Children LOVE to spend summer days outdoors! 

The warmer weather offers many opportunities for exploration and play in outdoor learning environments. With proper planning, we can support this by taking steps to ensure they have fun, but are safe and healthy, too.

It is important to monitor the temperature, humidity, and air quality. To stay up to date on current conditions:

• Check the Air Quality Index at http://airnow.gov and subscribe to EnviroFlash. This service from the US Environmental Protection Agency and state or local environmental agencies provides daily emails with information about local air quality. Poor air quality can negatively affect children with asthma and other special health care needs.

• Check the forecast for the UV Index to limit exposure to the sun on days when the Index is high.

• Sign up to receive hourly weather forecasts from the National Weather Service on a computer or mobile phone.



• A fun idea is to have a designated “weather person” who keeps an eye on the weather and shares his or her findings during circle time.

The sun’s ultraviolet (UV) rays can be very harmful to children’s delicate skin, so they need protection whenever they are outdoors. Shade and sunscreen protect children from sun exposure and can help to reduce the risk of some skin cancers. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), even a few major sunburns can increase the risk of skin cancer later in life. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends the following guidelines regarding sun safety and the selection and application of sunscreen:

Limit children’s sun exposure between 10:00 am and 4:00 pm when UV rays are the strongest.

Seek shade when necessary. UV rays are strongest and most harmful during midday, so it’s best to plan indoor activities then. If this is not possible, seek shade under a tree, an umbrella, a canopy, or a pop-up tent. Infants under 6 months old should always be protected from direct sunlight!

Encourage families to dress children in cool clothing such as lightweight cotton pants and long-sleeved shirts.   

Hats can shade the face, scalp, ears, and neck. If a child chooses a baseball cap, be sure to protect exposed areas with sunscreen.

Sunglasses protect children’s eyes from UV rays, which can lead to cataracts later in life.

Obtain written permission from children’s parents/guardians to use a sunscreen with a SPF (sun protection factor) of at least 15 every time the children go outside. For the best protection, use a “broad-spectrum” sunscreen which screens out both UVB and UVA rays.

Apply sunscreen generously 30 minutes before going outdoors, so it is absorbed into the skin. Don’t forget to protect ears, noses, lips, and the tops of feet. (Reapply every 2 hours if the children are staying outside for extended periods of time. Reapply even more frequently during water play!)

For children younger than 6 months, use sunscreen on small areas of the body, such as the face and the backs of the hands if protective clothing and shade are not available.

For children older than 6 months, apply sunscreen to all exposed areas.

Young children’s bodies do not regulate body temperature well, so they need additional water when the weather is hot.

• Provide regularly scheduled water breaks to encourage all children to drink during active play, even if they aren’t thirsty.
• Fluoridated water (bottled or from the faucet) is the best drink choice for young children in-between meals.

• Additional breast milk or formula might be given to infants since water is not recommended for infants younger than six months of age.

Water play is an activity that many young children enjoy throughout the year. Early childhood programs often offer opportunities for water play during the summer months. Sprinklers, hoses, or small individual water basins are safer alternatives than wading pools.

Parents and caregivers play a key role in protecting children from drowning!

When kids are in or near water, they MUST be closely supervised at all times. Remember, even a little bit of water can be dangerous.

Help prevent recreational water illnesses (caused by germs and chemicals found in water we swim/play in). Keep the pee, poop, sweat, and dirt out of the water. Take kids on bathroom breaks and check diapers every hour and change them in a bathroom or diaper-changing area to keep germs away from the water.

If water tables are used, ensure that staff clean and sanitize the water table and that toys are used safely. All children should wash their hands before and after play. It is a good idea to check children for cuts, scratches, and open sores on their hands before water play. (It is best to provide individual basins for children with those injuries!)

Playgrounds provide children many opportunities for outdoor learning and physical activity. It is important that the playground and equipment is well-maintained and is age/developmentally-appropriate.

More information can be found in the Consumer Product Safety Commission Public Playground Safety Handbook.

To keep children safe:

• Actively supervise ALL children at ALL times.
• Read playground signs and use playground equipment that is right for the ages of the children.

