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Child Care Activities

Admin — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 02:54:42 +0000

The child care activities you choose to provide in your daycare center will depend primarily on the age of the children in your care. To a lesser extend the activities you offer will also hinge on their interests, experiences, gender, and any special needs they may have.

A good way to ensure children are engaged and excited in your care is to offer a wide variety of activities. By offering them choices and giving them the freedom to select the activities that interest them you will help them to learn to help themselves. Providing choice when it comes to fun and educational activities will provide the child with an positive environment to learn and explore in. This will help them become more confidant and willing to learn in your care.

Children should have both structured and unstructured time for learning and play time. You will want to present activities so that they stimulate the child’s interest while also providing opportunities to learn. As mentioned earlier the activities will depend on the age of the child and their interest.

Here’s a list of fun child care activities for Pre-K and Kindergarten children:

Playdoh – Kids love playdoh and it can be used for a wide variety of fun games like teaching math or creating art.

Photograph Fun - Pictures can be used to develop self-esteem and a positive self image. Try having them create self-image stick puppets, picture dolls etc for great inexpensive fun.

Finger painting – Besides being a lot of fun for kids, finger painting can also be a great learning experience. It can help develop fine motor skills and can be used as a learning game by having children spell out numbers or letters.

Touchy Feely Bag – Also known as discovery bag it can be used to have children guess what a letter or number is by touch.

Discovery bottle – Take a see-through empty one liter bottle and fill it with sand and items that children can find by looking and cross off a piece of paper like a scavenger hunt.

Music Instruments – Kids love making music and many musical instruments can be purchased very inexpensively. Tambourines, bells, rain shakers, rhythm sticks and other instruments can be used for easy musical fun.

Alphabet and Number Games – Card games featuring numbers and letters can be used to help children learn and can be purchased cheaply at mant big box stores like Walmart or Target.

Magnet Fun and Games – You can have the children do a variety of fun and educational activities with magnets letters and numbers. They can be purchased at stores like Ace, Lowes, or Home Depot.

Pocket Chart Matching Games – These can be very useful for early childhood development. An big favorite is the card matching games, or matching different sets together.

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Structure Your Daycare

Structure Your Daycare

Admin — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 01:55:21 +0000

Structuring your daycare so it runs smoothly is another aspect you’ll want to work out before you start your child care business. You will want the children in your care to play together happily with as little disruption as possible. The way you structure your child care service will basically determine your day-to-day life and happiness of you and the children in your care.

Creating a policy where you explain the normal routine is good to help the children create useful habits and routines. Actions like having the children hang up their coats when they come in, taking off their shoes and put them in their cubby when they come inside, or washing their plates off when they are done using them creates great habits. These habits not only make things easier for you they also help build self esteem and independence.

Setting up things so that children can reach what they need when they need them can help make things easier. Items like cups, extra clothing, toys, crayons can help free up your time. You should encourage older children to help teach younger children how to do things as well. Activities and tasks like tying shoes, buttoning up jackets, working with crafts can be taught to smaller children by the older ones giving them a sense of responsibility and pride.

You can allow the children in your care to make suggestions about how they can participate in ways to make learning and activities fun while they are in your care. By providing structured activities for children you can avoid boredom and potential disruptive behavior before it starts.

To make sure your daycare structure works to your benefit:

Create an assortment of fun, age appropriate activities
Purchase a variety of age appropriate toys
Have outdoor activities
Help encourage kids to clean up after themselves, put things away put away toys after use
Prepare easy meals that do not take a lot of time
Look for fun field trips in your area
Know your exact hours of operation
Have the pick-up and drop-off times firmly noted in your daycare policy
Assign child pick-up authorization
Know how you handle illneses
Implement educational games, stories, and activities
Plan effective daily sequences and routines
Set nap time, snack time, lunch time etc.
Inform parents of your child care structure and daycare schedule
Have a bulletin board or calendar posted so you can be aware of the day’s activities
Let parents know what you and the kids are doing (parents love it will you keep them informed)

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Child Care Safety in Daycare Checklist

Admin — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 02:16:37 +0000

Child care safety and health within your daycare center should be a top priority. You must be completely confident that the areas within your center are safe at all times at both indoor and outdoor play areas.

A good way to inspect your child care area is to get down on your hands and knees and look for any signs of trouble. Ask yourself the following question – “How could a small child be hurt here?”

Sharp edges and breakables within reach can be dangerous to small children. In addition you will want to be aware of the recommended minimum age for toys. Toys with small loose pieces can be problematic for infants and toddlers. You should check your toys, cribs, tables ,chairs, shelving, and furniture for loose parts every couple of days, especially if you have very young children around.

