Bona Vista's Child Care Solutions

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

The Indiana Department of Environmental Management would like to share the opportunity to participate in FREE webinars on the 2nd Thursday of every month from 4:00-5:30 pm EST. Here is a list of the following webinars being offered:

December 8, 2011--Pediatric Environmental Health Resources for Community Health Professionals

January 12, 2012--Coordinated School Health: Clean, Green, and Healthy Schools

February 9, 2012--Obesity Prevention

March 8, 2012--Affordable Care Act

April 12, 2012--Communities Working Together for Better Health

May 10, 2012--Successful Asthma Management

June 14, 2012-- Healthy Homes

July--No Webinar this month

August 9, 2012--Children's Environmental Health Research

September 12, 2012--National Children's Study

For additional information, please visit: http://www.epa.gov/region8/humanhealth/children/webinars.html

Bona Vista's Child Care Solutions would like to recognize the following individuals on their accomplishments within the Paths to QUALITY program. We are proud of each and every individual and/or facility that has went above and beyond to provide a high quality early learning experience for Indiana's youngest citizens. Thank you for your hard work, perseverance, and determination!


Please join us in congratulating the following licensed home providers as they join others in national accreditation status:

• Special Care Day Service owned by Deborah Gatchel of Wabash County
• My Caterpillar Clubhouse owned by Stephanie McKinstry of Howard County
• Russell Family Day Care owned by Jill Russell of Howard County

They join Bona Vista Programs, Inc. of Howard County, Bona Vista Programs-Early Head Start of Miami County, and Micro Chips Early Learning Center of Howard County who are Level 4 Paths to QUALITY providers.

Please join us in congratulating the following programs on their advancement within the Paths to QUALITY program:

Advancement to Level 3 status:

• Early Head Start of Carey Services, Inc. of Blackford County
• Early Head Start of Carey Services, Inc. of Grant County
• Finding Me Now of Howard County
• Kokomo-Center Schools Head Start Program of Howard County
• Sonbeam Child Care owned by Liesbet Patrick of Howard County
• YMCA Child Care Development Center of Howard County
• Kids Kampus of Huntington County
• Candi's Kiddie Care owned by Dawn Korreckt of Miami County
• Coconuts Family Childcare owned by Michelle Monin of Miami County
• Area Five Agency Head Start-Laketon of Wabash County
• Children's Meadow owned by Christine Metzger of Wabash County
  

Maintenance of Level 3 status:

• Kinder Haus Day Care Center of Adams County
  
• Kiddie Kaboodle owned by Barbara Merkel of Blackford County
• Our Kids Child Care owned by Ada Ebert of Grant County
  
• Creative Childcare owned by Sheri George of Grant County
• Huntington Head Start of Huntington County
• The Tot Spot owned by Cynthia Tobin of Huntington County
• Educare Child Care Services, Inc. owned by Danielle Hurt of Jay County
• Educare Child Care Services, Inc. owned by Danielle Hurt of Jay County
  

Advancement to Level 2 status:

• Montpelier Head Start of Blackford County
• Mae's Funhouse owned by Mae Cobb of Grant County
• Lezlie's Day Care owned by Lezlie Cousins of Grant County
  
• Little People's Playhouse owned by Tori Jacobs of Grant County
• Teaching Little Tykes owned by Tracey Terry of Grant County
• Teaching Little Tykes II owned by Tracey Terry of Grant County
• Little Tots Child Care owned by Kimberly Young of Grant County
• Little Rising Stars owned by Sadeta Hodzic of Howard County
• ABC Child Care owned by Jesse Landrum of Howard County
• Building Blocks Daycare owned by Amy Lechner of Howard County
• Our Little Angels owned by Teresa Rudd of Howard County
• Angel Tots owned by Dawnetta Sparks of Howard County
• Brighter Beginnings owned by Britina Boxell of Huntington County
  
