the best classroom and the richest cupboard is roofed only ......even more fizzle, bubble, pop &...

Spring/Summer 2014 Your communities’ BEST source of child care information & resources

The newsletter of

Child Care Options Resource & Referral Program For Delta, Surrey and White Rock

“The best classroom and the richest

cupboard is roofed only by the sky.” Margaret McMillan

Spring/Summer 2014 childcareoptions.ca page 2

Program Manager’s Report I don’t know about you but we’re very glad to be bidding ‘Old Man Win-

ter’ farewell for another year. Summer is around the corner and little tell-

tale signs are appearing everywhere. The sun is beginning to peek out of

the clouds a little more often and the birds are singing.

The season is bringing many fresh and exciting things our way too. First

of all we would like to welcome Shelby Gordon and Karan Bola as our

new reception staff, and Jackie King as our library assistant. Angela

Garcha and Rosey Singh have become our full-time Outreach team, and

they are busy connecting with local child care providers old and new.

We also want to wish Ruth Beardsley our best as she transitions to her

new position within Options; she will be greatly missed as the CRRR Pro-

gram Manager. And last but not least, we are saying goodbye to Karen

Norman as she retires. Please join us in a Farewell Tea on May 30th from

12:30 to 4pm, as we celebrate Karen’s time with Options.

As we celebrate Child Care Month and May 15, 2014 as Child Care Provid-

er Appreciation Day we wish to honor you by inviting you to join us for

our Child Care Provider Appreciation Evening on May 26th. Register soon

as space is limited. To show our thanks and appreciation for all your hard

work we are also offering 30% off one item in the Early Years Learning

Store this month.

I also want to take this time to remind you to contact our office or update

your files on our data base using the Portal. It is so important that you

inform us of any changes to your facilities so we can give accurate refer-

rals to families.

If you haven’t already done so, please take a moment to visit our new

website at childcareoptions.ca - your feedback is important to us!! Please

take the time to view the wonderful upcoming training opportunities

available to you.

We are looking forward to hosting the BC Family Child Care Association

conference on May 31st here at the Early Years

Centre. Please visit the BCFCCA website for more

information and to register for the conference:

bcfcca.ca

Next month the CCRR team will once again be

participating in the Canadian Cancer Agency’s

Relay for Life. This will be our third year raising

money for cancer research as a staff team. We’re

the J-Walkers - cheer us on in Langley on June

20th!

Happy sunshine!

Sharlene

New Program Manager

Please welcome Sharlene Wedel to her new position as Program Manager for Child Care Options CCRR. Sharlene has worked in the child care and early learning field for 23 years. Sharlene has worked frontline with Infants, Toddlers and 3-5's and then at Options Commu-nity Services doing Parent Child Mother Goose, Outreach, Children The Heart of the Matter presenter coordina-tion, and Assistant Manager. She is cur-rently attending a year long Leadership Training program called Leadership 2020.

Sharlene brings to the job her skills in communication, organization, sense of humour, dealing with people, empathy and common sense.

I will be taking on some more responsi-bilities in the Senior Management of Early Years Programs at Options Community Services as Karen Norman prepares for retirement.

I know those of you who have had Sharlene as an Outreach Consultant will miss her but she is still with us working at a different level to provide guidance and leadership in the program. Ruth


Looking for professional development

opportunities? Our Spring/summer Training

calendar is packed with exciting and

informative workshops and courses!

Visit our website for all the details!

childcareoptions.ca

Project Nights

Bring your felt stories, big books, folder games or

whatever project you’re working on for your

child care setting, or get started on something

new while you’re here!

We’ll have the laminator, book binder, die-cuts

and big books to copy all set up for you to use

and we’ll be glad to share some patterns and ide-

as as well.

Project nights are held from 5:30-7:30 pm on the

following Thursday evenings:

Cost: This is a free event other than any laminat-

ing, copying, or supplies you may purchase while

you’re here.

