October 2017 newsletter

Town of Beaumont Child Care Services Monthly Newsletter INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

Early Learning Child Care and School Age Site Supervisor Update

Supervisors Update

1

Sunshine & Green

2

Rainbow & Gold Room

3

Kinder Room

4

ELCC Pictures

5

ELCC Snack Menu

6

SAS Update

7

SAS Snack Menu

8

Living Life to the Full

9

Circle of Security

10

LICENSING Mandatory under regulation

ACCREDITATION Voluntary (by application)

Parenting Workshops

11

Sets the regulated minimum standards

Sets standards of high quality

Fee Schedule

12

Purpose is to meet health, safety and developmental needs of children Compliance required

Purpose is to achieve standards of excellence Commitment required

Government regulated and monitored

Sector developed and supported

Recognizes compliance

Recognizes achievement

Supervisor, ELCC Jodie Vesso 780-929-1263 jodie.vesso@ beaumont.ab.ca Sunshine, Green & Rainbow Rooms phone: 780-929-5913 Gold & Kinder room phone: 780-929-5914 Supervisor, School Age Site Christopher Kruk 780-929-2173 chris.kruk@ beaumont.ab.ca SAS Room Phone: 780-929-2190 SAS Cell Phone: 780-862-7803

Upcoming Closure Dates October 9 November 13 December 25,26,27, January 1 February 19

Welcome to Fall!

It seems like the children have settled in nicely to their new rooms and routines! If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to chat with your child’s room teachers, or contact the supervisors directly.

Accreditation: The Early Learning Child Care has been accredited since 2006 and the School Age Site has also been accredited since 2012. This year we will be seeking to receive re-accreditation status for 2018. This big undertaking ensures that the program continues the benefits of receiving provincial grant funding and providing quality child care that exceeds provincial regulations.

This table highlights the differences between being licensed and being accredited:

In the very near future, supervisors will be distributing accreditation surveys, permission forms for the involvement process of re-accreditation, and other documents that require parents involvement. We are hoping to receive back 100% of the surveys as the involvement of the parents is essential to the success of this process. Validators from “Accreditation of Early Learning and Care Services” will visit our programs sometime between late December 2017 and March 2018 to determine whether or not we have met the standards necessary for re-accreditation.

For more information on accreditation please see the following link: http://aelcs.ca

Call for Nominations: The Alberta Government is calling for nominations for the 2017 Child Development Awards of Excellence. If you would like to have the opportunity to nominate a team member or get more information, please visit alberta.ca/childdevelopmentawards .

We hope you all have an enjoyable and relaxing Thanksgiving weekend.

Jodie Vesso ELCC Supervisor

Chris Kruk School Age Site Supervisor

Sunshine Room Early Learning Child Care

Tendai—Early Childhood Program Coordinator Stephanie—Early Childhood Program Assistant

September in the Sunshine Room has taken off amazingly well. The transition from home and daycare has been wonderful thanks to parents being so supportive and doing an amazing job at drop offs. I know it has not been easy especially for the moms and grandmothers, but because of all the support given to your young ones, the little ones have settled in, in record time. The children have already caught on to the routine and are doing fantastic remembering all their jobs and cleaning up after themselves especially after lunch. The children have been exploring their new environment and are doing quite a lot of art work .Please take some time to come in at the end of the day and take a look at your child's art. Their pictures tell a thousand words of their many learning experiences. The children have been showing us that they want to be more independent so we have been giving them a lot of opportunities to do things on their own. For example, giving them more time at meal times to feed themselves and more time in transitions so they can figure out the next step in the routine . It's wonderful seeing them try to help each other find their shoes and even attempt to put each other's shoes on. We are truly honoured to be part of your child's life as they explore the world of learning and independence. As always communication is always open please call , email or text when you need to. We might not always get back to you right away but we will certainly get back to you as soon as we can.

Gentle reminder:  Please remember to label all items belonging to your child so clothing or food containers don't go home with the wrong child.

