Yearly Parent Survey Results

Hemel House would like to thank our families for allowing us to support them! We received wonderful feedback from this year’s survey and would like to share the results. Each provider will receive individualized completely anonymous results.


The Hemel House office staff is:


Helpful

Courteous/patient when I have comments/suggestions/concerns

Available when I need to contact them

HEAR IT RIGHT FROM OUR FAMILIES! Family quotes:

Regarding the office staff:

• Understanding to different situations that arise and are still kind and courteous
• When I come in to pay I am always asked how things are going. I have not had to worry about finding back up care
• Being a first time mom in a different country to where I was born I was very unsure of child care, the staff at Hemel House provided me with lots of information and help getting my sons placement
• They have been extremely helpful and patient since we started with them, espcially at the end of the school year when money ran short and we had to make payment arrangements
• They are always available at the office
• Assistance in the set up process to switching from day care to a day home
• Smooth transition when writing up contract after rough situation in unregistered day home previously
• Very informative and always willing to help in any way possible
• When I had concerns about subsidy they were there to help me with information

What would be the impact on you or your child if Family Day Homes did not exist?

• One of us would have to stay home from work or rely on family to watch our child. I believe we have found the greatest day home provider. We are very happy. Hemel House has been great as well and has met all our needs.
• Due to having no family in the country I would not be able to work as we personally do not like day care environments for our child.
• We have been with our provider for almost 2 years now and I couldn't imagine if we didn't have that. We are both attending school full time as well as maintaining employment. Day home allows us to do this as well as provides our son with even more great support and socialization
• Our day home is more than we could ask for. They are flexible and made my husband's and my own shift work a lot less stressful
• My daughter is very comfortable in the day home setting. Previously she was in a day care and did not do well. She is so happy now and that makes me happy!
• My child would be very stressed, staff turnover is too high in day care centers and my child can't handle warming up to new people all the time
• I had the opportunity to put my son in a preschool program at 18 months. I chose to keep him with his day home provider because of the care she provides my son. She is the right fit for our family
• Most likely I would have not felt comfortable or secure enough to put my daughter's care into someone else's hands if it wasn't for Hemel House
• We would have to find alternate care and we originally moved from a private day home to Hemel House and I would not want to go back!
• I wouldn't have the personal relationship with my provider that I receive here. I don't think I would feel as comfortable leaving my child. I feel my child's needs are being met and she's not just one of the pack.
• We were experiencing a lot of stress/anxiety in previous unregistered day homes. The instability was hard on all of us. Hemel House has provided us with security and stability…a much better situation!
• Our son would have to be in a day care. We have tried this when he was younger, it was NOT a good experience either physically, emotionally or socially. We are very thankful to Hemel House and our provider for the excellent/positive experience over the past 4 years!
• Not a huge impact on our family only because I am not forced to work although if I were, I would certainly NEED a licenseed day home for the safety it provides. Thank you so much!
• I don't know what I would do. I love that my child is in with a smaller group of kids and has one on one hands on attention
• Not sure I would have been prepared to return to work without a safe, home-like environment with a consistent caregiver to build a relationship with my daughter
• Hemel House provides such a wonderful and needed service to the community. It would have a huge detriment to our family if it did not exist.
• As a single mom I wouldn't be able to work or go to school. Smaller groups I love/hate a day care situation. LOVE MY DAY HOME!
• My family would not be getting the high quality, personal services and care that we are getting now
• No "home away from home" type care. Less comfortable
• My child would not of been loved and cared for the way she was. She had more one on one with her providers in nice small groups. I left my child knowing I had nothing to worry about. I was leaving her with someone who loved her. Amazing job on potty training, sippy cup, napping, educational skills and much more!

THANK YOU FOR THE AMAZING SUPPORT FOR OUR PROGRAM!!

OUTDOOR PLAY SPACE CONTEST WINNER!!

For contest details visit the The Outdoor Classroom: Contest Information post.


We were thrilled to see the amazing outdoor play spaces within the Hemel House community. The contest winner, by vote, was Donna! THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO PARTICIPATED!

Quiet space for reading

Gross motor

      

Dramatic/Imaginative play

Science, digging for small dinosaurs etc.

Science, seeds and planting

Musical wall!

