Happy May Friends,

We've been busy this spring putting a new program in place that has received positive reviews. I can't wait to tell you all about it, so let's get started.

We recently introduced a group of child care providers

to our newest program, the CATCH Kids Club, and it was a great success! Our conference room was crowded with providers excited to participate in this amazing program.

CATCH (Coordinated Approach To Child Health) Kids Club is a great program designed to promote healthy eating and exercise for children in kindergarten through 5th grade. 

The program has four main components:

- Healthy Habits and Nutrition

- Snack Recipes

- Physical Activities

- Family Involvement

The program is designed to make a memorable impact. For example, kids in the CATCH program hear about healthy eating and making good food choices when they learn about Go Foods, often called whole foods, Slow Foods, those higher in fat, sugar, etc, and Whoa Foods, which are often high in fat, sodium and/or sugar. 

The program also teaches providers how to engage children in physical activities that are fun and entertaining. Plus, it provides resources to extend the benefits outside the child care setting and help families continue these components in the child's home.

CATCH Kids Club includes instructions and suggestions to implement all four components. All special materials, including activity boxes and toys, are loaned free of charge to anyone who completes the CATCH Kids Club training. Check our website for our next training opportunity.

I also want to let you know that DHS Child Care Services is inviting families and child care providers to participate in its 2015 Child Care Service Provider Survey. The office is conducting the survey to learn more about the effectiveness of its programs. Links to the provider and parent surveys are available here. It will only take a few minutes to help Child Care Services with this project. Thanks for participating.

That's all for this month. As always, thanks for reading and for supporting Rainbow Fleet.

Carrie Williams 

P.S.

Did you see us in the Edmond Sun? The paper recently featured Rainbow Fleet in a great story on summer child care. 

Have any of you ever sat down to read a shot record and felt like you might as well be reading a different language? Have you then struggled to make sense of several records for one child, and on top of it all, finding an adequate filing system for all the children in your center? Well, you are not alone! Let's face it, shot records are difficult! Add the turnover of children (and sometimes staff reading the records) and you are left with an absolute mess!

Well, I'm here to help! The Cleveland County Immunization Coalition has people ready to train you! We also have materials to help you get started! Some great materials can be found at the at Oklahoma State Department of Health's Vaccines for Childcare webpage. These materials include a worksheet you may put in each child's file to keep better track of when their shots are "due" and "past due" and a cheat sheet for the letters and names of commonly used vaccines. Above all, we want to help make this endeavor easier for you. 

Please contact me at 579-2234 or KristenR@health.ok.gov for more information!