Will you help Read for the Record?

On Thursday, October 8, 2009 children and adults around the world will Read for the Record with Eric Carle’s The Very Hungry Caterpillar. I found a video on YouTube with Carle himself explaining the program. Many Day Nursery classrooms will be reading the book too.  You are encouraged to sign up to be counted if you will be reading the book with your child at home.

One day to go

Tomorrow is opening day at the Day Nursery Northwest Center, 5735 W. 73rd Street.  Over the weekend a lot of people worked very hard to set up the classrooms and get everything ready for Tuesday.  Although I am not afraid to use power tools, the Operations team told me that I could do the most help by staying out of their way and working on the advertising, press releases, photos, blog and tweets that the marketing dept. does best. I didn’t take it personally.  This afternoon I will be out around our neighborhood in Park 100 putting up some temporary signs directing people to the center.  Tomorrow afternoon I hope to see you at our Open House from 3:30-6:00 pm.  We will officially cut the ribbon at 4:00 pm, however the center will be open and full of children starting at 6:30 tomorrow morning.  If you can make it to the open house tomorrow, look me up.  If you mention you read our blog, I will give you a free set of four Day Nursery greeting cards which feature the artwork of Candice Hartsough McDonald.  Here are a few pictures I took last Thursday when the Day Nursery management staff from all our locations had a little preview.

Beach Week Fun

It is Beach Week on the Day Nursery summer calendar and the Infants at our Ft. Harrison center love to play with the beach ball, rolling it around and knocking it to each other and their teacher. The youngest infants play in the ball pit while the more mobile children chase the ball around.

Important legislation needs your support

On July 15, Representative George Miller, the Chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, introduced the Early Learning Challenge Grants Fund legislation. This measure provides $1 billion per year, for 10 years (a total of $10 billion) to be used by states to strengthen early learning programs.  The goal of the legislation is to significantly increase the number of disadvantaged children in high quality early learning settings.  The House Education and Labor Committee is scheduled to consider the bill on Tuesday, July 21.

To view the latest on early learning proposals in Congress, click http://www.naccrra.org/policy/early-learning-challenge-grants to find:

• The powerpoint for NACCRRA’s member conference call
• A summary of the legislation
• The legislative bill language
• A list of members on the House Education and Labor Committee
• A link to the House Education & Labor Committee Web site

With the Committee considering the bill Tuesday, we urge you to contact your Member of Congress today to express your support for the legislation and request your Member’s support. The Committee is scheduled to vote on Tuesday, July 21. Therefore, there is not much time. To send an email to your Member of Congress in support of Chairman Miller’s proposal, click here.

Tell your friends, family, neighbors, colleagues, and others how important it is for them to contact their Members of Congress in support of the Miller Early Learning Challenge Grant proposal. All children should start school ready to succeed.  We can do that by strengthening early learning programs, including child care, throughout every community.  The Miller legislation will help us get there.  It’s a huge step forward and a real opportunity for states to ensure that children are in high quality settings. Take action today!

Ride ‘em children!

Lukas wanted to take this little guy home.

The Day Nursery Hendricks County Early Care and Education Center held an open house this past Thursday to encourage new families to tour the facility.  Despite the fact that our Avon Center has been open three years this month, we have heard that many people in the community still don’t realize that the center is on the Clarian West campus or open to the public. 

Five year old Zach enjoyed riding Diablo.

To jazz up the open house a bit, we hired a local company, Giddy-Up N’ Go  owned by Jennifer Mundy to bring pony rides and a small petting farm to visit our center.  I was very impressed with their way with children and would highly recommend them if you are ever looking for someone to provide pony rides. Many families stayed to let their child ride or learn more about the farm animals on hand.  Here are a few pictures.  If your child rode a pony on Thursday, stop by the office and ask Joy  to see if we captured a picture for you to have as a souvenir. If you are visiting our blog to find out more about Day Nursery and would like a tour of our Avon Center, drop in or call 271-2603 to plan a visit.

A goat, a rabbit, and a rooster were among the animals that the children could see up close.

Day Nursery Open House in Avon scheduled for this Thursday

Day Nursery Hendricks County Early Care & Education Center

If you live or work in Hendricks County and have never visited the Day Nursery in Avon, this Thursday, July 16 would be a good time to do it.  The center, which is located on the north side of the Clarian West campus is holding an open house Thursday and will be open for tours from 4:30-7:00 pm.  This center is currently enrolling for all ages from infant through preschool age 6. 

