Summer Servings program helps feed Indianapolis youth

Download this flyer by clicking on the link and help spread the word about this amazing program for Marion County youth.

 Summer Servings food program 2013

A Call for Excellence in Early Childhood Education

Each April, child care providers across the country rally together to ask the community to celebrate the young child and recognize high quality early experiences that make a difference in children’s lifelong academic and social success.

Tomorrow, Wednesday, April 3 from 11:00am-1:00pm, Indiana child care providers, advocates and organizations will declare April as the Month of the Young Child. The rally will celebrate providers who have moved up a level on Indiana’s Paths to QUALITY rating scale as well as recognize legislators who champion policy to support Indiana children and their families.

The rally will take place in the North Atrium (Ohio Street side) of the Indiana Statehouse Rotunda.  Please join the

Please join the Indiana Association for the Education of Young Children in the call for excellence in early childhood education .

Toddler and preschool puzzle play aids spatial skills

Child Care Exchange recently shared a report that richer engagement with puzzle play at age two produced a stronger grasp of STEM-centric concepts at age 4 1/2. Specifically, the children who showed the most engagement with puzzle play at two stayed on their trajectory throughout the study period. Moreover, the strong puzzlers, when tested at age 4.5, performed well above their age peers in one of the gold standard tests for spatial skills — the ability to mentally rotate an object.

Day Nursery Ruth A Lilly Center

So what’s the link between puzzle and spatial? Mastering the placement of puzzle pieces inherently compels the mind — young or old — to recognize shapes and patterns in certain objects and then to imagine how they might fit into the larger whole. More often than not, the skilled players must rotate the piece in their minds to conceive of its place, and then must test their hypothesis by actually trying to place it where they believe it to belong.

Susan Levine, Ph.D., from the University of Chicago, offered these insights on spatial thinking in preschoolers on the LearnNow website.

Indianapolis families have lots of options for Martin Luther King Day activities

This coming Monday, January 16 is a day dedicated to the achievements and the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Five of our seven Day Nursery centers and our administrative office will be closed in observance of the holiday.  Our Day Nursery IU Health Center on Boulevard Place and Day Nursery Hendricks County Center on the Campus of IU Health West in Avon will be open normal hours on Monday.

If you are looking for something to do with your youngsters, consider heading Downtown for many special events including FREE admission to The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, Crispus Attucks Museum, Indianapolis Museum of Art and Indiana History Center. Also, bring a canned good for Gleaners Food Bank and receive one FREE admission per person per attraction in White River State Park including the Indiana State Museum, Indianapolis Zoo, IMAX Theater, Eiteljorg Museum, NCAA Hall of Champions and Victory Field. The Madame Walker Theatre Center hosts a Celebration Gospel Festival with singers presenting a musical tribute following a Freedom Walk on the Avenue. If that isn’t enough to do,  the iconic Harlem Globetrotters in action at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

Car Seat Clinic scheduled for October 30 at The Children’s Museum

Three out of four child safety seats are improperly installed.

Is yours one of them?  

The Indiana Criminal Justice Institute and the Automotive Safety Program at Riley Hospital for Children will host a car seat clinic on Sunday, October 30 from 9:30 am – 1:30 pm in the parking lot of  The Children’s  Museum of Indianapolis, 3000 N. Meridian St.Indianapolis. 

Enter off of Illinois Street (parking lot located one block south from the museum between 29th and 30th Streets on the left hand side).

Have your child’s car seat checked during this FREE event sponsored by the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute’s (ICJI) Traffic Safety division and the Automotive Safety Program at Riley Hospital. You can also enjoy interactive games and prizes from Radio Disney at this event.

Things to Know Before You Go:

• Bring Your Child With You. In order to have your child’s seat fitted properly, he  or she must be present at the event.
• Plan Ahead for Possible Wait Time. Safety seat clinics operate with one goal in mind – to ensure the safety of child passengers in every vehicle checked. Depending upon several factors (number of children, type of vehicle, etc.), the process can be lengthy. Be sure to give yourself plenty of time to be assisted by our technicians. Vehicles will be served on a first come, first served basis.
• What Happens During a Seat Check?
  Inspections will be conducted only by certified safety technicians who will
  • Check the child safety seat to see that it has been properly installed.
  • Remove and inspect the child safety seat for damage.
  • Ensure the child safety seat is not a recalled model.
  • Get information about children riders from the vehicle owner (size and weight of child, etc.)
  • Ensure the child safety seat is appropriate for the size and age of the child.
  • Teach the auto owner the correct procedure to properly and safely install the child safety seat in his or her auto.
  • Show the parent or caregiver how to secure the child in the seat.
  • Discuss other vehicles and safety seats they own, and provide instructions to repeat the correct procedure with other seats or when installing the seat in other cars.

“Latch On America” Big Pink Bus for Breastfeeding Heads to Day Nursery Indianapolis

Indianapolis selected as one of 30 cities on a 45 day, cross-country tour to support, empower, and connect the breastfeeding community.  Day Nursery IU Health Center will be first stop.

Breastfeeding has been making headlines — from The Surgeon General’s Call to Action to the First Lady’s Let’s Move Campaign to a passionate advocacy and support network to multiple celebrity endorsements. Using this momentum, Milk for Thought is taking the energy, passion and dedication of the breastfeeding community on the road — for 45 days, 30-plus cities, and 1 goal, to support, empower and connect the breastfeeding community. The “Latch On America Tour” embarked from San Diego, California, on July 14.

