WEDNESDAY, October 8th is the
Last Day to Register For The
4th
Annual Tour of Quality Centers
Thursday,
October 9th 8:45 am – 12:30 pm
The Tour is free. To join the Tour, RSVP to:
Nancy Johnson njohnson@thinksmall.org - 651-233-2260
We’re excited to feature the following
exemplary programs on this year’s tour
- New Horizons Academy, Woodbury , participating in Farm to Child Care
- Miniapple Montessori, Oakdale
- Joyce Preschool - Spanish/English Immersion, Minneapolis
This is your opportunity to visit three very
different, high quality 4 Star Parent Aware rated programs.
Tour Schedule
8:45 am – 9:00 am -
Gather at New Horizons
Academy, Woodbury
9:00 am – 9:50 am -
Introduction and tour of Woodbury
New Horizons
Academy, a participating center in the NHA Farm to Child Care Project.
10:00 – 10:50 am
- Introduction and tour of Miniapple
International Montessori, Oakdale, an inspiring Montessori exploration and learning
environment.
11:20 – Noon -
Introduction and tour of Joyce
Preschool, Minneapolis, an English/Spanish immersion child care and
education and family engagement program.
Noon – 12:30 -
Networking and refreshments
To join the Tour and
receive maps and other details you must register with Nancy
Johnson: njohnson@thinksmall.org – 651-233-2260.
The Tour of Quality will
take the place of our regular monthly Early Childhood Directors Group meeting
in October. The Directors group will meet again on November 13th
from 10 – Noon at Think Small, 2021 E. Hennepin Ave, Minneapolis, 55413.
More about the featured centers on the Tour of Quality:
New Horizon Academy - Woodbury
Director: Susan Zachary Phone:
651-731-5222
Address: 8050 Afton Road, Woodbury 55125
http://www.newhorizonacademy.net/locations/detail/maplewood#sthash.rR9mioeq.dpuf
http://www.newhorizonacademy.net/locations/detail/maplewood#sthash.rR9mioeq.dpuf
New Horizon Academy has grown
to become the nation’s largest family-operated early childhood company, and we
are now the 9th largest private child care organization in the nation. We have
59 centers in Minnesota and Idaho.
Mission and Philosophy
The entire mission, philosophy, and practices of New Horizon Academy are devoted to the development of a healthy sense of self in every child enrolled in our programs and a commitment to excellence.
How Children Learn
Powerful research on child development tells us that from birth, a child's brain is a burst of activity. Each and every experience creates an electrical impulse in a baby's brain, and an immediate connection is made. These early connections form the foundation for the acquisition of language, mathematical reasoning and logic, art and music appreciation, and the development of emotional intelligence.
We also know that family members and early childhood educators can have the greatest impact on each child's potential for learning. The early interactions, stimulating environment, and learning opportunities we provide at New Horizon Academy will help determine how young children will learn, think, feel, behave and interact for the rest of their lives!
Miniapple International Montessori Oakdale
The entire mission, philosophy, and practices of New Horizon Academy are devoted to the development of a healthy sense of self in every child enrolled in our programs and a commitment to excellence.
How Children Learn
Powerful research on child development tells us that from birth, a child's brain is a burst of activity. Each and every experience creates an electrical impulse in a baby's brain, and an immediate connection is made. These early connections form the foundation for the acquisition of language, mathematical reasoning and logic, art and music appreciation, and the development of emotional intelligence.
We also know that family members and early childhood educators can have the greatest impact on each child's potential for learning. The early interactions, stimulating environment, and learning opportunities we provide at New Horizon Academy will help determine how young children will learn, think, feel, behave and interact for the rest of their lives!
Miniapple International Montessori Oakdale
Director: Deb Sack Phone: 651-739-6275
Email: oak@miniapplemontessori.com
Address: 780 Helmo Ave N., Oakdale, MN 55128
Our Mission Is:
- To promote a culturally diverse, purposeful, fun, and peaceful environment that nurtures the development of children through compassion, respect, and imagination.
- To recognize the uniqueness of each child who will grow to be an independent, responsible and wholesome member of society.
- To inspire children to explore and learn through hands on experiences with caring, long standing, dedicated staff.
- To reach excellence in global learning and children realizing their full potential to live in a harmonious world.
The team of early childhood educators
at Miniapple Montessori believe that individualized learning can begin at a
very young age. The philosophy is based on the realization that a child’s
developmental needs are met through freedom within limits in the prepared
environment. Over a century ago, Dr. Maria Montessori discovered an approach to
education that emphasizes the potential of young children by means of a
sensory-rich “prepared environment,” specially trained adults, and carefully
created scientific teaching materials.
The Montessori classroom is
filled with attractive and interesting hands-on materials. These objects are
progressively designed so that concrete tasks and simple activities lead to
those that are more complex, abstract, and challenging. Children are helped to
help themselves discover, learn, and reach their fullest potential as they make
choices in selecting their own work and proceeding at their own pace. This
freedom within limits is the key to the wonderful feelings of success and
accomplishment Montessori children enjoy as they develop intellectually,
socially, physically, and emotionally.
Joyce Preschool Spanish-English Immersion Program
Director: Sarah Clyne Phone: 612) 823-2447, ext. 101
Associate
Director: Laura Tompkins
Phone: 612) 823-2447, ext. 102
Address: 3400 Park Ave. S, Mpls, 55407
Joyce Preschool’s mission is to provide children from diverse ethnic,
linguistic, and economic backgrounds with developmentally and culturally
appropriate preparation for success in school and lifelong learning.
