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Policies

Late Arrivals

If your child has a change to their schedule for the day such as an absence do to illness or a late start, please
call the center and notify our staff
. Any child who does not arrive by 9:00 am and/or their typical scheduled drop off time and we have not received a notice to the change in schedule will receive a safe call from our office staff.

Health

Excluding a child from Hearts & Hands occurs

1)   The child’s health care provider determines exclusion is necessary.

2)   The illness or injury thatcauses significant discomfort and requires a greater need for care than the caregivers can manage withoutcompromise to the care of other children in the group.

3)   The illness has symptoms that indicate a possible communicable disease (see next section).  Children who have the following symptoms should be kept home from  

Symptoms and conditions which are indicators to illness:

  • Fever:  Axillary (under arm) temperature above 100 degrees or an oral temperature above 101 degrees AND behavior change or other signs and symptoms.  Hearts & Hands uses digital thermometers under the arm.
  • Diarrhea: stools that contain blood or mucous, or are watery or less formed, occur more often than usual, and are not contained by diapers or toilet use.
  • Vomiting: episodes in the previous 24 hours, unless the vomiting is determined to be caused by a noncommunicable condition and the child is not in danger of dehydration.
  • Respiratory Symptoms: Difficult or rapid breathing; severe coughing; chest congestion; high-pitched or “whooping” sound coughing.
  • Eye Inflammation/ Drainage:  redness of the inner lid of the eye with white or yellow discharge from the eye (signs of bacterial infection).  (Viral conjunctivitis usually has a clear, watery discharge that may not require exclusion.)
  • Abdominal pain: Pain continues for more than 2 hours or intermittent pain associated with fever or other symptoms.
  • Sores:  sore throat; sores in and around mouth with drooling and fever; fluid filled blisters in the mouth, on the palm of the hands or the sole of the feet with fever.
  • Skin conditions:  rash with fever or behavioral changes; rash with blisters that may contain clear fluid or pus; itchy areas with lesions; itchy raised areas.
  • Lice:  Head lice, exclusion required until after the first effective treatment and no lice are observed; body lice, exclusion required until after changing and washing infested clothing

Our parent handbook outlines procedures for parent notification and pick up as well as when a child can return to care.  

Food & Meals

Infant and Toddler
Each infant has an individual program of care which is kept on file in the child’s classroom.  Parents and teachers discuss each infant’s schedule of feedings and meals and based on continuous communication, updates are made to the schedule as changes occur.  Parent’s supply breast milk and/or formula.  Our center supplies single grain cereal, Gerber stage 2 jar food, snacks and whole milk (for one year olds).  As table foods are introduced at home, we will provide an appropriate “toddler” version of the day’s menu according to the child’s developmental level and the parent and teacher’s discussion.  

Pre-School and School-Age
The center will provide two snacks (mid-morning and mid-afternoon)and lunch for all children attending.  Lunches will be prepared in a regularly inspected kitchen.  Meals will be relaxed, with time for conversing and socializing.  We'll encourage children to serve themselves when possible.  We won't force kids to eat, but will encourage them to try a bit of everything that is served.

Menu Planning
Hearts & Hands snacks will be planned on a weekly rotation and lunches will be planned on a monthly rotation.  We will ensure that nutritional guidelines are met according to U.S. department of agriculture child care food program.  The menu will be provided to parents and posted in the kitchen and the Center bulletin board.
When supplemental food (in addition to the regularly scheduled snack or lunch) is offered, a record of the food served shall be posted in an area accessible to parents and kept on file for three months.

Special Diets / Food Allergies
Parents will be asked about any special dietary restrictions when their child is enrolled.  Should there be any, staff and parents will confer to understand the restrictions.  The restrictions will be written out and kept in the child's file and kept on file in the classroom and the kitchen.  

Current food allergies in the center include: Eggs, Peanuts and Tree Nuts. Due to the severity of the allergies we ask that do not bring food from home into the center.

Tuition

The tuition and fee schedule will be determined and provided to each family at the time of enrollment.  The tuition and fee schedule is subject to change at any time without notice- usually in January of each year.   Please see the Center Administrator or Director for an up-to-date Tuition and Fee Schedule.  

  1. There will be a non-refundable $100 registration fee per child.  This fee is assessed for any child who is new to the center or a child who is re-enrolling after an absence.  
  2. There will be a one-week's non-refundable fee to reserve a spot for your child on an upcoming roster.  The fee is due within the time specified at the time you received your enrollment paperwork.  For children who begin during the time frame specified, this payment will be applied toward the first week’s tuition.
  3. Tuition payments are due each Monday for that week’s care.  Tuition remains unchanged for holidays, days your child does not attend the Center when they are scheduled (sickness, etc.), snow days or other emergencies.    The only time tuition would not be due and payable would be during the child’s week of vacation.