May 15 June 19

July 17 August 21

Upcoming Sales

July

25% off

Outdoor toys

May

30% off

one item for

Child Care Month

June

25% off

Puzzles

August 18-31

Summer

sidewalk

Clearance Sale

Did you know…

As of March 31, 2014 on our database:

Number of library subscribers: 273

Number of RLNRs: 68

Number of LFCC: 190

Number of IHMA: 57

Number of Group 3-5 years: 47

Number of Infant/Toddler: 14 (plus 41 in Multiple License)

Number of Preschool: 79 (plus 74 in Multiple License)

Number of Out of School: 39 (plus 74 in Multiple License)

Number of Multiple license: 128

Number of Multi-age: 85

January 1 to March 31, 2014:

Number of library items borrowed: 2192

Number of families assisted with child care subsidy: 576

(plus 80 child care providers)

Number of families assisted with child care referrals: 516

Number of attendees at training: 382


Say Hello to Jackie! Please join us in welcoming Jackie King to our library team.

Jackie worked with Child Care Options last year as part of

Options’ Summer Student program, and we are lucky to have

her back again. You will see Jackie all around CCRR for the

next few months including the library, and she will continue

with us as a part time library assistant in the fall.

2014 Library Survey Results Thank you to all of our subscribers who participated in our annual library survey. Cindy Molina was the lucky

winner of a $25 gift certificate to the Early Years Learning Store. Congratulations, Cindy!

We are very pleased with the positive feedback and suggestions we received through the survey and want to share some

of it with you. There isn’t room to include everything here so if you are interested in the full report, please email us at ec-

[email protected] and we’ll send it to you.

The Numbers:

243 surveys were distributed and 67 subscribers responded (27.5%).

61 (91%) respondents agreed that by using the Early Childhood Resource Library they were better able to provide a

quality child care program. 5 respondents were neutral and 1 person disagreed.

66 (98.5%) respondents are satisfied with the materials and services of the Early Childhood Resource Library. One re-

spondent disagreed.

A Few of the Comments:

The library materials are very useful and the staff are all great. They are very approachable, helpful, and respectful.

Keep up the good work!

Keeping materials up to date and fresh is beneficial to quality programming. Using the materials provided supports

my responsive curriculum. Thanks.

Very friendly and well organized.

Very useful and creative material.

All the resources are highly useful. Thanks

I've been using ECR Library for years. I found the resources and all the library staff extremely helpful, useful and crea-

tive. It is wonderful place to explore all of the ECE issues and material. Thank you- Elizabeth, Nina and Shelby for all

your wonderful job!

Could have more new theme boxes with new topics.

I have been so thrilled to have access to the theme boxes at Options. They enrich our program & the staff work so

hard updating them. The staff are very helpful.

We are so fortunate to have these library items available to us in our community. I was able to brush up on my sign

language and use it successfully in a fun song because of your resources. The teeth in the dentist/doctor theme box

so awesome. Everything is so helpful to go along with all the material that I make too. A great team working togeth-

er for the benefit of the children in our community. Thank you! Oh, it is really hard to find you on the website. I have

to find library under site info.

More books with a cd (type stories). Nina, Elizabeth and Shelby you are amazing, wonderful service, you are always

happy and ready to help. THANK YOU.

I like the display table for the seasons, trees etc. Good motivation.

Library team is best So caring So loving Love u all U all r best

The library staff are very courteous and very approachable. They are great people. Good job and keep it up! More

success in your chosen field.

Please allow all materials to be checked out for 4 weeks.

Love new items, especially Natural Pod items and books on projects/emergent/Reggio.


You loved her at this year’s Children the Heart of the Matter Conference!

Now you can love her here!

Yes, it’s Lisa Murphy, a.k.a. “The Ooey Gooey Lady,” in our library!

We recently received all of Lisa’s books and quite a few of her DVD’s.

Take a look at these . . . !

Check our online catalogue for full descriptions and call or drop by the library to borrow.

Not a subscriber? Refer to our catalogue via childcareoptions.ca under

Child Care Provider Services for details.

Book

Play: The Foundation That

Supports Higher Learning

Book

The Ooey Gooey Handbook:

Identifying and Creating Child-

Centered Environments

Book

Ooey Gooey Tooey:

140 Exciting Hands-on Activity

Ideas for Children

Book

Even More Fizzle, Bubble, Pop & Wow!