Dramatic/Imaginative play

Wet/dry play

Adventure zone and creative building

Art

Table top activities and outdoor snack space

Make-it Topic: Ants

 Imaginative:

• Set up a picnic with the ant, set out blanket with food and dishes and place out plastic ants or paper ants
• Make an ant hill home from a cardboard box, have some antenna head bands

 Language:

• Do the finger play “Little Ant”

o One little ant, two little ants, (point to a finger for each number) three little ants I see. Four little ants, five little ants, lively as can be. Six little ants’ seven little ants, eight in a bowl of glass. Nine little ants ten little ants Entertain our class

• Read “ The ant and the grasshopper”
• Read “ One hundred hungry ants” 
• Read “Hey little ant”

 Art:

• Place out several washable black and red ink and white paper, encourage the children to place their fingers in the ink and make ants on the paper
• Make egg carton ants and paint the desired color
• Draw an ant hill on brown construction paper tear small pieces of black paper allow the children to glue the ants on
• Place out shoe prints with paper ants to glue on
• Use contact paper in the shape of an ant and tissue paper to make tissue ants

 Water/Sand:

• Place out plastic ants and jars with spoons
• Have an ant washing station sponges and plastic ants
• Place golf balls in the sand table for eggs
• Place turkey baster out in the water and candle jelly

 Gross Motor:

• Cut out large ant hills out of brown paper, place a shape on each one, in a bowl make circles with the shapes on them, draw a shape from the bowl and have the children move like an ant to that shape
• Do an ant march using fun different music

 Science/Curiosity:

• Make an ant farm
• Have an ant under a magnifies glass 
• Place out pictures of ants
• Place out different pieces of fruit and food outside and watch the ants to see what food they like

 Conceptual/Tabletop/Fine Motor:

• Ant sorting
• Ant lacing cards
• Ant hill counting; place ant hills out with a number on it and encourage the children to place that amount of ants on the hill
• Ant match ups
• Have the game ants in your pants
• Have a shoe matching game

 Music:

• Sing “The ants go marching” while marching

 Quiet:

• Place out the ant and the grasshopper flannel board story

 Cooking:

• Make ants on a log

o   Celery, peanut butter, and raisins

§  Spread the peanut butter on the celery place on the raisins

• Make ant hill coleslaw

o   3 carrots, 3/4 cup raisins soaked, 1/2 – 3/4cup cottage cheese, juice from ½ lemon, salt, and pepper

§  In a mixing bowl combine the ingredients mix and chill and serve

Field Trips:

• Take a walk looking for ants and their hills 
• Go to the Helen Schuler Center do their bug wall

Tips for an easier transition

Here are some tips to help make the child care transition easier:

• Encourage a bond. Parents are a matchmaker between their children and the caregiver. Talk about the caregiver and have pictures at home. Treat the caregiver as having a similar status as a good friend or family member. Help your child see that this is someone you trust.

• Get to know the day home. Arrange orientation with your baby at the day home. Be positive, comfortable and excited about the day home.

• Send reminders of home. Consider sending a favorite blanket, a scarf that smells like you, family pictures, pictures of pets.

• Establish a morning routine. Find something that you will do differently on the days that your child will be going to the day home. For example, getting dressed before breakfast during the week is a good queue.

• Maximize your time together. Be sure to spend quality time with your child at the end of a busy day apart. Play instead of doing the dishes or go for a walk.

From Todays Parent | January 2011

Germ Patrol

Let's face it: Toddlers are germ magnets. They're drippy and drooly and, as gross as it may seem to you, they happily put almost everything in their mouth. Fortunately, experts agree that most germs are harmless - and may even be helpful. "Humans actually need exposure to good germs early in life to prime our immune system so it develops properly," says Elizabeth Scott, Ph. D., co-director of the Simmons Center for Hygiene and Health in Home and Community at Simmons College, in Boston. Still, to help your kid (and the rest of the family) stay healthy, it's important to keep your toddler's world relatively free from those germs that can be dangerous. Not sure what you need to scrub and what can be swept under the rug? We've got the dirt on all things dirty right here.


At Mealtime
Pop quiz: Which room is the germiest in most houses? If you said the kitchen, you're absolutely right! Young children are particularly susceptible to food-born illnesses like salmonella, E. coli, and campylobacter, because their immune system is not yet fully developed - and they can become dehydrated more easily than adults if they get sick. For that reason, it's especially important to take extra care with food preparation and cleanup.


While you're fixing a meal for your little one, make sure you keep raw meat, poultry, and seafood away from other foods, and wash your hands thoroughly with soap and hot water after touching any of these ingredients. Also keep in mind that the absolute germiest place in your kitchen is the sink, according to Charles Gerba, Ph. D., a microbiologist at the University of Arizona in Tucson. With all the raw food products that tend to land there, it's a veritable party of pathogens, so never give your child anything that's fallen in - even a stray berry from the bunch that you're rinsing.


After every meal, use a paper towel (not a sponge) to wipe down the high chair's food tray with cleaning spray (be sure to look for one that says "disinfectant" rather than "antibacterial" and has an Environmental Protection Agency registration number - which insures that it actually does disinfect).


