Greetings!
As we head deeper into Spring and the beginning of summer, there is a lot to feel excited and appreciative about!
New Canada-wide Early Learning and Childcare Plan
In March, Ontario signed on to the Canada-wide Childcare Plan that aims to make childcare more affordable for parents. We have just begun to get information about how the plan will work and how and when you as parents already enrolled in a licensed home childcare option will begin to see the benefits. Here is what we know so far:
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Each Licensed childcare agency is required to apply for inclusion into the program with the Ministry of Education and their Region/Municipality
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The Region has until September 1st to process applications and approve the Agency
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Once approved, the agency has 60 days to process refunds to parents (on average 25% of fees paid) retroactive to April 1st
- Please note that there will be differences in timing of refunds depending on when each Region processes applications
- Your specific Wee Watch Agency will keep you abreast of where they are in the process.
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Provider Appreciation Day - May 6th
Our childcare Providers are simply the best. Parents continue to tell us every day how important their childcare providers are to their families. They enable parents to work, they provide a safe and nurturing home environment for their children to thrive. When we ask parents to tell us what Providers mean to them they share words like…peace of mind, loving, passionate, dedicated, warm, patient, kind, creative, and simply outstanding. We feel the same! We are proud of our over 950 Providers who make Wee Watch the choice of parents.
On May 6th, join us in sending your Provider some extra love and appreciation!
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Did you know?
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We have 65 Providers who will celebrate 15-20 years, 32 celebrating 20-25 years and 15 Providers celebrating over 25 years with Wee Watch this year!
- We have a diverse Provider population from a range of cultural backgrounds, including: Caribbean, Latin American, Chinese, Filipino, Persian, Indian, Pakistani, Arabic, many African nations such as Ethiopia, Somalia and Nigeria, many of European decent (Italian, Portuguese, Greek) Sri Lankan, South Asian as well as multi-generational Canadians and Indigenous Providers!
- Not all our Providers are women – we have 5 male Providers
- Our Providers combined complete 950,000 hours of Professional development every year!
- About 10% of our Providers are Registered Early childhood educators
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Happy Mother’s Day and Happy Father’s Day!
We extend our best wishes to all our Wee Watch parents and providers who are parents - we hope you have a day filled with relaxation and fun surrounded by your families!
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Learning is Fun with Wee Watch |
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Childcare Providers are important to your child’s development |
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When most parents think of Wee Watch, they think about their individual childcare Provider. Over our 38 years in business, literally thousands of children have been cared for by our Providers. Over those years, our Providers have made a huge impact on the lives of the children they cared for and continue to care for. During a child’s early years, their world is shaped and influenced by the people around them, their parents, siblings, extended family and their friends and childcare Provider. May 6th is Childcare Provider Appreciation Day, so we thought we’d explore the impact that a childcare Provider has on the development of children – straight from childcare experts, parents and even some kids themselves!
What role do childcare Providers play in the development of a child?
We know that children develop a full range of skills before they are 5 years old, they learn and practice many of these skills at home, but these skills are also fostered and nurtured when children are in a quality childcare setting, like Wee Watch.
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Social Development – when children attach and interact with people other than their parents and family, they learn to trust that the outside world is a welcoming place. They are more likely to explore and interact with their environment and it lays the groundwork for further social and emotional development. Being in an environment with up to five other children also enables them to build relationships with children in a supervised environment. Our Providers ensure that children have a sense of belonging in their homes and that there are many opportunities to play, learn and grow with other children. Just follow any of our Agency Facebook or Instagram accounts and you will see many examples of children interacting socially! While playing together in a supervised environment they are learning about interacting with others, sharing, cooperation and many more social skills. Our Provider Amanda M. in our Barrie Agency has been a Provider for four and half years and uses imaginative play as a fun way to learn social and decision-making skills.
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Self-Help Skills - Children who attend childcare outside their own homes develop a sense of independence and self-reliance. Childcare Providers have routines and there is a predictability to interactions that enable children to feel in control and confident. A parent recently shared their thoughts on how their Provider Uzma S. in our Scarborough East Agency supported the development of self-help skills with their 18-month-old son; “Uzma has taught our son many things from handwashing, simple manners, to self feeding. Every day he is becoming more and more independent. Uzma also helped him permanently stop using the pacifier which we are very happy about.”
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Physical Development - childcare Providers engage in a full range of programming that supports the physical development of children. Our Providers ensure that children play outdoors 2 hours a day and in doing so there are many opportunities for running, jumping, and climbing. For example, Rachel C., a relatively new Provider with our Peterborough Agency took advantage of an early spring day to take children outside to play in the sand, build ramps for outdoor cars and draw masterpieces on the fence with chalk! These activities inspire creativity and help build both fine and gross motor skills.
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Cognitive Development - Designed by a team of childcare experts, our Wee Learn Program is focused on building literacy and numeracy skills to prep kids for kindergarten and beyond. For example, in the past month our Providers read “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” as part of our Together Wee Can Program, then participated in many activities that involved counting, number recognition, colours, and learning about science, and nutrition!