Simple Science Experiments

for Young Children

DVD

10 Little Hot Dogs Frying in the What?

41 minutes

DVD

Creative Art With Young Children!

30 minutes

DVD

Large Motor Games

30 minutes

DVD

Let’s Go Outside!

70 minutes

DVD

Mother Goose is on the Loose!

27 minutes

DVD

Oh, Those Little Ones!

41 minutes

DVD

Making Time for Books & Stories

60 minutes

DVD

The Apple Demo

10 minutes


Health benefits from free play confirmed by research

Cheap items like crates and buckets encourage children to be more

active and creative than expensive play equipment, researchers have

found. The findings are the result of a long-term study into the play

differences of primary school children with access to different play-

grounds. Introducing simple, everyday objects during recess and

lunchtime can cut sedentary behavior by half, improve creativity and

boost social and problem-solving skills, the research shows. Read

more at: http://www.sciencedaily.com/

releases/2014/03/140303083547.htm

Government of Canada launches The Play Exchange, Canada’s

Active Living Challenge

Preventing chronic illnesses, like type 2 diabetes and heart disease, is

one of the public health challenges of our times. How do we get

more Canadians active? What can we do to encourage children and

youth to spend less time on the couch? When it comes to encourag-

ing physical activity, we’re all in this together.

http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/media/nr-rp/2014/2014_0222-eng.php

Home Safety for Your Kids’ Sake: Check it Today!

Canadian Partnership for Children's Health and Environment have

produced posters in several languages about checking your smoke

detectors, carbon monoxide detectors and testing for radon. These

would be great to post on your parent boards.

English poster: http://www.healthyenvironmentforkids.ca/sites/

healthyenvironmentforkids.ca/files/Home_Safety_Mini_En_R1.pdf

Punjabi poster: http://www.healthyenvironmentforkids.ca/sites/

healthyenvironmentforkids.ca/files/Home_safety_Punjabi_0.pdf

Other languages available at: http://

www.healthyenvironmentforkids.ca/campaign/home-safety

New Resource Sheets

BCACCS has produced several publications in partnership with various colleagues in the Early Childhood Develop-

ment field.

Resource sheets include:

-What you Need to Know about the Inclusion of Elders in Early Childhood Development Settings

-What you Need to Know about Providing Traditional Foods in Early Childhood Development Settings

-What you Need to Know about Multi-Age Grouping in Early Childhood Development Settings

View resource sheets http://www.acc-society.bc.ca/files_2/accs-publications.php


BC Family Care Association Conference

Registration is now open for the BC Family Child Care

Association’s annual conference that we are happy to

be partnering with. The conference will take place on

Saturday, May 31 here at Child Care Options.

For more details and to register view the conference

package at: http://bcfcca.ca/events_pdf/AGM%

20Conference%20Registration.pdf

Emergency Child Care First Aid

The next course to be offered at Child Care Options

will be held on Saturday, July 5. For more details or to

register please visit http://www.vital-link.ca

Caps for Sale Make & Take Felt Story

July 17 at Child Care Options

Details at: http://www.childcareoptions.ca

Games and Activities for Toddlers

August 11 at Child Care Options

Details at: http://www.childcareoptions.ca

Summer Institute in Early Childhood Education

Venturing Outside of the Early Childhood

Classroom Walls

UBC Vancouver, July 9-18, 2014

http://earlychildhood.educ.ubc.ca/sites/

earlychildhood.educ.ubc.ca/files/u9/

IECER_SUMMAR_2014.pdf

Child Care News

Apply Now - $14.8 Million Now Available for

Child Care Providers

News Release, Ministry of Children and Family

Development, May 2, 2014

Child-care providers throughout the province are

encouraged to apply for a total of $14.8 million in

major capital funding to create new licensed child

-care spaces for B.C. kids. Read full press release

at: http://www.newsroom.gov.bc.ca/2014/05/

apply-now-148-million-now-available-for-child-

care-providers.html

For more information about the Major Capital

Funding for the Creation of New Licensed Child

Care Spaces visit:

