100 Acre Wood Handbook

This handbook may be revised often, with revisions being accepted by your signature.

Thank you for considering my services for your child. My goals are to provide a positive, safe, nurturing environment to all of the children in my care. I realize that most parents in today's society do not have the opportunity to stay home with their children, so I intend to offer the next best option.

My Philosophy:

I will strive to provide a safe, comfortable, stimulating, fun, educational environment in my home with a semi-structured day plan. Activities may include free playtime, structured playtime, large motor skill playtime, small motor skills activities, story time, arts and crafts, music and dance activities, nature and ecology awareness, nutrition, cultural activities, and other educational yet fun activities. I will also provide nutritious meals and snacks, and encourage good personal hygiene skills and manners.

An IBM-compatible computer will be available for all ages to use, but only under supervision. There will be NO unsupervised Internet access for children, and only on Playhouse Disney or Nick Jr websites.

Through a mixture of guided and undirected creative play, children in my care will have the opportunity to learn about colors, shapes, textures, numbers, letters, animals, seasons, feelings, senses, nutrition, personal hygiene, manners, basic science and math concepts, and creative concepts such as "pretend" play, art, music, drama and dance. These may sound like lofty goals for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers, but most children learn all of these things and more through creative educational play. I do not believe in pushing any child to learn at an accelerated rate, and will not make a child feel pressured to achieve developmental milestones. By providing the right kind of fun and safe environment, I believe the children will learn at their own appropriate pace.

Number of Children In My Care:

I believe that children receive the best possible care when there are six(6) or fewer children under the age of 12 per adult. Ideally, I would prefer to keep the ratio closer to 4 or 5 children per adult, depending upon the ages of the children. Except with prior agreement from all parents using my services, I will not care for more than one infant (under the age of 1 year) at a time. When it comes to filling vacancies or increasing the number of children I care for (up to the maximum of 6 full time) I will always give preferential consideration to the families I currently serve. I would certainly welcome the opportunity to care for new siblings as they arrive!

Children need to feel they are getting quality attention from the adults in their lives, and they also benefit from lots of one-on-one care. Therefore, for your children's benefit and mine, I will attempt to keep the group as small as possible. From time to time, in order to accommodate the families I serve, it may be necessary to accept one or two extra children for a day or two, such as in the case of a public school closing due to weather conditions. On these days, I reserve the right to accept older children for temporary care at an additional fee. Be assured that I will never accept more children for care than I am legally allowed, or that I believe would be safe and in the best interest of all families I serve. I anticipate that this will be a rare event and not a routine situation.

Occasionally, I will ask my mother or sister, to help watch the children in my home or during a prearranged field trip. You will have the opportunity to meet and get to know them, and I will always attempt to let you know in advance when they will be assisting me. I will also welcome your assistance during special field trips or other special fun events. I realize that you would not be hiring me for care if you regularly had time to spend daytime hours at home, so this time will be purely voluntary. Of course, you are always welcome to drop in at any time during business hours.

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