You will also want to make sure your toys, cribs, swings, strollers, and playground equipment has not been recalled. While purchasing items at garage sales can be a great source of bargains for your daycare it can also mean potentially dangerous products. Be aware of what products have been recalled at the U.S consumer product safety commission website at: http://www.cpsc.gov/

To help avoid problems with your child care center put your common areas through this daycare safety checklist:

Make sure no recalled products are being used
Print out and display a list of recalled products
Dangerous materials should be safely locked away or high above where children can reach
Poisonous plants need to be kept well away from children
Pools should have gates which children can not open
Stairs should have child gates installed
Electric outlets should have safety plugs
Medicine should be kept well away
Toy box lids can cause injury use shelves instead
Pets are kept out of reach of children
Make sure cribs meet current national safety standards
Cribs should be in good condition with snug fitting mattresses
Crib slats should be no more than 2 3/8″ apart
Cribs should have a certification safety seal
Babies should be put to sleep on their backs with a firm flat mattress
Do not use soft bedding, pillows, or comforters with babies to help prevent (SIDS)Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
Playgrounds should have at least 12 inches of mulch, sand, or wood chips
Check miniblinds and venetian blinds for looped cords, as these can be choking hazards
Beware of child’s outerwear clothing with drawstrings
Children should be supervised at all times
Have a written policy on caring for sick children
Install the correct amount of smoke alarms
Have fire extinguishers available and charged
Limit or do not allow TV viewing
Keep perishable food refrigerated
Use window guards on all windows except one that are fire exits
Have an emergency evacuation plan
Keep toys clean and disinfected
Look out for furniture with sharp edges
Keep diapering area separate from regular children play area
Have a first-aid kit and posted emergency numbers on hand
Use the proper child to child care provider ratio for your state

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Open a Daycare – Setup Child Care Center

Child Care Insurance for Daycare

Admin — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 20:31:33 +0000

It’s important that you provide child care insurance for your daycare service to protect it from liability. Child care liability insurance protects your business from accidents that can occur with a child on your premises or under your care.

Children under your care are your responsibility even if your take them on a field trip, or if they are hurt on the slide at the playground. For this reason it’s absolutely vital that you have child care insurance to protect yourself and your assets.

Each state has different rules and regulations regarding insuring your daycare service. There are several types of insurance available for child care providers. The two most essential categories are liability and accident insurance.

You can be held liable and sued in a court if you are accused of failure to exercise reasonable care or alleged negligence. Claims against you for damages can be brought whether the injury occurred on your property, or while the child was in your care. Liability insurance usually covers most types of accidents that can occur with a child in your care.

If a court finds that you were liable and negligent for a child’s injury you may need to pay compensation. It is a good idea to seek legal advise before you buy an insurance policy. When you purchase liability coverage it usually comes in two forms of policies: Claims Made and Occurrence.

The claims made policy covers accidents that occur and are reported while your policy is active. On the other hand an occurrence insurance policy protects you from a claim even if the policy has expired. Many people feel an occurrence policy is a far superior because it may protect you even in the event of the policy being canceled.

Liability insurance can be expensive. There are techniques that can help you eliminate extra cost and lower your initial premium costs. How to help lower child care premium costs and keep your daycare center safe:

Have training in first aid and CPR
Keep walkways clear and toys stored on shelves
Child proof every room where children are present
Do not have pets around children in your care
Do not have a swimming pool near children in your care
Create health and safety policies for your business
Have written policies signed by parents regarding emergency contacts and health info
Keep children under constant supervision
Have fire extinguishers and fire alarms in place

Some of the questions that will be asked when you apply for child care liability insurance which can affect your payments and costs are:

What are your hours of operation?
Is your facility is located in a mobile home, Apartment, or Condo?
Describe your playground equipment?
Is your yard fenced?
Are there any pets on the premise?
Do you have a swimming pool on the premises?
What is the Maximum number of children you are licensed to care for at a single time:
Is there a trampoline on the premise?
Are there any emotionally or physically handicapped, or special care children enrolled?
How many off premises field trips are there each year?
Where is the destination of field trips?
What is the mode of transportation?
Do you provide overnight care?

Liability policies usually cover these four types of costs:

Bodily or personal injury
Damage to the property of others
Legal defense costs
Medical relief when an accident occurs

Additional areas of potential coverage:

Damage to your property
Incidents while transporting children.
No fault accidents

Accident insurance is more inexpensive than liability insurance and is available to supplement your families medical insurance in case of injury from a child or employee within your business.