But it doesn’t stop there, our Providers plan and implement a full range of activities that drive cognitive growth. Parents in Waterloo shared the following about their Provider Lydia A., a Provider in Waterloo for 29 years: “Lydia empowers kids to feel good about themselves and to treat others with respect and kindness. She is so much fun, caring and generous. Lydia nurtures the children, teaches them independence with dressing and eating, does cool science experiments and has created a solid foundation for learning letters, numbers, and concepts.”
Language Development - In a Provider’s home, children have many opportunities to build on their language and literacy skills. Our programming ensures children have opportunities to share and express themselves verbally and in writing. One of our parents from the Kanata Agency shared this heart-warming story of the meaningful impact their Provider, Chaibia E. had on the language development of their child; “Our son has had issues with speech from day one. We had him enrolled in First Words at 16 months and again at 26 months. Chaibia took the initiative to enroll herself in a First Words program to better assist our son (in her free time during evenings!). She brought me to tears. The act alone demonstrates just what kind of provider Chaibia is, she genuinely cares for the children as though they are her own. Our son's speech is almost caught up to the standard for his age and we would not have been so successful if it wasn't for her initiative and drive to aide the children in her care any way she can."
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The experts say to best support healthy brain development, a child’s connection to their caregiver needs to be strong and positive. There is no better way to demonstrate the impact that Providers have on the lives of the children they care for than from the children themselves over time. Dularie, a Provider for over 26 years in our Brampton Agency has been invited to the weddings of children she cared for in the past, one of her past care children picks up frozen dinners she prepares to take with her to university! Many of our Providers build lasting relationships with families and the children in care that last for many years. The dedication to impacting children positively and helping them develop and grow is universal in our homes. |
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Every Provider and child has access to our Wee Learn educational curriculum! Wee Learn and all its associated programming was designed by a team of childcare experts to help children meet their developmental milestones and to prepare them for success in school and beyond! Our program is focused on play based learning for all ages and stages!
Try some of these activities which align with our program:
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Wee Beginners (1-2 years):
Wee Explorers (2-3 years):
Wee Builders (3-4 years):
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Wee Learners (4-5 years):
Wee Experts (5-6 years):
Wee Mentors (6+ years):
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Together Wee Can Play, Learn & Grow |
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Each year Wee Watch organizes exclusive and educational events and activities around a theme that all Providers across Ontario participate in called "Together Wee Can".
Wee Watch will be celebrating and promoting literacy all year through our Together Wee Can Program for 2022, “Together Wee Can Read, Learn, & Grow!”. Through this program, we have selected a wonderful book to focus on each month and developed special activities that correspond with the chosen book and theme.
Take a look at what's coming up in our homes...
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This month we will be reading "This May is Food Allergy Awareness Month. Teaching kids about food allergies is an important way to keep those with allergies or their friends with allergies safe! This month we will learn about food allergies by reading “Zoey Has an Allergy” by Anisha Angella. |
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We live in an increasingly diverse world which is a wonderful thing. Teaching children about diversity and inclusion is important to their development as tolerant, accepting, and empathetic people. This month we will learn about diversity and inclusion by reading the book “All Are Welcome” by Alexandra Penfold. |
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Each month we have a Mystery Reader reading the book of the month. Our Mystery Readers will be featured in our "Wee Talk with Lisa" Live On Facebook and a pre-recorded video of them reading the book will be shared on Facebook and YouTube.
Don't miss our upcoming Facebook Live, on Wednesday May 18th @1pm with Anisha Angella, author of "Zoey has an Allergy" and creator of Zoe!
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Cooking with kids isn't just about recipes, it can be a delicious learning experience for everyone! Cooking encourages literacy skills, harnesses imagination, empowerment, and creativity.
Check out this months recipes for kids:
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There is always so much happening in our homes, be sure to check out our slideshow to experience some of the fun & learning.
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Congratulations to our wonderful Providers on their milestone anniversaries!
We thank you for your ongoing commitment to the families in your care, your community, and Wee Watch.
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We have so much to share with you... |
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"Our “Mystery Reader” this month has been revealed…Meet Cathy, a Wee Watch Home Visitor.
“The Very Hungry Caterpillar" is one of Cathy’s favourite books! We had to have her read this month because she has such a fun and unique way of telling the story!
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"Little ones in Dularie’s care used large paper bags to make Easter Bunnies last week. The older children were given the chance to work with a younger friend and make a bunny together. This pairing provided the older child an opportunity to teach, lead and listen to their younger partner. Mixed group play can be beneficial in teaching responsibility, leadership and also boost self esteem!
And look at those bunnies, great job!🐰"
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Role of Parents in Child Development - Wee Watch
Parents play the most important role in the overall development of their child. It is the right guidance of parents that develops the character of the child. Parenting is an ongoing job. It is not something you can get away from once the time...
Read more
www.weewatch.com
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