    Payments can be made as follows:
    Automatic Bank Transfer - Automatic transfers can be made weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly.  Transfers are initiated the week prior to the week of care with the actual transfer happening on the Monday of the week of care.  Administration reserves the right to offer automatic transfer as the only option for families who have exhibited a pattern of late tuition payments.
    Personal Check - Checks should be made payable to: Hearts & Hands Inc and placed in the drop box (mailbox) located in the sign-in area.
    Outside Source (i.e. county, state, or university) –It is the parent’s responsibility to ensure that the full tuition payment is made in a timely and accurate manner.
  4. You will be responsible for any bank fees associated with the processing of any payment returned to us due to non-sufficient funds.  If we get a second NSF check, all your future childcare tuition payments will have to be paid by cash, cashier’s check or money order.
  5. Additional charges may be charged for special activities and field trips.  Parents will be notified in advance of up-coming events and costs.
  6. A $200 holding fee must be paid prior to the child’s last day of attendance in cases where Hearts & Hands is holding a spot for a returning child on an upcoming roster.  This option may not be available in all situations.
  7. Vacation Voucher – For new enrollment, a vacation voucher will be issued with your enrollment packet and designate the number of days available. Thereafter, a vacation voucher will be issued annually in December.  Eligible families must have a tuition account in good standing in order to receive a voucher.  Each family is allowed the vacation time that reflects their weekly schedule. Vacation Vouchers are not issued for those children enrolled in our school age programs.  

    Instructions for how to redeem your voucher are included in the parent handbook.

Refunds
If a refund is due, please provide a written request to the Center Administrator.  Include information regarding your preferred way to receive the refund, i.e. a check or an adjustment toa future Automatic Bank Transfer.

Guidance & Discipline

We believe children learn best through experiences and play.  Our teachers' positive guidance and direction will help children at Hearts & Hands learn to cooperate with their peers and with adults, and to have positive social and educational experiences to encourage and enhance their growth and development while in our care.

Our philosophy has two goals.  
1. We strive to find a solution to the current situation.  
2. We attempt to help your child process feelings, recognize consequences, explore alternative solutions and outcomes, and develop internal self-control.  We use the following techniques as a regular part of our teaching:

Prevention
:  Our classrooms are designed and equipped to the child's level of development, and tailored to prevent frustration, interruption and hazards.  They offer privacy, independence and easy adult supervision.  In addition, the daily routine provides enough time for play, a sense of security, little waiting, and few transitions.

Assesments and comfort strategies
: These will be used when children are crying, fussing or distraught.  Children cry for many reasons such as to communicate, to express feelings and to get attention.  The teacher’s role will be to assess these types of situations to determine if the child is hungry, uncomfortable, sleepy, frustrated, bored, sick, etc. and respond accordingly with food, comfort, soothing techniques, stimulation, etc.  Teachers will remember the importance of staying calm during implementation of the assessments and strategies and will ask for help from co-teachers or administration if needed.  

Modeling:
Hearts & Hands teachers will show appropriate behavior and positive communication, to each other and to their students.  Children tend to imitate the interactions they observe.

Limit setting
: We have a few clear, simple rules that vary according to the developmental level of each child.  Basically, the rules ensure that all children and staff members at the Center are provided a safe, secure environment in which to flourish.  They are based on safety and respect for the individual, for others and for the environment.  When a child tests the limits, the staff will patiently remind children of the rules and their rationale as needed.

Positive Reinforcement:
 Children will be guided and encouraged by teachers using positive non-verbal cues and verbal praise.  We give children specific compliments and recognition for their appropriate behavior and successes by describing what we see and how we feel.  “I see the books are all on the shelf.  It feels good to take care of our belongings.” or “I like the cooperation I saw between Mary and Steve in cleaning up the dress up clothes.”

Redirection:  Children’s unacceptable behavior will be redirected to an acceptable alternative.  To redirect a child, we will: make directives positive, “The sand needs to stay on the ground. ”offer acceptable choices, “Would you like to play with the truck here without throwing the sand or would you like to play on the grass? ”make the choice for the child, “You are still choosing to throw the sand.  Now you need to play with the truck on the grass.”

Conflict Resolution:  Conflict is a natural part of living and working together in a group.  When conflict develops it is our goal to give each child effective and peaceful communication techniques to resolve the conflict.  We appeal to a child's growing intellectual and moral reasoning by using natural and logical consequences, and asking questions to encourage problem solving.  We will talk over the problem with the child (or children) speaking directly, clearly and at the child's level.  The teacher facilitates resolutions by helping children to identify their needs, feelings, causes and then identifying choices they could use to resolve the conflict.

Winter Weather

In the event of sever winter weather, if the Mount Horeb Area Schools close for the day, Hearts & Hands will also be closed.  The announcements for school closings are on local television and radio stations.            

If it is determined that the center will close for full or partial day, parents will be notified and given information regarding full day closure and/or alternate pick up procedures through Instant Alert, phone calls, and/or television and radio announcements.


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