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Here's "The Scoop" on Preparing for Emergencies and Winter Safety! | |
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Hello Providers,
Welcome to The Scoop, your winter wonderland of resources, ideas, and inspiration tailored for your expertise in early childhood education. We're here to be your guiding star through these frosty months. Your dedication as early childhood educators is truly remarkable, and we're committed to being your support system.
Wishing you a delightful December filled with warmth and joy through the winter wonder!
With warmth,
Child Care Aware of NH
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| What topic are you interested in learning more about? | | | Got something specific on your mind that you'd like us to cover? We're all ears! Your thoughts and ideas shape this newsletter, so send us an email at outreach2ccrr@snhs.org. | |
Child Care Aware of NH News & Updates | |
2023-2024 Early Childhood Credential Challenge | |
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Are you up for the challenge?! Child Care Aware of NH, a program of Southern NH Services, and the Bureau of Child Development and Head Start Collaboration are thrilled to announce this year's Early Childhood Credential Challenge! We are so excited to celebrate the dedication and expertise of all of NH's Early Childhood Professionals.
This year's challenge is scheduled from December 1, 2023, to February 29, 2024! We recommend submitting your application as early as possible.
Are you ready to apply? Find your individual or team commitment form application at the link below, and discover all the individualized and team support CCAoNH provides along the way! Here's to celebrating YOU in the new year!
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Child Care Aware of NH News & Updates | |
TA Tip: Take the Time to Go Outside! | | |
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Infants and toddlers learn using their whole body and take in all they experience to learn more about their world. By taking them outdoors in all weather, you are increasing their learning opportunities and helping them to develop important developmental skills in fun and exciting ways.
Winter can be challenging with young infants and toddlers but if you can't get outside, bring outside into your classroom. You can do this by creating fun sensory tables with snow or making sensory bags or bottles for children to explore!
If you are able to get outside, create fun and engaging environments that meet the children's development needs.
Make sure to communicate with your classroom parents ahead of time to provide you with the appropriate clothing so all your little ones can explore the outdoors in a comfortable and safe way!
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Children need to play outside every day, even in winter. Going outside to run, jump, yell, and wiggle allows children to use their large muscles and work off extra energy. Moving out into the fresh air is also healthier for children than keeping them inside a closed building where germs can easily spread. Read more on Outdoor Play on Winter Days resource from The Pennsylvania State University. | |
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This TA Tip was graciously shared by Lindsey Parisi,
Lead Training & Technical Assistance Coordinator.
| Child Care Aware of NH is here to assist you! To learn more about how we can support your Infant and Toddler Practices, please refer to our Services and Supports Guide. | |
Emergency Presparedness for Infant and Toddler Caregivers | | |
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Does your program have an evacuation crib or wagon to safely hold several infants and toddlers to evacuate your building and move them to a safe area? If not, consider adding this expense to your next budget.
Parents love to help when they are able. You may want to invite them to help organize a fundraiser to purchase this type of equipment for your program. Fundraisers can often result in a fun family engagement activity, too!
If a formal fundraising event isn’t an option for your program, ask parents to put the money they would ordinarily spend on holiday gift cards, mugs or treats into an emergency equipment fund. Make a fundraising goal chart with a goal for the dollar amount needed and move the arrow or line as the funds increase. Have a celebration when the goal is reached, and equipment is purchased.
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Technical Assistance on Program Emergency Preparedness and Response | |
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The Progressive Training and Technical Assistance Program (PTTAP) offers child care programs an opportunity to participate in focused and facilitated training and technical assistance. This program provides individualized technical assistance to improve program quality.
Technical assistance, coaching and consultation is provided via the phone/email, virtually and/or onsite.
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Program Emergency Preparedness and Response: Supports Programs as they further develop their Emergency Operations Plan and Continuity of Operations Plan, as well as practice the Emergency Response Drills to help them be more equipped for an emergency. Are you ready to strengthen your programs emergency plans? Complete an application below to get personalized assistance from one of our Training and Technical Assistance (TTA) Specialists! | |
Early Childhood Focused Collaboratives | | |
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The Family Engagement & Communication Collaborative is held on the first Wednesday of the month from 1:00-2:30 PM. Join us next for our next monthly training on Wed. January 3rd.
Participants will have an opportunity to meet Darlene Avery and Christine Conlon, Licensing & Evaluation Coordinators, from the Child Care Licensing Unit. They will share common concerns families have when they contact the Child Care Licensing Unit. They will also discuss simple things providers can do to foster strong and trusting relationships with families with open, honest, and transparent conversations about licensing rules and/or statement of findings. Darlene and Christine will end with time for questions.
You can register for this collaborative and others through your NHCIS account.
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Tips to Keep Kids Safe on Snow Days | |
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Winter is such a wonderful and special time of the year! It’s a season centered around joy and laughter, filled with families coming together to celebrate the holidays, building snowmen, going sledding, and staying warm indoors. But with freezing temperatures, winter must be approached with caution and requires proper preparation.
Playing outside in the snow is something children look forward to the most, but safety needs to remain the utmost priority. Bundling children up for winter weather is necessary. Additionally, caregivers need to check on their children frequently to make sure they are safe, comfortable, and not at risk for frostbite or hypothermia.
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Winter Car Seat Safety Tips | |
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Winter is a tricky time for car seats.
As a general rule, bulky clothing, including winter coats and snowsuits, should not be worn underneath the harness of a car seat.
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For more educational and helpful resources in regards to the best practice recommendations for child passenger safety, visit beseatsmartNH.org. | |
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Looking for a way to expand your programs emergency preparedness efforts further than the walls of your program? Our friends at Vroom share this perfect handout to share with families emphasizing brain building tips for children to develop skills to help them feel safe and secure in preparing, responding or recovering from an emergency. | | | |
News & Resources from Our Collaborative Partners | |
New Hampshire Connections Information System (NHCIS) Updates & Improvements | |
This message is being sent as a courtesy to our collaborative partner, the Bureau of Child Development and Head Start Collaboration (BCDHSC) | |
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The Bureau of Child Development and Head Start Collaboration (BCDHSC) has been making updates and improvements to the New Hampshire Connections Information System (NHCIS). The latest changes were made on December 4th, focusing on providing more details about the Background Record Check (BRC) process.
The NHCIS User Guide has been updated to show these changes. You can find the guide on the DHHS website, NH-Connections website, and the ACROSS NH website. If you have questions about how to use NHCIS, check the guide, and you'll see the "Last Updated" date on the bottom of the first page.
We're planning to make NHCIS even better by adding features like Provider Enrollment, Credentialing, GSQ, and Training. Sometimes, when NHCIS is updated and improved, there might be unexpected problems. If you come across any issues, please tell us by submitting a help desk 'Support' ticket. Remember, the support functions in NHCIS are for technical problems. If you have other questions, contact BCDHSC, Child Care Licensing, Child Care Aware of N.H., or ACROSS NH.
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Child Care Aware of NH is a Child Care Resource and Referral Program of Southern New Hampshire Services. The preparation of this (report, document, etc.) was financed under a Contract with the State of New Hampshire, Department of Health and Human Services, with funds provided in part by the State of New Hampshire and/or such other funding sources as were available or required, e.g., the United States Department of Health and Human Services. | | | | |
