You are receiving this newsletter because you are enrolled in the WECA Food Program. |
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Your Monthly News & Updates |
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National Days This November |
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November 12th - National Chicken Soup for the Soul Day
Enjoy reading: Chicken Soup With Rice (Sendak, 1962) or Stone Soup (Brown, 1947) or (McGovern, 1986)
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November 23rd - National Eat a Cranberry Day! (Celebrate our Wisconsin state fruit!)
Read Time for Cranberries (Detlefsen, 2015), written by a Wisconsin author who lives on a cranberry marsh.
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Let's Cook! Wee Chefs - Big Results!
by Julie Giles, WECA Food Program Specialist
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Chicken Dumpling Soup was a reasonably involved recipe to take on with my two- and five-year-old kitchen crew! There were a few oops moments – discovering I had forgotten to purchase two of the spices, for example – and a bit of improv, as a result. There was more advance planning on my part: I had cleaned, prepped and cooked the chicken the previous evening. I had also purchased frozen, chopped onions to avoid having my little chefs break down in onion-induced tears! I’d decided in advance to use prepared chicken broth in replacement for some of the water, as I felt it might lend more flavor. So, it is fair to say our version of this recipe was inspired by the original!
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Frankly, though, I feel that many lessons we offer children may not come off exactly according to plan! Learning to adapt and to make adjustments – whether you are a child OR considerably older! 😉 – is a valuable skill. I like to cook this way, with the children and by myself. The worst-case scenario is that we decide not to make a recipe again! In the process – whether the outcome is delicious or ho-hum – we have opportunities to be inventive and to chop, mix, sauté - and substitute! – along the way.
(The soup was very good. Incidentally.)
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COOK With US!
If you do and wish to send in comments about your experience making it and serving it in your child care, your name will be entered in a Wee Chefs drawing! Potential submissions should be emailed on or before Friday, November 19th. Send to jgiles@wisconsinearlychildhood.org. Use Wee Chefs and the name of your child care home in the subject line of your email.
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Problems with Picky Eaters? |
Ellyn Satter is an internationally recognized authority on eating and feeding. Her strategies and models for feeding children are based on an allocation of responsibility.
According to Ellyn:
Your jobs with feeding are to . . .
- Choose and prepare the food.
- Provide regular meals and snacks.
- Make eating times pleasant.
- Step-by-step, show your child by example how to behave at family mealtime.
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- Be considerate of your child’s lack of food experience without catering to likes and dislikes.
- Not let your child have food or beverages (except for water) between meal and snack times.
- Let your child grow into the body that is right for him.
Part of your feeding job is to trust your child to . . .
- Eat the amount he needs.
- Learn to eat the food you eat.
- Grow predictably in the way that is right for him.
- Learn to behave well at mealtime.
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Grain-Based Desserts
Grain-based desserts are not creditable on the Food Program. Find out the difference between a grain-based dessert and other foods, like muffins and breads, that are creditable on the Food Program:
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How to Add a Child Electronically in CACFP.Net
Procedure to add a child:
- Log into CACFP.Net and click on My CACFP info, Children.
- On the left, you will see the list of your current children.
- To begin the enrollment process, click on the box “Add a child” located below your list of current children.
- On the right side, enter the correct child information for that child.
- Enter the parent information; you MUST enter the Parent's email address.
- At the bottom of the page, click “Send this electronic form to parent” for review and signature. You will see a message stating, “Email has been sent to the parent.”
- The parent will receive an email from System Administrator, which will contain a Pin# for them.
- The parent will click on the link in the email and enter their Pin. They will receive a message stating the form will be sent to them shortly.
- The parent will then receive an email from LFWorkflow@wisconsinearlychildhood.org to finish enrolling their child and submit the form.
- Once the parent has successfully submitted the Child Enrollment Form you will receive an email from LFWorkflow@wisconsinearlychildhood.org with the copy of the signed form. You may print the form and save it in your binder or store it electronically. Either way, you must have access to each child enrollment form for any visit from WECA or DPI.
- Please contact your Area Coordinator with any questions.
BE SURE the child id number that is assigned by CACFP.Net is the number you use on any other documents pertaining to that child, such as a Provider Formula Agreement if the child is under twelve months of age.
- Numbers that do not match will result in loss of reimbursement for that child.
- Numbers that do not match are considered provider errors.
- Provider error is not adjustable.
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Drop Children at CACFP.Net
To drop a child from care, wait 60 days after you last claimed that child to be sure you’ve been paid correctly.
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Log in to CACFP.Net.
- On the main menu page, click on Drop a Child from care, located under Claim Tools.
- Complete and submit the form.
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Extra Steps Required for Paper Claimers
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There are SO many infant formulas, and many formula manufacturers produce multiple products with names that are similar.
- Be sure to give the complete name of the formula you offer to parents of infants enrolled in your program.
- If we have questions about the formula you offer, you may be asked to provide a photograph of the can to determine whether it is a creditable formula.
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Save Time, Save Money! Join WEESSN Today!
The Wisconsin Early Education Shared Services Network (WEESSN) brings together family and center-based early care and education programs to pool resources and leverage economies of scale. By sharing resources, knowledge, and expertise, child care programs can save time and money. Being a part of a network allows you to be BIG where big is important (purchasing and resources sharing) while still staying small, where small is everything – providing care and education within your community, the way you know best.
Think of WEESSN as an extra team member dedicated to helping you improve your programming, decrease your costs and save you time. Our #1 goal is to make your professional life less stressful.
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Your required annual CACFP training is available here:
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USDA Milk Requirements
The USDA fluid milk requirements are developed to ensure that children receive the nutrients they need to grow and develop. Reminder: 2% milk is NOT reimbursable.
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Serving non-dairy milk to a child at mealtime in substitution for dairy milk requires a Special Diet Form and a Special Dietary Needs Tracking Form to be completed, submitted, and approved. |
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Cheese food and cheese spread are not creditable for infants.
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Follow the link for more information:
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Registration is Still Open for the WECA Conference
The 2021 Virtual Conference LIVE workshops have passed, but a majority of them are now available on-demand. You can still register to gain full access to more than 40 workshops focused on early childhood education best practices, diversity, equity, inclusion, and more! Access to the conference workshops is available until December 31, 2021.
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The Provider Connection is published by the WECA Food Program Claims Director: Pam Polenz
Provider Connection Editor: Julie Giles Questions: Call 608-240-9880 or visit our website.
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This institution is an equal opportunity provider |
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Explore more of what WECA has to offer:
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