Liability insurance will help pay the cost of the judgment based on the limits of the policy you bought. You can get more information on liability insurance for child care by contacting your local office that licenses day care services. You can also contact your insurance agent for more information about liability and accident insurance coverage.

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Child Care Tax

Admin — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 18:56:20 +0000

[Advisory: I am not a legal child care tax accountant - this information is provided as a general outline of taxes related to daycare services and should not be construed as legal advice.]

Paying child care taxes on your services rendered is required as a licensed daycare provider in the U.S. You will need to meet certain tax obligations based on your state and federal tax laws. The taxes you pay will depend upon the type of legal business structure you choose for your business.

The most common legal structure for a home daycare center is the Sole Proprietorship. With this structure you will use the Schedule C of the Individual Tax Return Form 1040 to document your income and expenses. It’s essential that you maintain excellent record keeping while in business to record your expenses and earnings.

A good way to record your child care earnings is by recording every daycare payment in a record book or online business accounting software program such as Quickbooks. Regardless of whether the client pays by cash or check you should record each transaction for your records.

It may be a good idea to open a separate bank account to keep your income deposits and withdraws separate from other sources of income. All funds for daily operations should generally be withdrawn by check.

Your child care tax records for income should include the following details:

Customers’ name
The date of payment
Amount of time covered by payment
Total amount of payment
Receipt number

when handling daycare expenses you will want to always save your receipts. These expenses can often be tax deductible if they contribute directly to your child care center. Having all of your receipts kept in a file for tax time will definitely help you come tax time.

You should consider saving receipts for all daycare purchases for:

Daycare utilities
Playground equipment
Child care activities
Child care toys
Food and drinks for children
Advertising costs
Legal services you’ve spent on the business
Computer or software for the child care business
Daycare related travel
Mileage and gas receipts when traveling for the daycare
Office supplies
Check with an accountant for more suggestions

The laws and regulations about handling child care taxes constantly change so it’s important to stay updated. Contact the IRS for more information about daycare tax or contact a lawyer or accountant for more help.

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Child Care Regulations

Admin — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 21:27:11 +0000

To provide child care services within the U.S you will need to meet state child care regulations to receive a license. Child care licensing is a requirement to ensure your center meets certain specifications and standard of care. The license is how your city, county, state, and federal government regulates standards and these requirements vary from state to state.

Having completed the daycare licensing requirement means your child care center meets the minimum standards for your area. Directors and instructors are expected to have a certain degree of education in child development. Depending on your area you may be required to take course work in psychology or education. Your state may require a certain amount of college credits in child development, as well as specialty courses like first aid, and CPR.

In addition you may be required to be fingerprinted and have a background check conducted and stored on file with the state human resources department. Licensing approval will depend on an inspection of your child care facilities, proper staff to child care ratio, equipment safety checks, and other criteria.

You daycare license will need to be renewed approximately every two years and in all cases there will be an annual fee. License guidelines are intended to help avoid incidence of injury from children who are poorly supervised. Children in daycare facilities must have a healthy, and safe environment and this is the goal of the licensing requirement.

To prevent these problems from arising, thereby ensuring that children in daycare facilities have a healthy, safe environment in which to grow and learn. A list of licensed day care facilities may be obtained from your local social services department.

Here’s a list of organizations that can help you determine child care regulations for your daycare:

National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care and Early Education Telephone: 1-800-598-KIDS
Healthy Kids, Healthy Care – Telephone: 1-800-598-5437
National Child Care Information Center – Telephone: (800) 616-2242
Early Education for Individual States’ Child Care License Regulations. Their contact telephone number is 1-800-598-KID
Administration for Children and Families (ACF) (For State Licensing information) Telephone: 1-800-424-2246
Website http://www.ChildCare.gov

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Daycare Hours of Operation

Admin — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 19:41:04 +0000

Determining your daycare hours of operation will be primarily based on your customers. The time you determined in your planning stages can give you great insight into the optimum time for you to provide care.

The majority of daycare centers in the U.S are open from ten to twelve hours a day. However, as mentioned before you can specialize in a particular type of care, and the type of service you provide will determine your work hours.

Taking care of children on a continuous basis can be rewarding, as well as an emotionally, and physically demanding job. While creating your work schedule make sure you leave adequate time for rest periods, lunch times, and bath room breaks.

If you plan on having employees than you will want to check with your federal labor laws to ensure you abide by the correct amount of breaks.

You will want to have the answers to several questions before you open the doors to your new child care service.

