If your child will not be attending preschool due to illness or other, please let us know as soon as possible so the day’s activities won’t be held up waiting for your child to arrive. Also, we need to know how many children we need to prepare meals for. No discounts will be given for your child’s absences due to illness or vacations. If your child will not be attending preschool for whatever reason, you are still required to pay.

Emergency information is kept on file at the preschool. In case of illness or injury this information will be used to notify you, or the person designated by you, of your child’s status.

• If your child is injured while at the preschool, first aid will be administered.
• If treatment by a doctor is necessary, we will make every effort to contact you or the doctor you have chosen to treat your child.
• In all cases, an injury report is completed, and a copy is given to the parents as well as the Department of Social Services.
• Authorization for emergency treatment must be signed at the time of enrollment to ensure that in the event of an emergency, we can make sure your child receives the necessary emergency treatment he or she needs.
• It is very important that all emergency contact information is kept up to date and correct. Please inform us immediately of any changes to keep your information current.
• Parents are responsible for all costs involved in emergency medical treatment, including emergency transportation if required

We understand that is difficult for a family member to leave or miss work, but to protect other children; you may not bring a sick child to the center. The center has the right to refuse a child who appears ill. You will be called and asked to retrieve your child if your child exhibits any of the following symptoms. This is not an all-inclusive list. We will try to keep your child comfortable, but he/she will be excluded from all activities until you arrive.

• Illness that prevents your child from participating in activities.
• Illness that results in greater need for care than we can provided.
• Illness that poses a risk of spread of harmful diseases to others.
• Fever (100F or higher under the arm, 101F or higher in the mouth, 102F or higher in the ear) accompanied by other symptoms.
• Diarrhea-stools with blood or mucus, and/or uncontrolled, unformed stools that cannot be contained in a diaper/underwear or toilet.
• Vomiting-green or bloody, and/or more than 2 times during the previous 24 hours.
• Mouth sores caused by drooling.
• Rash with fever, unless a physician has determined it is not a communicable disease.
• Pink or red conjunctiva with white or yellow eye discharge, until on antibiotics for 24 hours.
• Strep throat, until 24 hours after treatment.
• Head lice, until treatment and all nits are removed.
• Scabies, until 24 hours after treatment.
• Chickenpox, until all lesions have dried and crusted. .

Has a physician or other health professionals written order that child be separated from other children.

Children who have been ill may return when:

• They are free of fever, vomiting, and diarrhea for 24 hours.
• They have been treated with an antibiotic for 24 hours.
• They are able to participate comfortably in all usual activities.
• The child’s physician signs a note stating that the child’s condition is not contagious
• The involved areas can be covered by a bandage without seepage or drainage through the bandage
• If a child had a reportable communicable disease, a physician’s note stating that the child is no longer contagious and may return to our care is required.

ONLY prescription medications, ointments, and creams may be given to your child by myself, if needed. Parents are required to fill out the proper form and to supply all medications in their original container. Medications must be labeled with the child’s name, weight, and dosage amount.

We are more than happy to encourage potty training as long as the child is ready (typically between 2 and 3 years old). The initial start needs to be done at home for at least two weeks with success before it can be effectively started at preschool. Parents will be required to supply pull-ups and wipes. Children will be allowed to come to the school in cotton training pants/underwear after they have been accident free for at least two weeks in pull-ups. Communication between parents and the preschool provider is imperative for a successful transition from diapers to toilet.

Television viewing is only done once or twice a week, no more than a half an hour at a time and is limited to PBS or an educational video. On occasion, usually only on Fridays, we may pick an appropriate children’s video to watch. Children are never required to sit and watch TV, and TV is not offered in place of free play or learning activities.

We have well organized, separate, age appropriate toys for the students at the preschool. During the initial adjusting period we encourage your child bring a piece of home with them; a special blanket, toy, or teddy can be very comforting. Photos of family members, neighbors, and pets can be left with us to help remind your child of familiar people if he or she feels lonely during the day. However, please do not bring your child’s toys to school except on designated sharing/show and tell days. As much as we try to encourage sharing, this seldom works when it is the child’s own personal toy. It only causes problems between them and the other children. Never send your child to the preschool with toy weapons.

Understand that your child may be included in classroom evaluations by State Licensing officials, Head Start Program, USDA Food Program, and other parents observing their right to our open-door policy.

Understand that your child may be included in pictures connected with our preschool program, unless otherwise specified by you the parent.

Discipline must be:

1. Individualized and consistent for each child;
2. Appropriate to the child’s level of understanding;
3. Directed toward teaching the child acceptable behavior and self-control

A caregiver may only use positive methods of discipline and guidance that encourage self-esteem, self-control, and self-direction, which include at least the following:

1. Using praise and encouragement of good behavior instead of focusing only upon unacceptable behavior;
2. Reminding a child of behavior expectations daily by using clear, positive statements;
3. Redirecting behavior using positive statements; and
4. Using brief supervised separation or time out from the group, when appropriate for the child’s age and development, which is limited to no more than one minute per year of the child’s age.
5. Last Resort: When a child’s behavior is continually upsetting or dangerous to others, a conference will be called with the parents. If the problems cannot be resolved, arrangements will have to be made for the child to go elsewhere for care.

Note: Sometimes if both a parent and a provider are both in the same area (examples would be during drop-off and pick-up times) a child may forget the rules or test the boundaries. Please help show your child that you respect us, the rules of our house, and our property by reminding them that the rules still apply when you are around. We will also remind them of the rules and correct them if needed.

We take the well-being of your child very seriously and work hard to provide an environment that is as healthy as possible. We are committed to keeping our home and the children in it as clean as possible, in order to help minimize and/or prevent the spread of germs. Our home is kept clean and disinfected at all times. We thoroughly clean surfaces that children come in close contact with using soap and water, or Lysol, etc. Toys are cleaned and disinfected often, and water-play tables are cleaned and disinfected before being filled with water and carefully supervised when in use. Hand washing is the single most effective practice in preventing the spread of germs. We wash our hands many times throughout the day, as well as the children’s hands before and/or after engaging in a thorough list of activities.

All children must be appropriately/completely dressed upon arrival.  We require that each child has a set of extra clothing in the event of an accident. This includes top, pant, underwear and socks. All children are capable of spills/accidents. In order that clothing items don’t get confused, please mark your child’s initial in the tag area of each item.

If your child should have an accident and no extra clothing is available, we will contact you for the items or immediate pick up. Do not send your child to school in new clothes, we have messy art activities and/or we go outside on a daily basis. We are not responsible for and damage to new clothing.

We will serve breakfast, lunch and an afternoon snack daily.  Breakfast is served from 7:30 a.m. – 8:00a.m.  Your child must be signed in by this time in order to receive breakfast. Lunch is served at 11:15a.m. – 11:45a.m. Outside food is not permitted unless approved by staff