Green Room Early Learning Child Care

Laura—Early Childhood Program Coordinator Kristi—Early Childhood Program Assistant

We can't believe that a month has gone by already. We have begun to settle into our new routine and the children all seem to be adjusting quiet well. During our first couple of weeks we focused on getting to know your child as well as getting to know you guys too. Once we were settled in we noticed that the children were really into collecting. They would fill the bags that we had hanging in our house corner with many different items from around the room and once their bags were full they would put them on their arms and walk around the room with them. When we asked what was in their bags we noticed that some children had a mixture of things while other children had multiple bags and each bag had a different collection inside.

So we started planning experiences that had to do with collecting. So far collecting frozen cubes that we usually use for ice packs was a big hit! We used tongs to moved them from our big sensory tray into different cups. As we collected the frozen cubes, we talked about how they felt on our hands, the different colours and the different shapes as they weren't just all cubes! The children also loved driving the big trucks we use during gym time around our room and collecting different toys with them. This was a big hit when we stuck inside on those rainy days. We can't wait to keep exploring collecting with the children!

Just a few reminders:  if you haven't sent or brought in pictures for our family tree please do so. We are so happy with the way it's looking so far and can't wait to add more pictures to it!  With the sudden change in weather please make sure you child has warm clothes as we still go out in the mornings. A warm jacket, toque, mitts and splash pants would be great to have in your child's cubby. The mornings can be quiet chilly and we want your child to be comfortable and warm to enjoy outdoor play!  We have placed circle documentation boards out above our outside cubbies for all the children and our plan is to display art and photos that happen during the month, we are hoping to have some artwork and pictures up very soon.

Rainbow Room Early Learning Child Care Centre

Beth—Early Childhood Program Coordinator Lorena—Early Childhood Program Assistant Tammy—Early Childhood Program Assistant

September was a busy but fun month! We have been enjoying getting to know the children and families and everyone has settled into a daily routine. Our focus for this month is “What do we do when we go camping?”

We chose this interest as we noticed Gabe and Sam making campfires in the block corner. They would stack blocks in a pile and then set up beds with blankets and call them camp beds. This play continued outside with a variety of natural materials, sticks, sand, leaves and pinecones. The other children joined in and started talking about camping and collecting things around the room for their trip. We will be learning about creating pretend fires, setting up a campsite, boating and fishing, what we need to pack to go camping and going on hikes around Beaumont. Please email or send in any pictures of your family camping and we will post them for the children to see and share. The weather this month has ranged from sunny to rainy to snow! Hopefully October will be a mild month as the children love to be outside exploring. Please send your child with a hat and mittens to be kept at the centre as some mornings are chilly.

Thank you, Tammy, Lorena and Beth

Gold Room

Joanna—Early Childhood Program Coordinator Jodi—Early Childhood Program Assistant Simran—Early Childhood Program Assistant

Fall is here, and hopefully it will be warm, sunny and beautiful. This way we can easily enjoy our community parks and allow the children to develop their gross motor skills, social interactions with their peers and let them connect with nature before our harsh winter makes it more difficult.

We are happy to see how well the children have adjusted to the Gold Room routine, voicing the pride they feel to be in the big kids room. Their curious eyes, busy minds, and creative hands show us the path for planning holistic based play activities according to the curriculum framework. Following the children's interests, which we help them learn about and explore, allows us to learn more about the topics that are fascinating to them on a daily basis.

As the morning weather is getting progressively cooler, please make sure you send your children with an extra pair of mittens and a warm hat, as well as a pair of splash pants in case we decide to explore puddles.

On more of a housekeeping note, we have found that, although our Friday Toy Day has allowed great fun for the children, we must ask parents that you please limit your child to one toy, and make sure that the toy is not too special and not too precious to be shared with friends. In this way, we can ensure that the children get to continue bringing their toys from home, as we love seeing them developing their sharing skills.

Starting in November, we will be taking advantage of the next-door arena by having one skating day per month. In order to participate, the children need a helmet, snow pants, and skates. If they don’t skate, they still require a helmet to be able to walk on the ice. Parents are welcome to join us.

Please take time to visit our room and ask your child to be your guide to show you their artwork, as well as the observation boards around the classroom.

By the entrance, you will find the learning stories titled "Gold Room Learning Adventures", which will demonstrate how much your children learn on their journey in getting ready for Kindergarten.

Happy Birthday to Everett and Jayden, who both celebrated their fourth Birthday with us in September.