• Do a walkthrough daily to inspect materials and equipment. Remove any broken toys/equipment, trash, debris, and unsafe objects.
• Look out for things in the play area that can trip a child, like tree stumps or rocks.
• Ensure that repairs are completed when needed.
• Check the temperature of metal swings, slides, dark rubber, and plastic materials, especially surfacing under and around playground equipment to make sure that these surfaces will not burn a child’s skin.
• Ensure that impact-absorbing surfaces are the proper depth to protect children from injury.
• Keep fall zones clear and safe.

Helmets - All children older than 1 year old should wear properly-fitted and approved helmets when they are riding toys with wheels or using any wheeled equipment. Helmets should be removed as soon as children stop riding the wheeled toys or using the equipment. Approved helmets should meet the standards of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).

It’s summertime and that means kids are spending a lot of time at day care. It also means they’re spending a lot of time outside. Of course, you can only let the kids run through the sprinklers so many times before they get bored.

So, to get your creative juices flowing, we’ve put together ten fun and safe activities to do with children this summer.

Mary Rosario in Hanson planted a garden with her certified crew! They love working together and watching their garden grow!

Jessica Kelly, a Certified provider in Owensboro, and her kiddos kept an eye on these bird eggs for weeks! They were so excited when they hatched! She and her friends also enjoyed the warm weather by having a picnic lunch outside!

The Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) partners with Family Child Care Homes. By helping to provide nutritious meals, they are also promoting healthy child development.  By providing information and technical assistance, they are promoting a better understanding about health and nutrition. Although, Family Child Care Homes are not required to participate in CACFP, they can get reimbursed for some of their food expenses if they are enrolled. 

To enroll, Family Child Care Homes must have a sponsor. One of those sponsors is Our Daily Bread in Tennessee. Our Daily Bread CACFP is a non-profit child nutrition advocacy organization. Since 1995, Our Daily Bread CACFP has been devoted to the nutritional care and well-being of children. They contract with different organizations throughout Kentucky and Tennessee. Their programs provide meals for over 12,000 children per day.

As child nutrition advocates, Our Daily Bread provides training and technical assistance to daycare homes and child care centers. 

Their main objective is to increase knowledge about making healthy food choices and to provide adults and children proper nutrition information. Hopefully, this will put us one step further in the fight against childhood obesity.

One of their programs is Taking Root Together. Since 2015, This program has built over 60 gardens and over 4,000 children have participated in Farm to Early Child Care. According to their website, Taking Root Together aims to influence positive food choices in children by bringing gardening opportunities to childcare settings and homes. Their mission is to empower young people and inspire healthy food choices in the children of Tennessee and Kentucky.  

Child care providers have a unique opportunity to help lower the obesity rates of children. Many child care providers feed children two or more meals a day. If given the resources, childcare providers can model and inspire healthy food choices in children.

Their objectives include:

• Increase consumption of fruits & vegetables
• Make children more comfortable with trying new fruits and vegetables
• Increase access to healthy food resources and garden-education material
• Reconnect children with the source of raw foods
• Prepare preschoolers for K-12, Farm to School activities

Our Daily Bread: Taking Root Together Garden Grants: https://www.odbcacfp.org/programs/taking-root-tn/

She said they have been taking the task of watering the garden VERY seriously! 

One of the best ways to get children to eat healthy foods is to get them involved in the process of preparing food. Here are some articles to help spark your creativity! (Just remember that licensed centers must provide food from an approved food source, so the ingredients should come from a grocery store!)

Here are some articles to help spark your creativity!

Growing and Cooking Fruits and Vegetables at Childcare Centers contains fun, age-appropriate activities to support children’s growth and development across all domains.

We all know how difficult it can be to find recipes that are kid-approved, easy to prepare, AND nutritious! This Recipe Book is full of lunch ideas for child care centers.

Snack time is a great way to incorporate healthy fruits and vegetables with a fun activity! 

You will find fun snack time activities in the links below. 

Fruit Necklaces

Healthy Bug Snacks

20 Fun Snacks For Kids

We want to take a moment to thank everyone who has completed the Training Needs Survey.

We appreciate all the feedback we have received, and we are working on having more training available for our providers.

This survey lets us know what days and times you would be available and what topics you would be interested in. If you have not taken the survey yet, or you already have and would like to add another response, please click the button below to complete the survey.

Funded through Family Childcare Support Award SC 7362100001482

www.wku.edu/fccn