In the Bathroom
Bath toys are bull's-eye for bacteria and mold, since water often gets trapped inside them, creating the perfect breeding ground. Squeeze out your kid's duckies, tile appliqués, and other water playthings after each use, and then place the toys on a drying rack or in a mesh bag, suggests Parents advisory Harley A. Rotbart, M.D., authoer of Germ Proof Your Kids. Once a moth, give the toys a throough bleach bath, he adds. (To do so, fill the sink with water and a quarter cup of bleach, then let the toys soak for about 50 minutes before rinsing and air-drying.)


Once you start potty training, teach your child to wash his hands after doing his business - use liquid soap and warm water, and scrub for as long as it takes to sing the "Happy Birthday" song before drying. Also teach him to shut the lid before flushing. Studies have shown that the first flush after a bowel movement vaporizes up to 3,000 bacteria and viruses per cubig meter of air space, notes Dr. Rotbart, so it's also important to keep your toddler's toothbrush far away from the toilet in case he forgets to close the toilet lid.


During Playtime
Though a well-loved toy may start to smell a little funky, there's no need to worry about germs - unless your child is sick or has been sharing it with a playmate. "Influenza viruses can survive up to three days on plastic, and ones that cause diarrhea can survive for up to a month," warns Dr. Gerba. So after a friend comes to visit (or your sick child is done playing), give plastic toys a once0over with a disinfectant, and toss stuffed animals that can be cleaned into the washing machine (others should be placed on a top shelf for a few days, suggests Dr. Robart).


During a Change
Because handling a diaper is an inherently germy activity,  keep a bottle of alcohol-based hand sanitizer nearby so you won't spread bacteria throughout the rest of the house after you're done. When you're changing a poopy diaper, be sure to place a diaper pad or a paper towel under your toddler's bottom - and then toss it into the laundry or trash (wash pads in hot water with bleach, separate from any kitchen stuff to avoid possible cross contamination). Finally, keep disinfectant wipes handy to quickly clean off the changing area after each use.


At Bedtime
Rotavirus and norovirus - both of which are present in poop and can cause gastrointestinal illnesses - can often be found in lurking in your toddler's bedroom and his bed, especially if he's still in diapers. Although kids become immune to viruses that they've already been infected with, you don't want to transfer terms back and forth among family members. To be on the safe side, change your little one's linens once a week (even more if he is sick). Same goes for his pajamas - as long as they're not soiled, it's perfectly fine for him to wear them for up to a week at a time, according to Dr. Rotbart.


Parents | March 2011 Issue

The Outdoor Classroom: Contest Information

Hemel House created a contest to encourage providers to transition their yard into an outdoor classroom, providing more natural materials and areas to help stimulate various types of play and more child centered learning. Because of this contest we hope that our day homes' play spaces are undergoing some major changes. We want to be inspired by the creativity of our day home providers.


This contest was inspired by a blog post on Child Central Station about creating an outdoor classroom. This information, as well as her slide show, was presented at our Hemel House training meeting in May for ideas and motivation.


See the slide show


The Checklist
The following checklist will be used to evaluation the outdoor play settings for young children in our day homes.

The Environment Is Safe

• Free of toxins, free of allergenic, poisonous, and spiky varieties of plants
• Fall-absorbing surfaces in all equipment settings
• Free of steep slopes and sudden drop offs
• Well-maintained equipment
• Well-supervised
• Hard surface paths separated from other play areas
• Play area securely separated from traffic
• Provides hand rails and non-skid surfaces where needed
• Properly drained clearly-defined boundaries between play settings
• No visual barriers for supervision
• Adequate space around swings and climbing equipment

___/11 points

The Environment Is Comfortable

• Provides shade
• Features sunny areas
• Protects from cold wind
• Features places to sit (for children and adults)
• Provides access to fresh drinking water
• Includes small spaces for quiet play (by 1 to 5 children)
• Includes a variety of well-defined zones to accommodate different groupings of children and different activities
• Features transition areas between buildings and outdoors (e.g., terraces, decks, patios, etc.)

