Please note the following ways that we can work together to ensure a healthy environment:

• Handwashing and/or Hand Sanitizer: While it would be preferable to have all visitors wash hands when they enter our centers, we know this is not always feasible. Please use the hand sanitizer that will be provided at our center or classroom entrances.
• Exclusion for Illness: Our Illness Policies are intended to ensure that contagious children are identified and removed from the group setting as quickly as possible. In addition, children who are unable to comfortably participate in group care are provided time to recuperate at home.
  • Parents need to anticipate the need for sick care arrangements now, rather than waiting until their child is sick. We advise parents to talk to trusted friends, neighbors and family, to brainstorm ideas and have back-up care arrangements in place ahead of time.
  • Parents need to pick up sick children within an hour of being called. We do not make the decision to send children home lightly. Parents who travel or work far from home should identify an emergency contact person who can pick-up a sick child in a timely manner. Check your child’s emergency card to be sure we have the right information now, and talk with your pick-up person(s) about our policies for releasing children.
  • Children with vomiting or diarrhea will be excluded after the first incident. We have been advised that when illness is present in a group setting, children need to be sent home at the first sign of vomiting or diarrhea.
  • When fever of 102° is present, children will be sent home. Because children often spike a fever quickly, before other symptoms are present, we abide by this guideline from the American Academy of Pediatrics. However, lower body temperature does not mean a child is not ill. If a child has a low-grade fever but exhibits other symptoms on our list (see attached policy), s/he may be sent home. In particular, when illness has been present in the group setting, children who show similar symptoms will be sent home.
• Use of fever-reducing medicines: Fever is the body’s response to fighting illness. Medications such as Tylenol or Ibuprofen lower a child’s temperature and mask the fever. Children should not be given these medications prior to being brought to the center. The use of these medications is appropriate at home, where parents can monitor their children’s symptoms and provide individualized attention.
• 24 hours symptom-free: Our policy states that a child should be symptom-free for 24 hours prior to returning to the center. If your child is sent home, they need to be home the next day, at minimum. This rule is meant to provide the child with time to fully recover from his/her illness, and to protect them from exposure to further illness while in a compromised state. In addition, the other children are not exposed further to a contagious child.

We will continue to communicate with parents when illnesses are identified in your child’s classroom. We post these notices on the Parent Boards. If your child is diagnosed with a contagious illness, we encourage you to let the center know, so we can take the appropriate measures.

We appreciate your cooperation with our policies and thank you for your support.

Heidi McFadden
Executive Director

Dates and Locations:  
Monday, 9/20 at 2340 Oak Valley Drive
Thursday, 9/23 at 1580 Dhu Varren Road
(you can find directions to these centers on our locations page)

Time: The clinics will run from 4:00 – 6:30 p.m.

Cost: $30 per person, unless you are insured by one of the following companies (remember to bring proof of insurance)

• Blue Care Network 
• Priority Health PPO and HMO
• Health Alliance
• Medicare Part B – Seniors
• Medicare – Advantage

The 2010-2011 flu vaccine will protect against three different flu viruses: an H3N2 virus, an influenza B virus and the H1N1 virus that caused so much illness last season.

Requirements include:

• A Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education (or closely-related field), along with a minimum of two years teaching and supervisory experience. Applicants must be familiar with NAEYC and Reggio Emilia, and must also be willing to give a minimum of a three year commitment.
• Elementary Education applicants must have a ZA (Early Childhood) endorsement.

For a more detailed description of our programs and this position, click here for a printable flyer. People interested in applying for this position should follow the steps outlined for all applicants on our Employment Opportunities page, selecting the online assessment for Center Director. If you have questions which are not addressed in the flyer or on the Employment Opportunities page, please contact Human Resources Director Michele Davis.

Parenting, and teaching, is a constant balancing act. We must balance what we know to be good for children with competing and sometimes conflicting pressures: convenience, limited resources, traditions, personal values, and expectations from well-meaning family and pundits. As with any balancing act, the scales may occasionally tip in one direction or the other, but over the long term, things will even out.

Unclear communication was probably the root of this particular problem.  The director responded to concerns with a solution that balanced parents’ interests with our primary mission: developmentally appropriate programs for young children. I thought I would share her explanation:

Promoting friendship and caring is something we focus on each day throughout the year. Our teachers spend a great deal of time supporting children’s early social skills. Encouraging children’s healthy social interactions and early friendships are an important element of everything we do.

