January, 2012

 

 

Happy New Year and welcome to 2012!!  I don’t know about you, but I’m glad the hustle bustle of the holiday season is behind us.  Hopefully family life will get back to normal for all of us

 

I’d like this letter to serve as a reminder that parents need to please take the initiative and be sure to label your children’s clothing and belongings (including toys).  Warm clothing tends to facilitate an environment where head lice and germs can be easily transferred.  Please remind your children NOT to share possessions such as hats, headbands, and brushes along with lip-gloss and Chap Stick.  Thanks in advance for your time and efforts, as this will ensure less headaches to all parties involved.

 

Parents, a lot of effort goes into these newsletters.  Please take two minutes out of your day to read them.  It is really disheartening to me when I tell parents information is in the newsletter, and they admit to me they haven’t read it!

 

We are still collecting Campbell’s soup labels.  Just put them on the front desk and we will get them sorted and counted!

 

Please remember that all of you do pay six holidays a year – New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, 4^th of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.  These are days we are always closed.  They are the only days during the entire year you must pay if you are not in attendance.  I do this so that I can pay my employees a well deserved holiday, and so I do not have to charge you any other times you are not in attendance.  All of my other competitors charge whether you are there or not!  As is my usual beginning of the year request, please remember that we provide a service to you and we expect to be paid for this service in a timely manner.  I threaten every year that I am going to buckle down on those who choose not to pay in a timely manner.  Payment is due either every week or every other week, no excuses!  We accept cash, check, credit and debit cards.  Please be prepared to pay when your payment is due.  We have begun excluding children from daycare for non-payment of their bill!

 

One final order of business, please have the courtesy to call the daycare if your child will not be attending CDC on a scheduled day.  It helps us with staffing and meal preparation.  This is especially important for those children whom we have to pick up from school.  I cannot tell you how often we are waiting at school for a child who either got sick or did not attend school that day.  Please realize we are responsible for your child, and need to be kept apprised of whether your child is at school or not!

 

I think all of us could use a month to recuperate from the holiday madness – so we are going to go lightly on you this month!  Our color of the month is Blue.

 

I would like to thank all of you who participated in our hat and mitten tree.  The Salvation  Army was most appreciative.  Please see the letter we received from them posted on the front board.

 

Your child is participating in HALO, an alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use prevention program.  Activities will focus on the following concepts:

 

· Recognize, label and express the feelings, “happy” and “sad”

Children need to know that everyone feels happy and sad sometimes.  They need to be able to share these feelings with someone who cares.  They need to know safe ways to express these feelings.  The message your child heard during HALO was, “I FEEL.”

Here are some ways that you can support this message at home:

 

· Share your child’s joy.  Young children find wonder in many things that adults take for granted.  When was the last time a bug made you happy?

 

· Take the time to notice small wonders.  Point them out to your child.

 

· Celebrate in healthy ways.  An indoor picnic in January is great fun for a young child.  Appeal to your child’s imagination for more ideas.

 

· Tell your child about something that made you feel happy today.

 

· Sing silly songs to your child.  Show your child that fun doesn’t stop when you grow up.

 

· Respect your child’s feelings of sadness.  Children become attached to things, a stuffed animal, a blanket or a special toy.  Loss of any “special” thing is felt deeply by a young child.  Losing or breaking the toy from the cereal box may mean little to an adult, but to a child it could be very sad.  The feeling is real.

 

· Let your child know you care about his/her feelings.  Sometimes you can’t fix it.  Understanding is the most helpful thing you can do.

 

· Let your child cry.  Crying is a meaningful expression of sadness.  Boys and girls need to cry.  Denying feelings makes a person weaker not stronger.

 

· Pay attention to what you do when you are sad.  Do you get mad?  Many people use anger to avoid the hurt of sadness.

 

· Talk about your feelings – carefully.  Children do not need to be burdened with adult problems.  They do need to know sometimes you feel joyful and sometimes you feel sad.  They need to know healthy ways of expressing these emotions.

 

I am attaching a copy of some of the everyday songs we like to sing.  Many of you have asked for the words so you can sing along with your child.

 

All of us have our New Year’s resolutions, here is a little reminder about what is most important in our lives!

 

I am a Young child, here’s what you can do for me right now…

HOLD me!

That reminds me the world is a safe place.

READ to me!

Every word I learn I can use later.

TALK to me!

That helps me learn how to pronounce words.

SMILE at me!

That helps me learn how to be polite.

SING to me!

I don’t care what you sound like.

PLAY with me!

That helps my coordination and strength.

SPEND TIME with me!

That shows me I’m worth it, period.