Children are naturally curious about nature and their environment. Daycare centers should take advantage of this by planning environmentally friendly activities. You will find that young children in your child day care center love playing in the dirt, planting seeds, watching the seeds they have planted grow, and then harvesting and tasting or displaying what they have planted. Container gardening is a simple way to introduce children to nature and gardening.

Container gardens can be created in just about any container that can hold soil and as long as the container has holes for proper drainage (about one half inch). Great containers for kid’s gardens include: (more…)

Daycare providers are responsible for the health and well being of young children. Your childcare center must be able to keep children safe and daycare providers must be thoroughly prepared for emergency situations like earthquakes. The first 72 hours after a disaster like an earthquake are crucial. The emergency lock down kit should contain the basic survival supplies to get your daycare center through the first 72 hours after any disaster situation.

If you live in the state of Alaska, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Washington, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, Utah, or Oregon you are at a high risk for an earthquake of magnitude 3.5 or higher to strike. Daycare centers should have the following emergency lock down supplies for a classroom of about 30 children:

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The business of child care can be extremely lucrative. However, starting a daycare business can be overwhelming. Managing staff, finances, supplies, marketing, planning, policies, and many of the business aspects of a childcare center can be a huge task. Fortunately there is a wealth of information on the internet and daycare business guide books that can help guide. Books for licensed daycare providers are helpful because they support and explain business elements needed to run a child care center as a financially stable enterprise.

Consider the following resources when starting your home daycare business:

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As a child day care center owner, your first order of duty is to keep the children in your care safe. Within the scope of child safety, your daycare business must consider which foods are potentially dangerous to small children. Toddlers are at risk for choking and severe allergic reactions caused by food. Daycare providers must select foods that are healthy and safe for toddlers and avoid those that present potential choking hazards.

Be careful or avoid the following types of hazardous foods for toddlers:

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If your child care center cares for infants, your number one priority must be to keep children safe by maintaining a secure and healthy environment. On the list of child care equipment that may be extremely dangerous for young children are cribs for infants. Infants may be at risk of entrapment, suffocation, strangulation, or asphyxiation if childcare products prove to be faulty.

Parents and child care providers MUST check with the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission’s recall list which can be found at cpsc.gov. You can even sign up to be on an email list which will inform you of current recalls. They continually updated the recall list, so be sure to check frequently for recalls on toys, cribs, and child care equipment.

Depending on the severity of the recall, the manufacturer might mail kits with parts to repair faulty products. Sometimes consumers are told to take the product back to where they were purchased for refunds, store credits or replacement items.

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In today’s economic climate, finding quality childcare at a low price is a necessity, but it is also a challenge. For single parents and families in which both parents work, childcare is a necessity. But what do you do if you’re unemployed or can’t afford child care services? A childcare co-op is a good, affordable alternative to sending your child to a child care center or hiring a daycare provider.

What is a Child Care Co-op?

Child care or babysitting co-ops (cooperatives) are alternative child care situations in which participants exchange time and services rather than money. Some child care co-ops are formed from small groups of friends or neighbors, or some may be organized by groups of families that are unfamiliar with each other.

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All child care services must incorporate some type of learning through play. Your child care business should focus on a strong preschool curriculum that builds learning opportunities directly into play so that learning develops at the same pace as the growing child. Children by nature are curious, active, and eager to learn and try new things. To keep them that way, preschoolers need a readiness curriculum that encourages “playful learning.”

Different types of play support many different types of development:

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