Bona Vista's Child Care Solutions

Mark your calendars! August 14, 2012--Indianapolis will be the site for the "kick-off" of a national campaign that will promote public policy to improve healthy development for babies, conception to age three years. "For Our Babies" is a national movement promoting healthy development in U.S. children from conception to age 3. We advocate for the types of environments, experiences, and relationships that infants and toddlers need in order to thrive.

J. Ronald Lally, Co-Director of WestEd's Center for Child and Family Studies, will present "First Things First: Why Is It So Important to Start With Babies?", in which he will address issues like the difficulty and expense and detriment to children, families, communities, and the nation when healthy development does not take place in the first three years.

For more information, please visit www.itsi-indiana.org or forourbabies.org/wp/

For all the child care providers and parents shopping for that "perfect" Christmas present or 2011's "hot" toy of the year, the staff at Child Care Solutions would like to introduce you to "Wired" magazine's 5 Best Toys of all time that a child should never be without:

1. Stick
2. Box
3. String
4. Cardboard tubes
5. Dirt

Child Care Solutions’ annual early childhood conference Magic Capes and Fairy Dust…Imagination is a Must will be held at Ivy Tech Community College, Kokomo IN, on Saturday, October 22, 2011. Child Care Solutions is very excited and proud to present Kaplan’s Curriculum Specialist, Keith Pentz. Keith has been in the field of education for over 25 years. Keith began his career by working in child care with infants and toddlers. Later, he taught elementary students, as well as Kindergarteners. Keith spent the remainder of his classroom time teaching pre-kindergarten and working specifically with low socioeconomic families and inclusion students. Following his experiences in the classroom, Keith moved on to teach at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Florida, and he also was a Professor of Early Childhood Education at Gordon College in Wenham, Massachusetts.

Our conference is ideal for early childhood educators, elementary teachers, community partners, foster parents, and early childhood students. The conference will include wonderful presenters offering awesome breakout sessions with useful information you can begin using immediately! Earn training hours, visit info booths, enjoy great networking opportunities, good food, lots of fun, and participate in our famous PRIZE-A-PALOOZA!

Cost is $40 and the deadline is October 21, 2011 by 4:30 pm. $45 at the door. This cost will include a continental breakfast, lunch, and refreshments. We accept MC, Visa, checks, money orders, and cash! Call Child Care Solutions for information today at 765-452-8870or 800-493-3231! We hope to see you there!

Listed below are the training offerings for June 2010 through Child Care Solutions. Please contact us at 765-452-8870 or 1-800-493-3231 for more information or to sign up for a training. We look forward to seeing you soon!

SPEAK YOUR MIND!

Rate your community’s implementation of the Americans with Disabilities Act!

People with disabilities, their family members, and their advocates are invited to complete the 2010 ADA POLL, a survey about how Indiana communities are doing with implementation of the ADA. It’s important that your voices are heard when accessibility and discrimination issues are being addressed in your community! So don’t delay – let us know what you have to say!

The 2010 ADA POLL is available online at: www.ThePollingPlace.org.

It is also available in alternative formats – see below

The ADA has been in effect since 1990 - nearly 20 years have passed for communities to remove physical, programmatic, and attitudinal barriers that prevent people with disabilities from becoming active participating citizens. Progress has been made, but there is still need for further compliance. The 2010 ADA POLL asks Indiana citizens to identify how they view current implementation of the ADA in their own communities. Here is your opportunity to provide opinions and ideas about where to improve accessibility!

The results of the 2010 ADA POLL will be used to "grade" your community +on its response to the ADA and will become a tool to educate policy makers, administrators, and the general public about the ADA. We hope that you will join us in this effort to learn more about community responses to the ADA.

To request the survey form in an alternative format, or for additional information, contact Dr. Vicki Pappas by phone: 1-800-825-4733 or e-mail: beheard@indiana.edu.

The 2010 ADA POLL is being conducted by the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community, in conjunction with the Governor’s Council for People with Disabilities, Indiana Protection and Advocacy Services, and the Great Lakes ADA Center.

Information provided by

Joel F. Fosha, Manager

Office of Marketing and Public Relations

Indiana Institute on Disability and Community

Asthma is a pretty common occurrence, being diagnosed in about 1 in every 10 children. Since it affects and presents differently in every child, it is important to know what we can do to prevent flare ups.

First, asthma is a chronic lung disease that affects the airways. Symptoms include coughing, wheezing (a whistling or squeaky sound during breathing), chest tightness, and shortness of breath. Common stimuli that can set off asthma are allergens, irritants, respiratory infections, and physical exercise. It is very important to know if a child in your care has asthma. Talk with the parents about what stimuli set off their child’s asthma. Also, make sure that you have talked with the parents about treatment, as well as having a doctor’s note about any medications that are used and how to use them.

Here are some ways that you can help children to avoid asthma flare ups while in your care. Reduce exposure to pets, definitely keeping them out of sleeping areas; keep bathrooms, kitchens and basements well aired and regularly cleaned (reduces mold); do NOT smoke or allow smoking inside your facility; wash blankets and bedding in hot water weekly (130 degrees, because dust mites do not survive at that temperature); do not use room deodorizers (plug ins); avoid wearing strong perfumes. Now that we are into the cold weather season, the cold air can prompt a flare up for some children. Help them by having them wear a scarf or turtleneck over their mouth and nose.

Information taken from and available at the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute.

Promoting Excellence in
Early Childhood Education



School is starting. Is your professional liability coverage in place?

Don’t leave your personal finances at risk to a work-related lawsuit. The Educators Professional Liability Plan, sponsored by NAEYC, provides $1,000,000 in liability coverage for just $99 per year. That’s only 28 cents per day!
This plan pays defense costs in addition to liability claims, and it includes valuable job-protection benefits for you at no additional cost.

You can apply for coverage online in minutes at:
http://www.ftj.com/epli2009

Many educators think they are protected from lawsuits by the school that employs them, but that’s not always the case. Consider the facts:
• Not all schools have liability coverage for their employees.
• Those that do may not have enough coverage to protect all employees against all claims made during a given year.
• And your employer can decide not to defend you under its liability coverage.
That's right. There is risk involved in relying on an employer’s liability policy to protect you. Wouldn't you rather know you’re covered with your own $1,000,000 professional liability policy?
Application is easy. For more information or to apply online, visit the NAEYC website.

Your interest in becoming a licensed child care provider is greatly appreciated by the staff at Bona Vista's Child Care Solutions and families across the state of Indiana! Child care is one of the fastest growing businesses. The need for licensed child care providers is great, especially those caring for very young children. The requirements are reasonable and achievable! Many of the licensing requirements are health and safety measures you have probably already implemented, especially if you have children of your own.

As a licensed child care provider, registered with your local Resource & Referral agency (Bona Vista's Child Care Solutions), you may be eligible for many free benefits.

These benefits may include:

* FREE referrals to help fill our child care openings
* Information about free or low cost educational training
* Updates on State and local early childhood information
*Access to resources to enhance your program
* Recognition as a professional business owner- which allows you to claim additional business related tax deductions
* Information about opportunities to access local and state grants available for scholarships and other business related expenses

Bona Vista's Child Care Solutions offers the FREE Orientation 1 & 2 trainings to get you on the right track! Please call Yonda Grinslade, Education Specialist at 800-493-3231 to inquire about licensing today!!

Click here for another great tool used in getting started as a child care provider with NACCRRA's Child Care Aware Prospective Provider website!!!!