented with a variety of healthy choices. The meal schedule I follow is listed below. If the child(ren) is here during those times, they will be served. If the child will be arriving after mealtime, please feed them before they arrive. This helps the day run more smoothly and eliminates problems caused by children arriving with "Happy Meals" in hand.
Infants will always be fed according to their own schedule. They will always be held during their meal times and bottles will never be "propped." All formula will be mixed according to manufacturer's directions, labeled with the child's name, dated and refrigerated as needed. Any leftover formula, milk, juice or baby food will be discarded. When a child reaches 12 months of age or when it becomes developmentally appropriate, a sippy cup will be introduced and bottles should be left at home after the child has successfully learned to use the cup. VISITS
AND PHONE CALLS DURING REGULAR CARE HOURS: ( back to top
) Since I am frequently very busy attending to the children's needs, it may be difficult for me to answer the phone during regular care hours. I do have an answering machine and will check it periodically for messages. Please limit phone calls to your children while they are in care, since, like unannounced visits, these calls can disrupt your child's routine and lead to increased stress for everyone involved, especially your child. Please feel free to discuss with me your concerns about being able to visit and /or call your child during care hours. PICK
UP BY SOMEONE OTHER THAN THE CHILD’S PARENT OR LEGAL GUARDIAN: ( back
to top ) In the event of an emergency, I will attempt to contact you and/or your spouse, or the child's other legal guardian, or other adult listed on your emergency contact form for approval. In any case, if I am not familiar with the person, I will require a valid photo ID as proof of identification before I will release the child into their custody. Please advise anyone who may pick up your child not to take offense at this policy. It is simply the only way I can assure the protection of you, your child, and all other parties involved. Anyone picking up a child must have an appropriate car seat in his or her vehicle or I will refuse to release the child to his or her care. I simply cannot in good conscience allow a child to travel without a proper safety restraint. Also, if your family is experiencing a divorce or other legal situation, which would affect who is allowed to pick up your child, please let me know immediately. You will also need to provide court orders or other proper legal documents indicating who is no longer allowed custody of your child. Unless these papers are provided, I will have no choice but to release your child into the custody of anyone currently on your list. SMOKING
AND ALCOHOL USAGE: ( back to top ) Also, alcoholic beverages will not be served or consumed by myself or anyone else in my household during regular care hours. Any alcoholic beverages stored on the premises will be kept out of reach from the children. If at any time a parent or guardian attempts to pick up a child from my home while under the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs, I will attempt to arrange alternate transportation for your child to your home. If this is not possible, I am legally bound to release the child to your custody and alert the police of the situation. CHILD ABUSE:
( back to top ) If I notice any signs of abuse at any time, I will alert that child's parent(s) immediately both verbally and in writing, along with a full description of the symptoms. (Bruising, sores, sudden extreme behavioral changes, etc.) I will document this same information for myself, and if necessary, alert the proper authorities after first attempting to handle the situation discretely. You may get notes about your child having bruises or scrapes without needing to fear that I suspect you of abusing your child. Be assured, if I think your child has been abused, I will let you know! The notes I send home are just to alert you in general of any instances that may come up, and also to protect myself from mistaken accusations of abuse. I would prefer not to have to deal with this issue, but I think it is best that we handle it openly and honestly to avoid any possible misunderstandings. We both want what is best for our children. Please feel free to discuss this or any other issues with me at any time. TERMINATION
OF CARE: ( back to top ) If at any time, after consultation with the parent or guardian, I feel that you or your child pose a safety risk to myself or any of the children in my care, I will give you as much written notice as possible that care is terminated. This action will be reserved for extreme cases only, and I will attempt to resolve any issues with you before resorting to termination of care. SUMMARY: ( back
to top ) *NOTE: Our Handbook download requires Winzip to open the file and Adobe Acrobat Reader to view. ( back to top ) |
