The Decision Making Tool

The decision to stay at home or return to work is not easy. Child Care Aware’s Accessing Support for All Parents (ASAP) project will help families look at factors involved in making decisions about child care.

The ASAP Decision Making Tool allows families to:

• Consider critical areas of your lives impacted by child care decisions


• Examine feelings regarding child care options


• Seek the most appropriate resources and support for those choices

The Decision Making Tool offers resources which include interactive questions, a budgeting calculator, and various articles intended to aide in a family's child care decision making process. A family's child care choice is their decision. NACCRRA and Child Care Aware work to provide information, resources, and support to families so they may make informed decisions.

http://www.childcareaware.org/en/tools/decision_making_tool/

Office Closed

Child Care Answers will be closed on Wednesday July 22nd from 11:45am- 1:45pm. We will reopen at 1:45pm. Thanks!

Child Care Memories

In the early 1970's I went to a little child care provider in Kokomo, IN called "Real Life Playschool" (the picture is of me way back then) it played such an important part of my early childhood and I fondly recall it. I am sad to know that it is no longer in operation, but I will always treasure the memories and my mom still has some of the "artwork" I created there. A plaster hand impression and some coloring pages, as well as a red and green construction paper garland that decorated every one of our Christmas trees throughout my formative years. I have memories of playing Red-Rover in the play ground, Legos and learning to wash my hands when I was done in the potty. Miss Julie, Mrs. Dishon, and Miss Connie, still come to my mind every now and then as I talk to providers in the job I have now. Mrs. Dishon passed away in the late 80's and Miss Julie is gone too, but I like to think that they are proud of all the thousands of children's lives they touched over the years, and would be happy to know that I now play a small part in keeping their legacy alive through my work with Child Care Answers.

What are some of the memories you have of your days in child care before you went to Kindergarden?

Take one minute a day

And so our mothers and grandmothers have, more often than not anonymously, handed on the creative spark, the seed of the flower they themselves never hoped to see — or like a sealed letter they could not plainly read. Alice Walker

1:01 Monday 1:01 Tuesday 1:01 Wednesday 1:01 Thursday 1:01 Friday 1:01 Saturday 1:01 Sunday

Join 630 delegates who attended the 2009 World Forum on Early Care and Education by dedicating one minute a day to advocacy.

At 1:01 pm each day — no matter where you are or what you're doing — take one minute for action. Write a letter, send an e-mail, make a phone call. Make a commitment, call for action, raise awareness. Every action makes a difference.

ExchangeEveryDay is sent to 55,000 early childhood professionals. Let's do the math:55,000 advocacy minutes per day, 365 days per year= 20,075,000 advocacy minutes per year= 334,583 advocacy hours per year

Let's do it! Let's dedicate 1 minute per day, 7 minutes per week, each of us for one year.And let's use one of our minutes to bring 3 new people into the effort — which would bring our potential advocacy hours to over a million!

Then share your story on how you plan to use your advocacy minutes on the World Forum website.

Kid's Day at State Fair

The 2009 Indiana State Fair is just around the corner with more new and exciting events in store! One the many events taking place at the Indiana State Fair is the annual Kids Day on August 17, 2009.

There will be many activities on August 17 for kids and their families such as Munchkins on the Midway wristband special, three free performances of the International Circus Hall of Fame, the Stars of Peking Acrobats, and The Trouble with Boys featured on the Buckle Up Trucks Main Street Stage. In addition to these events, Kids Day will consist of games and contests from 10 AM – 4 PM in the Farm Bureau Building where kids can win prizes donated by Fundex Games. Activities are for children of all ages and include a Jump Rope Contest, the famous Bubble Gum Blowing Contest, Meet the Indiana State Fair Queen Haleigh Yergler, Pin the Nose on the Pig, and much, much more!