I am back! I’ve been very busy the past two months and hope I haven’t lost anyone along the way. I had a parent recently ask me about the typical program that we follow at Sun Stars & Moon daycare and thought I would share it with all of you as well.

As I have mentioned in previous blogs, all of our activities are tailored to the child’s age & skill level. All of the staff is focused when working with the children making sure we are providing quality care.

Our daily program varies, but mainly consists of breakfast, pre-school reading, writing, thinking skills, am/pm snacks, play-time (weather permitting), story time and art & crafts.

We are constantly working on listening and motor skills, as well as, social-emotional development. We find that simply having fun is a great way to incorporate healthy life skills. So we dance, blow bubbles, play in the sand, hoola hoop, play in the water, cook, do puppet shows and plant flowers.

We also love to get new ideas from our families and friends so please email me with any thing you feel would be fun for all our children do learn and do. Stay in touch!

Be well,

Lisa Jones

You are the parent and the one in control, although I know it doesn’t always feel that way. Try to be clear when disciplining and explain why you are doing what you are and what you expect going forward. Get in the habbit and start doing this early on in your child’s life. Never hit, spank, or slap a child of any age. The message you are sending is that physical behavior is acceptable.

Our children are developing at these young ages and can’t make the connection or difference between their behavior and physical punishment. Pain will be the only emotion they feel.

So please don’t forget that children learn by what you do. Be a role-model and set the right standards.

Please share with us your discipline techniques. Also, there are several resources out there to help guide us parents. Even if you are on your 2nd, 3rd and so on you too can learn something helpful.

If you have any questions feel free to email me. ~Lisa

The time has come, to do my taxes. Yay! I have been and will be spending extra hours preparing my financials to take them to my accountant. Luckily, I keep track of all my information throughout the year, which makes the process a littler easier.

I also went to a town hall meeting last Sunday to address a concern with subsidies that could potentially affect daycare providers, parents and furthermore the greater child services industry in Jefferson County. When I heard that Governor Patterson would be holding a series of town hall meetinsg across Upstate New York I knew that I had to be there. Time was limited so only a select number of questions were answered at the meeting. For those that didn’t get a direct response an answer will be provided soon. When I hear something I’ll post it for everyone to read.

In an effort to keep you informed on the adoption of our son Cameron Anthony we would like to share that it has been temporarily postponed. The judge is requesting additional information for legal purposes. These processes never seem to go as fast as you would like. The good thing is we have Cameron and don’t care how long it takes we will wait until he is forever ours. We love him!

As for the Sun, Stars & Moon family we are doing well. We are growing as we speak and having lots of fun. My grandson Jensen is enjoying playing with others his age. My daughter Ronda does a great job with the children and gets along well with the parents.

I have really enjoyed the people that have contacted me with their questions. Please feel free to share your experiences.

Always, Lisa

Hello Everyone!

Thank you for your support and feedback thus far. This week at Sun Stars & Moon Daycare we are acknowledging our hardworking and understanding parents. Holidays can sometimes pose a challenge for parents in juggling many obligations. I would highly recommend to all families that use a daycare facility to have a “backup plan”. Depending on your work schedule and the hours and holiday closings of your daycare program a backup provider may be necessary. Please ask us as we may have some suggestions.

I would also like to welcome Michael a 2-year-old boy who will be joining us this week. All of the staff is very excited!

In addition, we are also in the process of waiting for our renewal for NAFCC. We are expecting the observation person to contact us shortly. This is important to us as we provide high quality care and are committed to professionalism in our industry.

Don’t forget Thanksgiving is now on it’s way…. only 24 days left! We will soon be sharing with you the fun activities that we are planning for the holiday.

Please share your ideas and thoughts with us! We look forward to hearing from you. I hope you have all voted….we are waiting for the results to come in……. It’s important to be active in our community!

The curriculum is tailored to each child’s age and capability levels. Please see below for a brief overview of each activity:

• Pre-K children will practice recognizing ordinal numbers and second position skills.
• Toddlers will be introduced to a new shape…the circle!!! We will practice tracing it and coloring it in.
• Infants will try hand-to-hand coordination by transferring one item from one hand to another. As an infant discovers their strength they become curious of what its capabilities are.

Throughout the week we will also enjoy playing with bubbles, soft big blocks and dancing. If the weather is warm we may to get outside for a bit of fresh air. I can’t forget our special storybook time, which will be Monsters, Inc.

On Tuesdays and Thursdays we explore food preparation. This week we will cook orange jello with gummy worms and strawberry dipped bananas. Below is an example of our menu:

Monday
Breakfast – wheat toast, sliced apples and milk
(whole milk for children between the age of 1 and 2, 1% milk for those over the age of 2)
AM Snack – 100% juice with peanut butter and saltine crackers
Lunch – grilled cheese, applesauce, green beans and milk
PM Snack – milk with celery and ranch dressing

We provide alternatives for all of our food if needed. All meals are USDA Approved and held to the CACFP Nutrition & Health standards.

Also, with Halloween around the corner we like to celebrate the season in allowing our children to be as creative as possible. Plus, its fun!! So this week during the afternoon Arts and Crafts time we are going to make a variety of paper bag monster puppets.

Oh and don’t forget our Halloween Party will be on Thursday, October 30th at 2pm. All parents are invited to come eat and dance to Halloween howling music. Parents please remember to send your child’s costume, as we will have a mini parade at 1:45pm. Parents are also encouraged to dress up. There will also be brownies, juice and cupcakes. Come and join the fun!

Please know that there is assistance out there for families in need. NACCRA is a military assistance program. In addition, Sun, Stars & Moon Daycare has flexible hours, as we are open 6am to 6pm. On a case-by-case basis we also provide evening and overnight care.

The purpose of this new blog is to keep parents updated on the inner workings of our daycare. This will also give deployed Moms and Dads easy access to their child’s regular activities.

Please come back and visit often. Leave us a comment, we’d love to hear from you.