Kinder Room

Amy —Early Childhood Program Coordinator Michelle—Early Childhood Program Assistant Lyndsey—Early Childhood Program Assistant

September has been a very busy month that has brought many changes for the kinder kids. All of them have adapted to new rooms, routines, and teachers in their lives. When the weather has permitted, we have spent as much time outside as possible. We know very soon outside will not be available each day and we have been grateful to take advantage of the sunshine.

In the kinder room we have been busy building. We have built with LEGO™, blocks, loose parts, ice blocks and stacking cups, to name a few. The kinder kids have also shown huge interest in planning what they build. They have been very fascinated with blue prints, floor plans, and tile samples. They have carried clipboards around with their building drawn out on graph paper. We look forward to seeing where their interests lead us next.

We wanted to give you a quick rundown of our daily routine. Snack is first thing in the morning, giving the children going to school a chance to eat before leaving. It is offered as an open concept meaning it's available from 7until 9 but the children choose if and when they want to eat. The children going to school are reminded that if they would like something before school they need to eat first thing. The daycare bus picks up at 750am and the St Andre bus picks up at 810am. The children who stay in the kinder room then have some free play time until we go outside, usually around 10-1030 depending on the weather. The goal is to stay out until the bus returns at 1130am. Lunch is between 1130-1230 and we go back outside around 130pm. The full day bus kids arrive around 330 and then we have snack and free play until home time. On rainy or really cold days we get to use the teen centre for some gym time between 230-330.

It is really important that if you are picking your child up from school and they are not returning on the bus that you let us know. You can call and let us know or send us a quick text but please remember to let us know so that both the bus driver and staff are not concerned by their absence.

The other thing we wanted to make sure you were aware of was how to collect information from the kinder room. You may have noticed the chalkboard calendar on the kinder room door. This will tell you when we are having special days, usually on PD days so everyone is here to enjoy the special activity all day. We have a white binder that is communication between staff and parents. This is where you will find things like scholastic book orders, birthday invites we have been asked to hand out and any other sort of paperwork that needs distributing. Please check the binder each day. We also have a white board on the wall near the binder that we will post reminders and other information everyone needs to know. And of course you are always welcome to ask us any questions you may have. We are happy to help any way we can.

ELCC SNACK MENU—OCTOBER 2017 Monday 2 Rice krispies with orange slices

Tortilla chips with salsa and sour cream 9

16 Shreddies with orange slices Pita with hummus and cucumber

23 Mini rice cakes with apples and cinnamon

Tuesday

Wednesday

3 Tortilla wraps with pea butter and bananas

Yogurt with bran buds

Veggies and dip 10 Cinnamon toast with apple slices

Thursday

4

English muffin pizzas - pizza sauce, ham & cheese

5 LEFT OVER FRIDAY

Pretzels with cheese cubes

Cheerios with banana slices

Cherry tomatoes, mozza cheese & crackers

Pasta with butter & cheese or tomato sauce

Cheese quesadilla with salsa

17 Raisin toast with cheese

18 Yogurt with frozen berries

19 Apple sauce with teddy grahams

Egg Salad Sandwiches

Trail mix (cheerios, pretzels, shreddies, craisins, mini marshmallows)

Pea butter and jam sandwiches

24 25 26 Eggos with syrup Yogurt with banana Oatmeal and slices and graham raisins with brown wafers sugar Taco salad– lettuce, tomato, shredded Melon with cheese, ranch dress- Cucumbers, cheese arrowroot cookies ing, tortilla chips and crackers

30 Rice Krispies with orange slices

31 Toast and mozza cheese

Meat, cheese, pickles and crackers

Granola bars and fresh fruit

6

Canned fruit and graham crackers

12 Fruit cocktail with rice cakes

Fruit cocktail & animal crackers

11

Friday

13 LEFT OVER FRIDAY

20 LEFT OVER FRIDAY

27 LEFT OVER FRIDAY *Birthday snack— PM

*All snacks and lunch are serve with milk and water

SCHOOL AGE SITE

Supervisor, Chris Kruk Program Coordinator, Shirley Webster Program Assistant, Karissa George Program Assistant, Jamie Scott Program Assistant, Ingrid Holtz Program Support, Karen Hanchurak & Ariunaa Tsend

We have all settled into a routine this month. We have all gotten to know each other, making new friends, our families and what we like to do.