Will your hours of operation match the parents’ work schedule?
How will you handle late pickups?
What are the hours you can devote to your business?
Will you provide extended evening child care?

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Open a Daycare – Setup Child Care Center

Admin — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 04:20:23 +0000

When you open a daycare center your primary goal is to provide a safe secure area for children during their stay. You will need to do a thorough examination of the areas you will have open to children in your care. If your center is from inside your home than you want to make sure it is clean and comfortable for visitors.

Top safety steps to ensure your home is safe:

Put all breakable items out of reach
Remove any plants that may be ingested by young children
Block off stairs with strong saefy gates
Install gate latches that meet local codes
Stow medicine and chemicals in a secure location
Install safety plugs on all outlets
Remove all items that you do not want handled by children
Store toys on shelves to avoid injury from toy box lids
Make sure toys do not have loose parts
Make sure cribs and other child items meet current safety standards

Contact the National Association for the Education of Young Children at 800-424-2460 for more information about specific toys based on the children age groups.

It’s a good idea to have current safety and health placards available as well as emergency and poison control phone numbers available.

Creating a storage area for the belongings of each child under your care is a great idea. It can be as small as shoe box, or a cubby, cabinet, or tote. Add the child’s name to a label and stick it to the child’s storage area. This provides them with a feeling of security knowing their items are safe.

Setup a Home Office – You will want to devote a portion of your house to your home office. Your home office will be where you store your financial records, customer information, business documents and tax receipts.

Creating a filing system can be a life saver when it comes tax time or you need to quickly access a record. Always have your child care emergency information handy.

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Child Care Legal Structure

Admin — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 04:09:54 +0000

You will want to carefully consider the child care legal structure you choose for your business. Will your new company be a sole proprietorship, incorporation, or partnership. There are many advantages and disadvantages to each legal structure.

The most common method for child care centers is to operate as sole proprietors. Setting up a sole proprietorship means that you are the sole owner of the business. You will need to file business and personal tax returns together.

About Insurance – Anyone who operates a day care facility needs to have insurance in case of property damage or injury to children while in your care. Most states have a Child Care Association that can provide you with more information about the type of insurance needed in your state.

To lower your insurance costs and in many cases to comply with insurance requirements you may need to make changes to your center. You may consider making sure you have adequate smoke detectors, fire extinguishers, and play yard fencing. In addition you may want to consider fencing out family pets to comply with insurance company underwriting guidelines.

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Daycare Names – Naming Your Child Care Business

Admin — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 01:45:14 +0000

Setting out to chose a daycare name for your business is an important task. While naming your child care business you should look for one that provides a sense of security, while also being upbeat and fun. The name you select will be your brand so it’s important that you choose a name you will be proud to tell others about.

You want the name of your daycare to represent what it has to offer. In other words, it should be simple yet meaningful, professional, and if possible, inspiring.

The best daycare names are those that convey to parents you are providing a fun and educational environment for children. The name should be catchy and easy to remember. Bouncing ideas off your family,and friends is a good idea during this process.

Keep in mind that most potential clients will create their first impression based on the “feel” of your business name. Often, it’s the only piece of information they have about your daycare. It’s important that it conveys exactly what your daycare center is all about.

Be aware that choosing a name based on a location or geography can be very limiting. This is especially true if you’ve named your daycare after the street you live on. Moving to a new home or expanding your in-home daycare to a commercial location will become difficult. If you really want to name your business based on your location, be sure you’re going to be there for many years to come. If you’re not sure, choose a different name.

A lot of daycare owners use their name, such as Rachel’s Daycare. This is a great idea if you’re famous in your town for working with children. If you were once a beloved public school teacher now opening a daycare, this may be a great idea.

However, using your first or last name isn’t very meaningful if you’re not famous for working with children. The only message that it conveys is that you own a daycare. Yes, it’s simple. It’s also pretty generic.

Once you’ve found one you really like, make sure it’s not a name that is trademarked or in use. Your state business licensing department should have this information. You can also visit the US Government’s Patent and Trademark website.

Then be sure to ask your friends and family what your daycare name conveys to them. It may have a really fun upbeat sound to you but might have a negative connotation to others. Make sure to do a google check to see if their is any thing bad associated with the name.

If you have a specific focus in your daycare business, let that be part of your daycare name. You may also want to check to see if the website domain is available before you make your final decision.

Finally, make sure you really like the name. Once you have printed your business cards, letterhead, invoices, and signs, it will be difficult to change. Most importantly, as word of mouth travels, you’ll become known by your business name.

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