http://www.mcf.gov.bc.ca/childcare/

major_capital.htm

Provincial Office for the Early Years Launched

News Release, Ministry of Children and Family

Development, January 31, 2014

The new Provincial Office for the Early Years will

focus on the needs of families with children up to

age six and help ensure they have easy access to a

range of early-years services no matter where

they live in B.C. Read the full news release at:

http://www2.news.gov.bc.ca/

news_releases_2013-2017/2014CFD0001-

000110.pdf

BC Early Childhood Tax Benefit

In 2015, the BC government is introducing the

new BC Early Childhood Tax Benefit to improve

the affordability of child care and assist families

with the cost of raising young children. More de-

tails at: http://www.mcf.gov.bc.ca/childcare/pdfs/

tax_benefit_poster.pdf

New Bursary Supports Early

Childhood Educators

News release, April 23, 2014

The B.C. government is investing $513,000 to help

increase the number of early childhood educators

throughout the province. Read the full news re-

lease at: http://

www.newsroom.gov.bc.ca/2014/04/new-bursary

-supports-early-childhood-educators.html

It’s a Date!

June 15 Nature Play Day Canada

In the middle of June Canadians are invited to

celebrate outdoor play and help highlight the

importance of nature play!

June 29 International Mud Day

International Mud Day is children and early

childhood professionals all over the world

celebrating nature, outdoors, and mess by

getting really muddy.

January 16 & 17, 2015 Children the Heart of

the Matter Conference

Mark your calendars to join us for our 18th

annual conference! More details will follow

later this year.


Texture Walk Take the children out for a walk to explore the na-

ture all around them. On your walk have the chil-

dren see how many of the following items they can

touch. You may even want to collect some of these

items to take back to your centre and setup a

texture table.

Smooth pebbles

Soggy decomposing leaves

Lacy skeleton leaves

Silky flower petals

Flexible grasses

Rough tree roots

Furry moss

Rigid bark

Brittle twigs

Prickly pine needles

Smooth flower buds

Crumbly rotten wood

Waxy evergreen leaves

Gritty soil

Rough rocks

Natural Playdough Kit

For something a little different from the store-bought

plastic materials that many children use with

playdough why not put out items you have around the

house or that are found in nature.

Items to add to your natural playdough kit can include:

Popsicle sticks Pine cones

Mini wooden blocks Bark pieces

Bamboo tongs Pebbles

String Rocks

Wool Leaves

Wooden spools Shells

Corks Tree cookies

Fabric pieces Short sticks

Wooden clothes pegs Toothpicks

Wooden rolling pins

Now all you need to do is add a batch of playdough for

the children to start exploring these natural materials.

Playdough Recipe

Ingredients:

1 cup salt

3 cups of flour

2 tsp cream of tartar

1 1/2 cups boiling water

1 tablespoon oil

Food coloring or package of kool aid

Directions:

Combine dry ingredients into a bowl. Boil water, add

food coloring and stir until dissolved. Add oil and stir

well. Pour liquid into dry ingredients and stir until mix-

ture pulls away from sides of the bowl. Take it out of

the bowl and place on table top where you will knead

it until it reaches the right consistency. (About 5

minutes.)

Store in a sealed container when completely cooled.


Tools for Teachers

Babies in the Rain: Promoting Play, Exploration and Discovery with Infants and Toddlers by Jeff A.

Johnson. Redleaf Press 2010 (Available in our ECR Library)

Babies in the Rain is filled with candid advice and compelling information to strengthen your abilities as

a caregiver and role model to young children and includes honest and humourous stories about the

amazing ways infants and toddlers learn. Excerpt from book:

Babies are born explorers. Infants belong in the rain. They belong outside in the grass and dirt. They

belong on the floor with materials that will engage their senses and minds—stimulating them but not

overstimulating them the way too many of today’s “educational” toys tend to do.

