2010 fees to remain at 2009 rates

Day Nursery parents: As always, Day Nursery is committed to supporting and serving you and your family. We know that the current economic conditions are a challenge for all, and because we are concerned about you, our Board of Directors has frozen our current child care fees at 2009 rates. The 2009 rates will remain in effect until December 31, 2010. If you have any questions, please contact your center director.

Holiday happenings

Hope everyone had a relaxing Thanksgiving.  I took a little break from the blog so I have a bit of catching up to do.  I wanted to post some pictures from the Day Nursery State Government Center Thanksgiving lunch last week.  Center Director Deanna Saylor said cooks didn’t let some technical problems in the kitchen slow them down. “Mrs. Shirley made turkey, dressing, green beans, sweet potatoes, homemade rolls, cranberry sauce and pineapple upside down cake along with pumpkin pie.  The crazy thing about the entire meal was she had 4 burners go out this week and fixed the entire dinner on two burners!”

Here are some pictures Deanna sent me of the two and a half year olds from Mrs. Phyllis’s classroom.

(L to R) Alex, Emma and Alexa. They made their own placemats and decorated the tables themselves.

Coleman and Kyler

Hendricks County Family Feast

Joy McCall, Director at our Day Nursery Hendricks County center in Avon just sent me some pictures of their annual Thanksgiving family luncheon. From the infant room to the preschool classes, parents made time to eat lunch with their child.  Several families have more than one child in the center and they bounced back and forth between classrooms to make sure everyone got their attention. Looks like they had a great time!

Wordless Wednesday-from the Day Nursery Clarian Center

By Brianna

Miss Rena adds another family feather to their turkey.

Largest crib recall in U.S. history

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), in cooperation with Stork Craft Manufacturing Inc., of British Columbia, Canada, today announced the voluntary recall of more than 2.1 million Stork Craft drop-side cribs, including about 147,000 Stork Craft drop-side cribs with the Fisher-Price logo. The recall involves approximately 1,213,000 units distributed in the United States and 968,000 units distributed in Canada.

CPSC urges parents and caregivers to immediately stop using the recalled cribs, wait for the free repair kit, and do not attempt to fix the cribs without the kit. They should find an alternative, safe sleeping environment for their baby. Consumers should contact Stork Craft to receive a free repair kit that converts the drop-side on these cribs to a fixed side.

The cribs’ drop-side plastic hardware can break, deform, or parts can become missing. In addition, the drop-side can be installed upside-down, which can result in broken or disengaged plastic parts. All of these problems can cause the drop-side to detach in one or more corners. When the drop-side detaches, it creates space between the drop-side and the crib mattress. The bodies of infants and toddlers can become entrapped in the space which can lead to suffocation. Complete detachment of drop-sides can lead to falls from the crib.

CPSC, Health Canada, and Stork Craft are aware of 110 incidents of drop-side detachment; 67 incidents occurred in the United States and 43 in Canada. The incidents include 15 entrapments; 12 in the U.S. and three in Canada. Four of the entrapments resulted in suffocation: a 7-month-old in Gouverneur, N.Y.; a 7-month-old in New Iberia, La.; a 6-month-old in Summersville, W.Va.; and a 9-month-old in Bronx, N.Y. Included in these incidents are 20 falls from cribs; 12 in the U.S. and eight in Canada. Fall injuries ranged from concussion to bumps and bruises. The cribs involved in these incidents had plastic drop-side hardware that had broken, missing, or deformed claws, connectors, tracks, or flexible tab stops; loose or missing metal spring clips; stripped screws; and/or drop-sides installed upside-down. You can find information on the Consumer Product Safety Commission website.

And the winner is…

I am pleased to announce that Lauren Dotsu’s hand print turkey is the winning entry in the 2009 Day Nursery Thanksgiving card contest.  Lauren, age 5, attends the Day Nursery Northwest Center in Pike Township.  Her teacher is Alyssa Boardman. Lauren’s turkey was selected by the staff of Day Nursery from all the preschool entries in her center.  It appears on our 2009 Thanksgiving card which was sent to 500 donors last week.

Here is a picture of Lauren receiving her certificate of recognition from Day Nursery Center Director Marla Segal (left) and her teacher.

Winner Lauren Dotsu of the Day Nursery Northwest Center

Early years are good for dual language learning

Brain research shows that bilingualism is not only possible for young children but can even provide some cognitive advantages. Here’s a link to an article about  Early Dual Language Learning by Fred Genesee. PhD, professor of Psychology at McGill University, whose current research interests include language acquisition in preschool bi-lingual children. His research indicates that birth to 3 years old is a particularly good time for beginning dual language learning because infants and toddlers are particularly competent language learners.

Just read about a little Thanksgiving song shared by Tonya Bays of Corydon, Indiana which helps children to learn to count in Spanish. Try it at home this holiday week.  It is sung to the tune of “Ten Little Indians” and it goes like this Uno little, dos little, tres little turkeys…cuatro little, cinco little, seis little turkeys…siete little, ocho little, nueve little turkeys, diez little turkeys on the farm.

Dear Santa

Each year, Santa’s mailbox is installed downtown on the east side of Monument Circle for children of all ages to drop off their letters addressed to Santa. And to every child’s delight, Santa himself personally answers each letter that has a return address . Letters can be sent now through December 17. Santa really appreciates it if you include a stamped, self-addressed envelope with your letter.

Auxiliary visitors

Day Nursery Auxiliary member Kathy Laesch greeted new members as they toured the Day Nursery Northwest Center yesterday. Picture (from L to R) next to Laesch are Anne Buskirk, Kathy Wall and Patricia Arbuckle.

New Day Nursery Auxiliary members wave to children in the toddler classroom at the Day Nursery Northwest Center during their orientation tour.

We are thankful for Day Nursery families

The Day Nursery Clarian Center held their annual Thanksgiving luncheon today and I dropped in to eat dessert take some pictures for the blog.  Center Directors Rene Withers and Jesse McCloud did a nice job of making the center look festive with fall decorations galore.  The traditional menu was prepared by talented cooks Ms. Evelyn Croom and Ms. Dollie Smith. Here are a few pictures from this afternoon.