Goals of the Latch On America Tour include supporting the 20 steps of the Surgeon General’s Call to Action for breastfeeding, connecting new moms with lactation experts, increasing awareness for local breastfeeding resources, and learning about and document the unique breastfeeding culture in each city. Along the way, a documentary crew will capture the amazing breastfeeding stories of mothers and advocates as well as profiling organizations that are taking action to empower breastfeeding moms. When the road trip was announced, Milk for Thought founder Ryan Comfort was wowed by the passionate response from breastfeeding supporters in cities and towns across the country — from Poughkeepsie to the Navajo Nation to Seattle — who rallied to bring the big pink bus to their city. “The Latch On America Tour started with an initial idea to rent an RV and drive cross-country to meet all the amazing supporters and moms who are taking action for the breastfeeding community. Now, because of the excitement and overwhelming response we got, the trip has gotten bigger, 40 feet of pink bus bigger, with stops in more than 30 cities!” Comfort says. “We are thrilled for the Latch On America Tour to make two stops in Indianapolis. After talking to several community leaders and supporters, it was clear that the city has a very strong, creative breastfeeding community. In the morning at the Day Nursery Early Care and Education Center, we are especially excited to highlight the We Care for Breastfed Babies campaign led by the Indiana Perinatal Network. This simple guide is designed to help child care providers encourage and support breastfeeding mothers and families. Child care facilities all over Indiana are currently receiving breastfeeding training so they can proudly display the We Care for Breastfed Babies decal, helping consumers to make informed child care choices. The afternoon stop will draw attention to the wonderful work of the Indiana Mothers’ Milk Bank  in providing Lactation Stations – clean, comfortable places for breastfeeding women – at community events throughout the state. Volunteers, partnering organizations, and, most importantly, mothers and babies will gather at the Indiana State Fairgrounds to network and learn about the services that IMMB and other organizations provide.” Organizations from all across the state will be present and providing information about resources and services. “Indiana is becoming a leader for breastfeeding. It’s great to have all of our passion and hard work be recognized on a national level. I hope everybody comes down to greet the bus and celebrate our successes,” said Tina Cardarelli, Indiana State Breastfeeding Coordinator. “We are going to meet some incredible people and inspire others,” says Comfort. “Really, we are just honored to collaborate to provide real solutions and support not just to breastfeeding moms, but also to their support network.”

Stop 1 Day Nursery, IU Health Early Care and Education Center 2140 Boulevard Place, Indianapolis, 46202 Northwest of IU Health Methodist Hospital near 21st & Senate Avenue TIME: 9:00 am to 12:00 pm

Stop 2 Indiana State Fairgrounds 1202 E. 28th Street, Indianapolis, 46205 Enter through Gate 6 and proceed to the southeast parking lot TIME: 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm Both events are free and open to the public. There will games, educational activities, and great prizes at both events, with the goal of highlighting the great work organizations throughout Indiana are doing to promote and support breastfeeding. Moms, babies, children, and family members are encouraged to come.

Breastfeeding is beautiful, but it’s not always easy. Every mother who wants to breastfeed should have easy access to the love, support and encouragement she needs in one friendly and reliable place. MilkforThought.com works collaboratively with all members of the breastfeeding community to help new moms have a successful breastfeeding journey by connecting them to local experts and counselors, baby-friendly hospitals and birthing centers, support groups, and other mothers. By providing an online platform, the entire support community can comprehensively support new parents, change attitudes, improve national rates of breastfeeding, and impact legislation.

Day Nursery IU Health Early Care and Education Center Director Rene Withers

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Day Nursery Federal Center participates in Great Shakeout

Children and staff at the Day Nursery Federal Center, downtown Indianapolis joined Indiana residents yesterday morning in a statewide earthquake preparedness drill called the Great Central U.S. ShakeOut.

Quakes are rarely felt here, but some of the strongest in the continental United States occurred along the New Madrid fault in southeastern Missouri in 1812, shaking the Indiana Territory as well.

The strongest ever to hit Indiana was a 5.1-magnitude temblor in 1909.

Day Nursery Federal Center Director Sarah Parks found two websites very helpful in preparing her staff and students for the earthquake drill. “They suggested you get under a desk/table and hold onto it…be prepared to “move with your shelter.”  One of the websites discusses that doorways are no longer thought to be a safe place…get under something.  That doorways were left standing in areas with mud roofs because they were the strongest there.  Most buildings in the US, the doorways are no stronger than the rest.  It also discusses that buildings collapsing are not always likely…you are much more likely to get hit by falling objects, hence the reason for being under the table & hanging onto it.” Check out these two websites Drop Cover and Hold On and ShakeOut so you and your family will be prepared should an earthquake strike.

Rules of the Road: Children Rear-Facing Until Age 2

Parents who mark their children’s first birthdays by turning their car seats to face forward should think again. New advice from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) suggests children stay safer longer in rear-facing car seats.

While some media outlets are touting this as new info, the staff at Riley Hospital for Children has been promoting the safety benefits of rear-facing car seats for a long time.  Instead of parents looking ahead to the next transition for their child, the doctors there say parents should instead monitor their child’s height and weight to see when they reach the limits of their car seat.  Visit the IU Health blog for more info.