Zella Said Purple Blog

This blog is by Jeanne Zuech, where she shares her treasured

life as an early childhood educator and the amazing works & words of young children. She is committed to constructiv-

ist learning environments, documentation and photography as teacher research tools, and joy in the classroom. Read

more at: http://zellasaidpurple.blogspot.com.au/

Teaching Young Children Magazine by The National Association for the Education of Young Chil-

dren. (Available in our ECR Library)

Each issue provides useful, research-based ideas and activities that preschool teachers, educators,

and PreK teachers can use in their classrooms. It highlights current thinking on best practices in

early childhood education, innovations in the field, research and its implication and interesting ide-

as for those in the field.

Inclusive Classrooms In Practical Solutions to Practically Every Problem, Steffan Saifer discusses the various challenges that sometimes arise when integrating children with disabilities into preschool classrooms. However, before dealing with prickly matters, he provides this introduction: "Many teachers worry about having a child with a disability in their class. They worry they do not have the proper training or expertise to help the child or to deal with a child's problems. They worry that the child will take up so much extra time and energy that the rest of the class will suffer. These are real and valid concerns. However, most teachers find that when they actually have a child with a disability in their class, the joys far outweigh the prob-lems, real or imagined.... "If you are already using good early childhood practices, you will not have difficulty caring for and teaching a child with a mild or moderate disability. You will have to stretch some of the things you already do, but your basic ap-proach and routines will not have to change. For example, many children with developmental delays or mental disabilities have very short attention spans and experience difficulty focusing in group situations. Undoubtedly you already have a few children who fit this description, but a child with a disability may have an even shorter attention span and experience more difficulty focusing. Lower your expectations slightly, but keep challenging the child. Use the same techniques you already use — small groups, short group times, alternative quiet activities dur-ing group times for some children, seating the child next to you, involving all children actively — but employ these techniques sooner, more often, and very consistently with a child with a disability." Source: Exchange Everday, April 16, 2014 http://www.childcareexchange.com/eed To purchase the book visit: http://www.childcareexchange.com/catalog/product/practical-solutions-to-practically-every-problem/4100467/


There is a growing problem among children that does not

have a name and is insidious and far-reaching. It serves to

make parenting and sometimes teaching challenging if not

a nightmare. The problem is that of dominance when the

natural attachment hierarchy is inverted and children do

not rest in the care of adults. They instead see themselves

as the ones who should call the shots and tell adults how

to take care of them. Children who have risen to this alpha

position are consistently full of resistance and opposition

for those who try and lead them. They are very frustrated,

lashing out often, and can be filled with anxiety. They

steadfastly see themselves as the boss of the house and

don’t understand when others try and tell them what to do

as if they were in charge. The issue for children in the dom-

inant or Alpha position is not one of strength as it is often

misperceived, but is rather a sign of desperation. For some

reason this child has lost faith in the providers in their life

to take care and lead the way so their only recourse is to

do it themselves.

There are obvious and not so obvious reasons why children

lose faith in their providers. It is easy to appreciate how

children whose parents are neglectful or consumed with

their own pursuits and addictions can convey the message

that children best take care of themselves. If these were

the only conditions under which we were seeing an in-

crease in Alpha children then the problem would seem

clear cut and obvious enough. Dominance issues are also

found in loving and caring homes with parents who are

dedicated to helping their children grow up to be socially

and emotionally responsible individuals. What is giving rise

to the increasing numbers of children in the dominant po-

sition and how can we start to make sense out of this?

In order to make headway we need to go back to the be-

ginning and ask, what does a child need most in life? The

answer is attachment, the invitation to exist in another’s

presence, to be seen and loved for who one is, and to feel

a sense of belonging, loyalty, and similarity to those they

are connected to. The critical piece that often gets missed

in understanding attachment is that its role is to render a

child dependent on those around them. This means being

dependent on someone for their care and well-being, an

incredibly vulnerable place to be! As an adult it is easy to

lose sight of the vulnerability involved in depending on an-

other but I am reminded of it every time I get into a taxi or

an airplane. I find myself questioning whether I can trust

this person to safely deliver me to my destination and take

good care of me. It gives a whole new appreciation to the

understanding of the “back seat driver.”