We had our first taste of snow, even though it was brief and didn’t last, it was still a wakeup call. Please make sure that your child has the proper clothing for going outside. Also please make sure that they have indoor and outdoor shoes especially now that is getting wet and muddy outside.

If you have any recyclable items at home that the children can make crafts with feel free to drop them off at the site.

Such items are always in demand. The children are very creative and love making new inventions.

If you haven’t already done so please send in a family picture of you and your child. Also if you have any picture of where you have been on holidays that would be great. We are trying to update both the family and holiday wall.

READING CLUB  Welcome back and welcome to our newcomers. We would like to welcome you to our club; The Reading Club.  Each day a staff will ask if you have read; if the answer is yes, then we highlight your name on the Reading Club Clipboard for a chance to win a new book for you to take home.  In the Reading room you can either read a book or participate in one of the file folder games (all this counts as reading too).  Did you know you can also borrow a book from our site? Just ask a teacher to write the name of the book, your name and the date on the sign out list attached to the Reading Club Clipboard.  During the summer we had a couple of challenges and Ethan B was the only person who accepted a challenge. He read over 100 books during the summer months. Congratulations Ethan!!!!!!!  We also had our draws going on during the summer and these are the winners July: Brookelyn, Colby, Nikolas, Torin, August: Nikolas X 2, Kaya, Tatym X 2, Kinley X 2  The winner of September’s draw is Emberlyn.

A reminder to text 780-862-7803 or phone 780-929-2190 the site to let us know if you child will not be attending.

Have a great month.

SAS

Birthday wishes go out to: Kaya October 5 Markus October 9 Nikolas October 15 Chris October 28.

Happy Birthday all. The staff hope you all have a fantastic day.

School Age Site October Snack Menu Monday 2 Cereal

Triscuit Pizza Crackers 9

Tuesday

Wednesday

3 Eggos

Veggies & Dip 10 Eggs

Thursday

Early Dismissal 4 Toast & Jam

5 Oranges & Graham Crackers

Pudding 11 Yogurt

Nachos & Cheese 12 Apples & Cheese

Perogies 23 Cereal

6 Left Over Friday

13

Left Over Friday

CLOSED 16 Cereal

Friday

Soup & Crackers

Veggies & Dip

Eggos

17 Applesauce & Graham Crackers

18 Raisin Toast

19 Cereal

Mini Subs 24 Muffins

Cupcakes 25 Toast & Jam

20 Left Over Friday

Ritz crackers & Cheese & Pickles 26 Eggos

27 Left Over Friday

Pitas & filling

Fruit

30 Cereal

31 Fruit cocktail & Arrowroot Crackers

Nachos and Cheese

Veggies

Quesadillas

Veggies & Dip

SCHEDULE VII CHILD CARE FEES Effective February 1, 2017 2017 Local Fees

ITEM

2017 Non-Local Fees

SCHOOL AGE SITE (Monthly Fees) Before & After School Care: September – June

$534.00

$719.00

Before & After School Care Summer Care: July & August

$744.00

$946.00

Child Care Services Bus Fee/Child

$95.00

Community Rider Bus Fee/Child

$65

EARLY LEARNING CHILD CARE CENTRE (Monthly Fees) 0 – 12 months

$1073.00

$1,350.00

13 – 19 months

$999.00

$1,284.00

19 months – 3 years

$970.00

$1,232.00

3 – 4.5 years

$909.00

$1,196.00

4.5 years and up

$816.00

$1,097.00

Kindergarten Care: Year round

$800.00

$1,097.00

Bus Transportation User Fee/child

$95.00

2 Days/Week: Tuesday/Thursday

$485.00

$579.00

3 Days/Week: Monday/Wednesday/Friday

$605.00

$765.00

DROP-IN FEES: ALL PROGRAMS Half Day Full Day

$35.00 $53.00

OTHER FEES Late Pick-Up Waitlist Registration Fee (Will be either refunded or applied to the first month’s child care fees if the child is accepted into the program, but otherwise is nonrefundable)

$1.00/Minute $50.00