___/8 points

The Environment Is Interesting and Inviting

• Features attractive plants includes a variety of surfaces and terrains
• Attracts wildlife
• Offers a variety of social spaces (for different size groups & different types of activities)

___/3 points

The Environment Is Stimulating

• Features different colors, scents, and sounds
• Provides for a variety of activities
• Offers high places from which to view the area
• Offers different-sized spaces to crawl in, under, over, or through
• Invites interaction with the natural environment

___/5 points

The Environment Is Flexible

• Includes “loose parts” which can be moved about
• Includes access to elements which can be changed or moved about (sand, dirt, vegetation, water)
• Includes undefined spaces and objects which children can use for creative &fantasy play

___/3 points

The Environment Is Accessible

• Includes child-sized tables and benches
• Offers several skill levels or levels of difficulty (e.g., high, higher, highest)
• Includes wheelchair accessible entrances, ramps, paths, tables, playground equipment

___/3 points

The Environment Is Challenging

• Provides opportunities for healthy risk taking for children with varying abilities

___/1 point

Outdoor Learning Centers

• Imaginative/Dramatic Play
• Molding Activities
• Art
• Reading and writing (language)
• Blocks
• Wet/Dry
• Science
• Gross motor
• Quiet area
• Conceptual/table top/fine motor
• Music

___/11 points

OUTDOOR PLAY ZONES

• Nature Zone (Natural elements: trees, water, boulders, plants, mounds of earth for climbing, bushes to create smaller protected spaces)
• Adventure Zone (Active play: construction, building blocks and lumber, child shovels, sand, stones)
• Active Play Zone (balls, wheeled toys, parking area, rough and tumble play grassy area)
• Quiet Learning Zone (table, easles, places to sit, protected area from weather, tent)
• Quiet Play Zone (place to rest, observe, reflect or dream – child sized bench, etc.)

___/5 points

We look forward to see all entrants into the contest and the amazing ideas that will be included!

Fair Share

One lazy afternoon, I decided to engage my then 3-year-old daughter, Sasha, in what I thought would be some educational fun. "Hey, guess what?" I said. "You and your friend Sarah have three of the same letters in your names!" I wrote the names on a chalkboard, where Sasha eyed them suspiciously. "see, you both have S, H, and A," I explained, dreams of high verbal SAT scores dancing in my head. I was completely unprepared for what followed. "Nooo!" she screamed. "Sarah can't have my S or my A! They're miiiinnne!"

I was shocked - was I really raising a child so incapable of sharing that she insisted on having the entire alphabet to herself? The answer is yes - for me and every other parent with a preschooler. "We're born as social creatures, but learning to socialize - and that includes sharing - is something young kids need experience with," explains Allison Sallee, Ph. D., executive director of Tejas Family Guidance Center, in Austin. Here's why your child is so possessive - and how you can make sharing easier.

Preschoolers have yet to master empathy.

To a 3- or 4-year-old, ripping a ball from his friend's hands because he wants to play with it is no big deal. One reason for grabbiness: "Many children are still figuring out how to place themselves in someone else's shoes, so your child may not realize that he's hurting another child's feelings by taking his toy," says Mary Zurn, Ph. D., vice president of education and professional development at Primrose Schools in Atlanta.

What to do

 Help your child learn to ask for what he wants and label his feelings in stressful situations ("Sam is sad that you won't let him have one of your crackers"). Then, mention a time when he felt sad himself ("Remember how upset you were when Sam took your car? Now he's feeling sad too"). "Make sure your child knows you expect him to use the words he's learned to express how he feels, so he'll be more likely to communicate and less likely to act out," says Dr. Zurn. And preempt conflicts by putting away a few toys he'd rather not share before playdates and offering activities that give everyone options, like coloring.

They don't understand time.

The concept of time, as in "Catherine can have a turn playing with the pony for five minutes," is completely lost on preschoolers. "To your child, relinquishing her toy to a friend for even a few minutes can seem like hours," says Dr. Sallee.

What do do

Make time more concrete by using a kitchen timer. Tell your child that when the bell goes off, her friend gets a turn with the toy - and then you'll set the timer again. When you're away from home, use the timer on your cell phone. Also look for opportunities to point out how time works in daily life. If you are heating up something in the microwave, explain that the food will be ready in two minutes when the buzzer starts beeping.

Kids this age have a hard time controlling their impulses.

Ever wonder why your child pushes his friend away from his play kitchen just seconds after you've reminded him to make room for both of them? He simply can't stop himself. "Often, 3- or 4-year-olds get caught up in the moment and won't remember to use their words, especially if they are out of their familiar surroundings or routine," says Dr. Sallee. Instead, they might express themselves by grabbing, pushing, or even throwing a fit.

What to do

Children learn impulse control gradually, so try to limit your expectations. "The truth is, kids are still going to grab each other's toys, even when they're old enough to know they shouldn't. The best you can do is to model good behavior to help your child catch on," says Dr. Sallee. And don't worry - even the most seemingly self-centered kids eventually come around. Not long after her meltdown over her name, Sasha decided that she and Sarah could share the alphabet - as long as she got to keep the numbers 1 through 10. At least it's a little progress!

Article from Parents Magazine | March 2011 issue