|
Introduction Letter to New Parents Dear Parent(s), Turtle Tales Daycare opened its doors in September of 2000 and will remain open for generations to come. I had been subbing for St. Paul elementary schools and John had been working as a CNA. It has always been my dream to get my elementary education and early childhood degree so that I could either teach in St. Paul or open a home daycare. John liked the idea of starting a home daycare and working together with a group of children. We decided we wanted to provide a preschool program in the morning during the school year. We receive all our materials from a company called "Mother Goose". They send us all the materials we need for each month. They have a four year theme program so that children are exposed to a variety of topics while they are at Turtle Tales. In the afternoon we have school age children that come to Turtle Tales on buses or walking lines from area schools. *Update: In the fall of 2007 we bought a house across the alley from our house. We use the new house for our Child Care. We love the fact that we can have our home day care in a separate residence! As an added bonus, my mom lives next door to Turtle Tales so we can use her yard as well, we added a connecting gate. Our main purpose at Turtle Tales is the care of the children. We enjoy playing with the children, talking with them, and meeting their personal and physical needs. We work with children to enhance their social, academic, and emotional development in an atmosphere of love, acceptance, and respect for each child. We are open Monday though Friday from the hours of 7:30 a.m- 5:00 p.m. All children between the ages of 1-5 are expected to nap or rest quietly during nap time. They may look at books during this time. Most of the time they will fall asleep. If they do not, we will allow them to go in the kitchen to do quiet activities, depending on their age. This is a time period of about 2 hours. We provide mats and sheets. Each child could bring their own blanket if needed (small size, not a comforter) otherwise we will provide blankets. Also each child should bring a change of clothing to keep in their Turtle Tales bag. Children may bring toys or other items for "show and tell" and keep them in a a cubby for the rest of the day. We participate in a Child Care Food Program. All meals are nutritionally balanced, at no extra charge to you. Meals and snacks are served at the following times:
Note: If your child is not here at those times, you will need to feed them. Typical Daily Activities are as follows (times are approx. and may vary):
Upon arrival, if a child is ill, they will not be permitted to stay. A child must be fever free for 24 hours without the aid of medication before they will be permitted to stay at Turtle Tales. Parents will be notified if there is any contagious disease such as chicken pox or pink eye. We encourage your comments and suggestions regarding the care of your child. If there are any changes in the policies we will give a written notice. Note: We require a two week notice upon leaving our child care services. Parent and Provider Communication Open communication between the parents and the provider is essential. Your child will benefit from good communication and a mutually respectful relationship. Please talk to Rebecca or John about any concerns you have or information which may affect your child's behavior. Other avenues of communication are: 1. Phone and written communication: Whenever a situation arises that the provider feels the parent(s) should be informed about, the provider will attempt to reach the parent via the phone or a note depending on the urgency of the situation. 2. Accident reports: If a serious injury occurs, the parents will be contacted immediately and will be given a written incident report to read and sign. Special Events Holidays: The emphasis will be placed on how we celebrate holidays in our homes. We encourage children to share their family traditions with books, recipes, clothing, or special items. We do cover Santa and the Easter Bunny. Birthdays: Each child is invited to pick a day on or near their birthday to celebrate at lunch or snack time. Your child may bring a special snack to share and show a photo or items from when he/she was a baby. Behavior Guidance During the early childhood years, children are learning to be in charge of themselves and their environment. When clear, consistent and age-appropriate limits are present, children learn to become more responsible for themselves. When inappropriate behavior does occur, it is important that they understand it is unacceptable. We discuss with them what they should do instead. To assist the children in the development of self-discipline and mutual respect, the following ground rules are incorporated and encouraged daily. 1. Respect for self
2. Respect for others
3. Respect for the environment
Our responsibility as parents and teachers is to assist the child in developing patterns of behavior that will serve them successfully through life in respecting self, respecting others, and respecting their environment. The ground rules are encouraged to be followed by providing an atmosphere which:
When the ground rules are not followed, unacceptable behavior will be redirected in the following ways:
" I'm sad when you call me that name." " Thank you, that makes me happy." "Please stop!"
Emergency Procedures Medical Emergency: In the case of serious illness or injury, immediate first aid will be administered to the child. The parent or emergency contact person will be called so that arrangements may be made for treatment. In an extreme emergency, when time is a crucial factor, or when the parent(s) can not be reached, the provider will call 911 and instruct the paramedics to take the child to St. Paul's Children's Hospital. If possible one provider will accompany the child and the other will stay with the children or an emergency substitute will stay with the children until all the parents have been contacted. Fire Emergency: The residence is equipped with a fire extinguisher and smoke detectors on all floors. The children practice monthly fire drills. If a fire occurs in the residence, all children shall immediately be evacuated and be escorted to Grandma Sharie's house or the black door leading to the garage. The parents shall be notified as soon as possible. Children shall return to the residence only when it is safe. Severe Weather Plans: If the weather conditions become severe, or if a severe weather warning is issued, the children will remain in the basement. A winding radio will be used for updates and the children will go under the basement stairs if the tornado sirens are activated. Turtle Tales Day Care Policies Hours: 7:30 a.m.- 5:00 p.m. Drop Off - We do our preschool activities in the morning. If your child is here later than nine, they may miss out on a project. They may also miss free play, which may cause some tears. Our schedule is very flexible in the morning and will vary from day to day. Pickup - Your child must be picked up no later than 5:00 p.m. If you are late, there will be a $15.00 initial late fee charge and an additional $5.00 every 15 minutes thereafter. (ex. at 5: 1 6 p.m. you would owe $15.00: $15 initial late fee; at 5:30 you would owe $20.00). Late fees must be paid in full before the child is allowed back into the day care. There are no exceptions! Payment Schedule: 1. Payment is due upon agreed schedule; a $25 late fee will be charged for each late payment. If your payments are delinquent 2 weeks, your child(ren) will be terminated from the day care. 2. If you decide to transfer your child(ren) from the day care, you must give a two-week notice in writing, or you will be billed for two weeks. 3. The provider will take fifteen days of paid vacation every calendar year (January- December). 4. Parents will pay the regular rate for their child( ren) when on vacation. 5. We will have available five paid emergency days per year. These days will not be used when we are sick and you may only have a short amount of time to find alternative child care. We will start with five days every January 1st. The days that are not used will not get carried over from year to year. 6. We will also have five paid sick days/medical days available per year. We may or may not use them and they will not carry over from year to year. The following are paid holidays when they fall on a day regularly scheduled for care:
*If Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve,New Years Day, or Fourth of July falls on a Thursday, we will take Friday off as a paid holiday. If a holiday falls on a Saturday, we will take Friday as a paid holiday. If a holiday falls on a Sunday, we will take Monday off as a paid holiday. If two holidays fall on a Friday/Saturday we will take Monday off as a paid holiday. If two holidays fall on a Sunday/Monday we will take Tuesday off as a paid holiday. Illness(es):
Other: Every child should carry an extra set of clothing in their Turtle Tales bag, appropriate for the season, in case of an accident. |
