Thursday, March 10, 2016

What is a non-profit early learning center?

Author: Lauren Fontaine (Executive Director)

All non-profit child care centers work in different ways. Some are owned by individuals who have the aid of a board of directors (sometimes paid), some are run through a religious organization and some (like World of Wonders) are run by a volunteer parent Board of Trustees.


What does this mean for customers?
At WOW our customers are the voice of our program. We rely on our trained and educated staff to carry through and complete the goals set forth by our Board of Trustees. Should any parent, staff member, or community member ever have a question or concern, and the Administrative Staff is unable to give properly address that concern, they may contact the Board (board@wowchildcare.org).

What does this mean for children?
The children at WOW are our #1 priority. With parent, community, and staff input we are able to build a responsive program that meets the needs of all of our families and children. As a non-profit we strive to provide the best education for all children, meet the needs of all children no matter what their background is, and stay up to date with the most current trends in early education, care of children, and developmental screenings.

What does this mean for employees?
Our employees have a huge impact on our program. Each year there is a Board meeting that the employees are invited to so they can give feedback about day to day operations as well as how the program runs. In addition there is a yearly survey done to give further feedback on the program. Employees are always free to contact the Board of Trustees through email or attend open meetings.

What does this mean for the community?
Without the community WOW would not exist. Union county, and its residents have supported the WOW program for over 30 years. Each non-profit child care center depends on community support, donations and involvement to function. Thank you to all of our supporters for your generous donations, volunteered time and hard work!

Any one who would like may attend our Board meetings. For more information please visit...

http://www.wowchildcare.org/board.html

Help! My 4 year old is hitting!

Author: Lauren Fontaine (Executive Director WOW)

During my daily interactions with our families many of them ask questions about their child's behavior, health or general development. Today I was emailed by a parent who brought up a common concern that parent's have about their children. 

Mother: Mom question-what do you do/ suggest when (Child) purposely hurts or throws things at us and laughs? She does this to (her little brother) as well. We talk to her about personal space and talk her about telling us what is happening and how we will help. Sometimes she just throws stuff when we ask her to stop doing something. 

Lauren's Answer: This is perfectly normal for 3-4 year old children! Don't worry too much. Consistency is the key, talk to her ahead of time about consequences of what will happen, such as taking some time to herself, leaving the area, etc. Make sure you follow through every time with the consequences. To reinforce the good behavior make sure you give her intermittent, random rewards for good behavior and point out what she is doing that is positive! You can also try the book 1, 2, 3 Magic (link below). Make sure she has plenty of opportunities to do positive things and talk to her about being nice.

We can give you some books to read at home about having nice hands if that would be helpful.

Mother: Ok. It has just started in the past week or so, and we have been removing her from the situation. We have been talking to her afterwards and sometimes later in the evening. She seems to know it is wrong and not nice, so hopefully with consistency it will get better.

Lauren: Great plan. It takes time and is usually a phase. If you have greater concerns about her feeling empathy, let me know, we can provide some resources. Also, remember that kids this age test boundaries and it is probably a phase. She is a good kid, with wonderful parents, so you have nothing to worry about!!!

1,2,3, Magic- a great and easy system to use at home:

Thursday, March 3, 2016

Why Pick a Licensed Child Care Center?


When choosing a child care center one of the first things you need to consider is if you are going to go with a licensed, or unlicensed, sitter or child care center.

In the State of Ohio, a home sitter or child care facility must be licensed if there are more than 5 children on site at one time, with no more than 3 children under 2 years. The providers own children count in ratio if they are under the age of 6. All children who are not relatives of the sitter count in ratio until they are 15 years old. These rules protect your child by keeping your provider to child ratio low. There are some exceptions to this rule (see link below)

There are many benifits to finding a liscensed childcare provider. Each provider, either a home care provider, or one in a childcare center, must have health and safety training-including First Aid, CPR, and other training surrounding child Development. In addition new standards to rate centers based on the quality of education will create incentives to have employees with education/development degrees working within the program.

Licensed child care providers must have background checks, that are regularly updated to make sure your child stays safe. Monitoring inspections are also done frequently to spot check the environment, child's files, and basic care. After each inspection the inspection reports, for child care centers, are posted online for the public to view (see link below). Type A home care providers have inspections as well that are available upon requet from yoru local child care agency.



Information on licensed child care centers: http://jfs.ohio.gov/cdc/page2.stm

Find public licensing inspections: http://www.odjfs.state.oh.us/cdc/query.asp


World of Wonders is licensed through the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.