When we are dependent on another we scan and look for

signs that our trust and care is well placed. Is there some-

thing solid in this person that we can lean against and find

fertile ground? We might think we are conveying this mes-

sage as parents but the question is whether it is being be-

lieved by our children? Sometimes children are born too

sensitive for this world and see and feel too much, making

it harder to have them feel someone is indeed big enough

and can take care of all of them. They are often described

as intense children and parents often remark that taking

care of them feels like double the work. There are many

other reasons why children seek the dominant position in

their relationships with adults, whether it be from too

much separation-based discipline (e.g., 123 ‘magic’ and

time-outs), egalitarian parenting or when we lose our Al-

pha dance to name but a few.

When a child feels in charge of taking care of their needs

the biggest mistake we could make is to confuse this dis-

play of strength with maturity or independence. It simply is

not so; it is an act of desperation and the need to bring this

child to rest in the care of others is great. The critical issue

is that when children are in the lead they cannot take care

of their attachment needs and also attend to the business

of growing up - there is a sacrifice play to be had. Attach-

ment trumps maturation any day and the need to survive

and take care of oneself rises to the forefront at the ex-

pense of rest, play, and further growth.

The good news is that much can be done to restore our

rightful place in our children’s lives. Parenting was never

meant to be a nightmare and there is much hope to turn it

around when it has become so. Underneath dominant be-

haviour is a child who is desperate to depend on and be

vulnerable with someone who is responsible for them. Our

task is to convincingly demonstrate through our behaviour

that we are their best bet and are indeed the answer they

seek. Our challenge is to regain our Alpha dance so that

they can be freed from theirs.

Reprinted with permission, Copyright 2011, Deborah MacNamara, PhD,

Kids Best Bet

Dr. Deborah MacNamara is a Counsellor and Educator in private practice

as well as on Faculty at the Neufeld Institute. Please see

www.macnamara.ca or www.neufeldinstitute.com for more information.

Dr. MacNamara will be facilitating a 4 week course about Alpha

Children starting on May 29 at Child Care Options. For more

details please visit www.childcareoptions.ca

Alpha Children: In the Lead with Nowhere to Go


We’re in love with these two

posters and just had to share

them with you! Download,

print and post on your parent

boards!

The posters are from Jenny

Kable of the ‘Let the Children

Play’ website. Check out

Jenny’s website at:

www.letthechildrenplay.net

This poster will help

you inform families of what

young children are learning

when they play outdoors.

Download from:

https://docs.google.com/

file/

d/0Bzy0nPu2Rd4wTmlOT2

hhd2xZbTA/edit?pli=1

For your parent boards

Hang this poster up to

celebrate outdoor play in

childhood.

Download from:

https://docs.google.com/file/

d/0Bzy0nPu2Rd4waVB3R010

WWFRcG04V1BrSk96UWRTd

w/edit?pli=1


Contact Us

Office Hours

12:00 pm - 8:00 pm 9:00 am - 12:00 pm 9:00 am - 4:00 pm

12:00 pm - 8:00 pm 9:00 am - 4:00 pm

1st & 3rd of each month 9:00-3:00 pm excluding long

weekends

Office Closures

May 19 Victoria Day July 1 Canada Day August 4 BC Day September 1 Labour Day

Library closed Wednesdays

SURREY LOCATION: Early Years Centre - #100-6846 King George Blvd, Surrey Office hours: Please see times listed above. DELTA LOCATION: Harbour Centre - #205-5000 Bridge Street, Ladner Office hours: Mondays 9:30 - 11:30 am SOUTH SURREY LOCATION: Kensington Prairie Community Centre - 16824 32 Avenue, Surrey Office hours: Thursdays 9:00 - 11:30 am

PHONE: 604-572-8032 EMAIL: [email protected] FAX: 604-572-8185 WEBSITE: www.childcareoptions.ca

Read our blog http://childcareoptions.tumblr.com

Follow us on Twitter http://twitter.com/chcareoptions Join us on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/childcareoptionsccrr Check us out on Pinterest http://pinterest.com/ccrroptions/

Please share our newsletter with staff and colleagues

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

the best classroom and the richest cupboard is roofed only ......even more fizzle, bubble, pop &...

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