All Day Nursery centers are nationally accredited by NAEYCand provide a loving and nurturing environment designed to prepare your child for elementary school utilizing the Creative Curriculum®. The center accepts CCDF child care vouchers and offers tuition assistance scholarships for working and student families.

All children 6 & under touring the center between 4:30-6:30 will receive a free book and will have chance to take a pony ride.  The center, which opened three years ago this month, is located at 1351 N. Ronald Reagan Parkway. If you would like more information you can call the center directly at (317) 271-2603. The Center Director is Joy McCall; the Assistant Director is Jackie Williams and the Office Manager is Carrie Montgomery.

Red white and cute!

Debra Ballard, the Center Director at our Day Nursery Ft. Harrison center has been busy this week emailing me pictures of the red, white and blue activities in her center.  Here’s the latest from the infant room where the children enjoyed exploring the texture of cereal that had been brightened up with a little red and blue food coloring.

Working moms want safe child care

NACCRRA, the National Association for Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies  has posted a new Safe Child Care Campaign in their Take Action Center. The concept is simple:  “Working Moms Want Safe Child Care” and is designed to send a letter to First Lady Michelle Obama and your Congressional Delegation urging action to strengthen the Child Care and Development Block Grant this year!  In honor of Mother’s Day, let’s remind policymakers that we want every parent to have access to child care settings that are safe and promote the healthy development of children!  http://highqualitychildcare.org/campaign/MothersDayCCDBG

Easter Egg Hunt delights Day Nursery children

Heading out the door to the preschool playground

Look what I just found!

Thanks to the generosity of the Employee Health Services Department of Eli Lilly & Company, children from the Day Nursery Ruth A. Lilly Centerwere treated to an Easter egg hunt on Friday afternoon.  The playground was a bit damp but the skies were clear and the temperature perfect for heading outside to find 200 colorful plastic eggs.  After everyone decorated their collection bag with holiday stickers, the first children out the door were the two-year-olds who got to hunt on their own playground.  Then the preschoolers headed out the back door to the big playground to find their share.  The Eli Lilly employees first met the Day Nursery children in January when they reached out to the center to provide books and puzzles for the classrooms and carbon monoxide detectors for the center. Ruthanne Tsakrios, representing the group, had so much fun delivering that donation that she went back to the office and convinced her co-workers to continue to support the center which is located near 34th and Central in the Watson-McCord neighborhood.  Center Director Andrew Jaggers said several parents turned out to watch the fun.

Vision Screening for Preschoolers

Preschoolers at Day Nursery Guion Road during vision screening

One out of 20 preschoolers and one of four school-age children has an eye problem requiring treatment or correction.  Since children do not know how well they should see, they will not complain about poor vision.  Eye disorders that go undiscovered, can affect a child’s personality, his/her learning ability, and entire adjustment in school. The primary target of the Children’s Vision Screening Program is Amblyopia (Lazy Eye).  If not detected and treated by the age of six, can cause permanent loss of sight.

From mid-February through mid-March, a team of Day Nursery Auxiliary volunteers led by Day Nursery staff trained by Prevent Blindness Indiana have been conducting vision screening with all our children ages 3 1/2 and older.  Children’s vision screening is the use of a simple technique designed to separate those children who appear to need correction or treatment from those who do not.  It is an effective method of rapidly screening the vision of a large number of children. However, screenings do not take the place of a thorough examination by an eye care professional.  Last year, Day Nursery referred several children to their eye care professionals for additional testing. I wanted to share with you this letter from a grateful Mom of a Day Nursery Federal Center student.

Future, age 4, Day Nursery Federal Center 2008

I just wanted to take the time to let you know just how much I thank you for having the vision screening at Day Nursery. I don’t think that I would have been in a hurry to get Futures eye’s check because I didn’t see signs that he was having trouble seeing clearly. I took him to an Optometrist and he did indeed have trouble seeing out of his left eye which in turn made the right eye work that much harder and since this was the type of condition that would have gotten worse with time. I’m so grateful to Day Nursery and Prevent Blindness Indiana for having the test done in the first place so now my son is able to see the world through new eyes.