Gretchen’s House embraces the holidays in many ways-the Winter Wonderland evening in December and the Harvest Fest in the fall are just two examples. During holiday seasons, teachers introduce new books to their classrooms, find new artistic ventures and join in on conversations that children are having about the ways they celebrate with their families at home. Some families celebrate holidays that teachers may not be as familiar with, and we encourage parents to come and share traditions with their child’s class. Teachers, too, share their traditions with their classrooms. Sharing these special events in a very real way is important in our centers.

We are an environment that is diverse in both culture and age. When planning for each classroom, the teachers must take into account the children’s age, development and family culture. While your child may be very interested in Valentine’s Day, another child in the classroom may not. For that reason, when the holiday approaches, a teacher may introduce new materials. She (or he) may add heart-shaped cookie cutters to the play dough tools. Perhaps pink, purple, and red construction paper may be added along with doilies, glitter, stickers, etc. At small group time, a teacher may demonstrate how to fold a piece of paper in half and cut (or tear) a heart shape. A teacher may talk about how things are sent by mail and even plan a trip to the Post Office. The children may learn a new song or game at large group time. It all depends on what the children are interested in and developmentally ready for. If a child chooses to make a valentine in class for a friend, I assure you that they will be encouraged to do so, and materials will be provided. Some classrooms may have a mailbox where children send mail to each other throughout the year.

Our goal is not to ban Valentine’s Day, but to take away the expectation that every child (or parent) must bring in individual valentines and distribute them to a child’s mailbox…and that every child must make a mailbox or bag, regardless of their interest to do so. This tradition is better suited to older schoolage children. Our plan is to simplify the day and allow children more freedom to participate in a meaningful way of their choice.

This adaptation to the Valentine’s Day tradition was discussed at a PAG meeting last year, with no objections (and actually a few “sighs of relief”). If you choose to make or sign valentines as a project at home with your child, of course you may distribute them before or after class. Simply deposit them into the cubbies. Please do not attach any type of present or food item. Many children have food restrictions due to allergies or other dietary restrictions.

We will be discussing holiday celebrations at the rescheduled PAG meeting on Thursday, Feb. 25.

In the meantime, we hope that whenever parents have questions or concerns about something we do, that you will do these three things:

• Assume the best intentions, rather than the worst. By enrolling your child at Gretchen’s House, you cast an enormous vote of confidence in our approach. Please give us a chance to explain our choices or amend them if need be.
• Read our parent handbook and any relevant GH publications to try and understand the logic behind our policies. Our Purple Pages collection and Active Learning Brochures address many pertinent topics: Emergent Curriculum, Celebrations, Managing Conflict with staff, to name a few. We put a lot of thought into our programs.
• Let us know about your concerns in a friendly, timely, and direct manner.

Thanks so much for your support.

We are currently seeking applicants for the position of Center Director for our new location, the Early Learning Children’s Community at Lansing Community College. This position, available in April, will involve the start up of a new center (licensed for 90 children) scheduled to open in August, 2010.

Requirements include:

• A Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education (or closely-related field), along with a minimum of two years teaching and supervisory experience. Applicants must be familiar with NAEYC and Reggio Emilia, and must also be willing to give a minimum of a three year commitment.
• Elementary Education applicants must have a ZA (Early Childhood) endorsement.

For a more detailed description of our programs and this position, click here for a printable flyer. People interested in applying for this position should follow the steps outlined for all applicants on our Employment Opportunities page, selecting the online assessment for Center Director. If you have questions which are not addressed in the flyer or on the Employment Opportunities page, please contact Human Resources Director Michele Davis.

We specialize in old-fashioned fun and friendship!

We made it through January! February’s a short month and before you know it, summer will be upon us. Our Summer Camp (SCamp) registration begins in February with discounted rates for registrations completed by April 1, 2010. We have stimulating, safe programs for children ages 5 (completed kindergarten) through 11. You can read all about them in our brochure, or visit our SCamp page for registration forms and more info.

Welcome to the world, Isabella!

Oh, Happy Day! Little did I know 27 years ago that I would have a granddaughter to talk about on a GH blog. If someone had explained I could post a note on a computer and people around the world could read it instantly — well, I would have just laughed. As for the grandma thing — I admit to a little twinge of hope when, several years ago, one of the children at a center asked me, “Whose Grandma are you?” They used to ask “Whose Mommy are you?”! My first grandchild Isabella Johanna is beautiful and what a privilege it is to hold her in my arms this weekend. The rewards of parenting are so many, but this is near the top for joy. I know many of my readers are young parents still coping with the trials of diapers and tantrums and school lunches, but I wanted to let you know about this beautiful light at the end of what sometimes feels like a tunnel. When you ask yourself on a bad day, “What was I thinking?” stay the course, it really is the best decision you ever made.