The preschool implements its mission through an innovative, two-way (Spanish-English) immersion program that successfully prepares children for kindergarten and school achievement while actively involving and strengthening their families.
Joyce maintains a balance of children from Spanish and English speaking families, which is crucial to addressing disparities in student achievement and successful development of literacy skills; the school's vision is to become a recognized leader in offering two-way immersion and multicultural early childhood education, offering its model for replication to the local and regional community.
The preschool implements its mission through an innovative, two-way (Spanish-English) immersion program that successfully prepares children for kindergarten and school achievement while actively involving and strengthening their families.
Joyce maintains a balance of children from Spanish and English speaking families, which is crucial to addressing disparities in student achievement and successful development of literacy skills; the school's vision is to become a recognized leader in offering two-way immersion and multicultural early childhood education, offering its model for replication to the local and regional community.
Ebola, Enterovirus D68 & Flu: Strategies for Child Care, Schools
There are numerous news reports about the epidemic of Enterovirus
D68 affecting many children, and now Ebola
virus.
To ensure the health of all children in child care and school
settings, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends caregivers and
teachers continue the current procedures already in place to manage infectious
diseases (e.g. immunizations, infection control, and proper exclusion
practices).
Children with Enterovirus D68, for example, may have symptoms that
look similar to children with the common cold, the flu, or other respiratory
viruses. Remember, it is not the job of caregivers and schools to
diagnose children.
There are steps that Child Care Providers,
Facilities, and Schools can take to prevent the spread of infection and
illness, including having policies that encourage:
·
Routine childhood and adult immunizations.
·
Infection control measures such as sanitation,
disinfection, and maintenance.
·
Excluding (sending home) children if the illness prevents the child from
participating comfortably from activities, results in a need for care that is
greater than staff members can provide (without compromising the care of
other children), or poses a risk of harmful diseases to others.
·
Preparing in advance for infectious disease outbreaks
or epidemics.
By following these recommendations, you will be doing your part to
maintain a healthy environment for all the children in your care, regardless of
illness.
Additional resources for Child Care Providers & Schools:
·
Preventing
the Spread of Illness in Child Care or School Preventing the Flu: Resources
for Parents & Child Care Providers
·
Managing Infectious Diseases in Child Care and Schools, 3rd
Edition (AAP Bookstore - shop.aap.org)
·
Caring for Our Children Manual
(National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care and Early
Education)
·
Caring for Our Children:
Standard 3.3 Cleaning, Sanitizing, and Disinfecting (National Resource
Center for Health and Safety in Child Care and Early Education)
·
Model
Child Care Health Policies (A Publication of the AAP and the
Pennsylvania Chapter of the AAP)
Policy Hour is back for 2014-2015
What is Policy Hour ? It’s a monthly opportunity for early
childhood and school-age care professionals to connect with each other and
learn about current policy issues in an informal setting.
Our
first event of the season, on October 7, will feature Melvin Carter,
Director of the Office of Early Learning. He will provide us with an update on
the Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge Grant in each of the three key
areas:
- Accountability and decision-making
- A great early childhood workforce
- Access to high-quality, accountable programs
Minnesota’s
Early Learning Scholarships Are Going Fast
Child care programs participating in Parent Aware can help
families struggling to afford quality care to apply for Minnesota Early
Learning Scholarships. There is no deadline for applications and Think
Small has already received over 500 applications. Please continue to encourage
families to apply. You can find the updated application HERE and
on Think Small's website. As you continue to connect with families and help
them with the application process, please remind them to include supporting
documents for income verification. An application without income verification
is the most common cause for application denial or delay.
Only a small fraction of the families who need help paying
for quality care will benefit due to limited scholarships available. Families
on the wait list will be the first in line if additional scholarship dollars
become available. The Early Learning Scholarships will be distributed on a
priority-basis, including consideration of the date the application was
received. Priorities also include whether the parent is under 21 and/or if the
child would be finishing their second year of a scholarship.
Again, thank you for all your help spreading the word to
families in your community. If you have any questions, please contact us at
651-641-6604 or 855-898-4465 or email scholarships@thinksmall.org.
GOOD NEWS (!) from Washington
D.C.
From the Early Care and Education Consortium
On Monday, September 15th, the
US.S.House of Representatives voted to reauthorize the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 2014. This is
the primary federal grant program that provides child care assistance to
families, and funds quality initiatives for child care.
Now it's on to the Senate. To watch the
progress of this important legislation and to find out how you can advocate
about it, go to the Early Care and Education Consortium website.
The legislation includes new changes to
improve program access and quality. Some of the key changes include:
- Stronger health and safety standards for all child care programs that receive federal funding, including required annual inspections of all licensed providers, and annual fire, health and safety inspections of license-exempt, non-family providers.
- Technical assistance given to providers on effective business practices.
- De-linking provider reimbursement from absence policies that destabilize the cost of care for both families and providers.
- Extended subsidy eligibility re-determination periods (12 months).
- A new emphasis on technical assistance to providers around effective business practices.
- Increased investment in program quality, with additional activities that include wage incentives, tiered reimbursement, Quality Rating and Improvement Systems, accreditation, and focus on school readiness.