• A Place to Grow Childcare and Early Education owned by Donna Skinner of Jay County
• A Place to Grow and Early Education owned by Donna Skinner of Jay County
• Ida's Kids owned by Frances Black of Miami County
• Ida's Kids 2 owned by Frances Black of Miami County
• Sherwood Forest Day Care owned by Traci Brown of Miami County
• Emanuel Lutheran Child Care of Tipton County
• Little Hands, Big Hearts Daycare, LLC. owned by Deanna Azbell of Wabash County
• Ring Around the Rosy Day Care owned by Margaret McAfee of Wells County
  

Maintenance of Level 2 status:

• Mary's Family Day Care Plus owned by Mary Gibson-Cosby of Wabash County
• Manchester Early Learning Center of Wabash County

Six Stress Prevention Tips

The child is in me still and sometimes not so still.
-Fred Rogers

Scientific American Mind (September 2011) offered "six strategies for fighting stress before it starts":

1. Seek and kill. Take a few minutes every day to identify stressors in your life and find ways to reduce or eliminate them.
   
   
2. Commit to the positive. Don't rely on self-destructive ways of coping with stress — drinking, drugs, overeating.
   
   
3. Be your own personal secretary. People who keep lists of things to do really do more things.
   
   
4. Immunize yourself. Through exercise, thought management, and the daily practice of relaxation techniques, you will be in a better position to face stressors.
   
   
5. Make a little plan. Spend a few minutes every morning planning your day. You will waste less time, get more done, and feel less stressed.
   
   
6. And make a big plan. Planning your future is a great way of exercising more control over your life.
   

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!

On Wednesday, August 24, 2011, the Child Care Council of Kentucky released an innovative Android and iPhone app named Kids Matter®, the first of its kind in the state of Kentucky. Among other things, the app allows parents to search for quality child care and access resources to help pay for child care.

With the Child Care Council of Kentucky's app, families now can easily search for quality child care with their Android or iPhone. The database of regulated child care facilities is searchable based on various criteria (i.e. city, star rating, age of child). Using Kids Matter®, families can also search for an area Child Care Eligibility Specialist in order to learn more about paying for the high cost of child care.

For the full article, click here

On Tuesday, September 13, 2011 from 12:00 pm to 3:00 pm, Methodist Hospital is offering a training that provides poison prevention background for the instructor, how to effectively teach poison safety to children, and how to get the safety message home to parents. This training is for those who teach injury prevention programs for preschool and elementary school children.

The workshop is FREE and the location is 1812 N. Capitol, Wile Hall, 1st Floor, Room 128 Methodist Hospital, Indianapolis. Workshop is limited to 12 participants.

To register, contact Barbara Cole at 317-962-9248 or bcole@iuhealth.org

A Healthy Indiana Begins Where We
Live, Learn, Work and Play

The 2011 Indiana Healthy Homes and Childcare Conference will explore what it takes to ensure all Indiana children have a healthy and lead-safe home, and safe places to learn and play. What advice should be given to urban gardeners about lead in soil? What are the new CDC guidelines for pregnant women and lead? How can nurses and public health professionals best work with families during a home visit? What's needed to keep homes clean, dry, safe, well-maintained, well-ventilated and contaminant-free?

We'll also look at emerging environmental threats, such as bedbugs, the problem of super bacteria in the food chain, the health impacts of climate change, and emerging contaminants such as BPA and phthalates. A healthy childcare track will help childcare providers ensure that they are providing a safe and healthy environment for learning.

Featured speakers include:

• Nsedu Obot Witherspoon, Children's Environmental Health Network
• Sara Snow, Green Living Expert and TV Host
  
• Attorney General Greg Zoeller (invited)
• State Senator Patricia Miller
• Julie Morris, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Agenda available here.

Breakout sessions will address four topic areas:

• Keeping Children Lead-Safe
• Healthy Homes and Asthma Prevention
  
• Environmental Health
  
• Maintaining a Healthy Childcare Facility

Scholarships are available for local health departments and child care providers. Childcare scholarships are provided under a grant from Duke Energy Foundation. Contact Jodi Perras at jperras@ikecoalition.org for more information.