Thursday, June 9, 2011

Let's Move Child Care

Introducing Let’s Move! Child Care: Tools for Child and Day Care Centers


Posted by Robin Schepper, Executive Director of Let’s Move! on June 08, 2011

We are pleased and excited to announce Let’s Move! Child Care, a new effort to work with child and day care providers to help our youngest children get off to a healthy start.

Everyone has a role to play in ending childhood obesity, and child and day care centers are certainly no exception. By providing a solid checklist on healthy nutrition, physical activity and screen time, we all can help take more responsibility for the healthy habits of our kids. We are starting off strong with commitments from the public sector: the Department of Defense and the General Services Administration; and also the private sector, Bright Horizons, the nation’s second largest childcare provider. All three are committing to implement the checklist which will reach over 280,000 children.

The checklist, which can be used by both providers and parents, is comprised of these five elements:


  • Physical Activity: Provide 1-2 hours of physical activity throughout the day, including outside play when possible.
  • Screen Time: No screen time for children under two years. For children age two and older, strive to limit screen time to no more than 30 minutes per week during child care, and work with parents and caregivers to ensure children have no more than 1-2 hours of quality screen time per day, the amount recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics.
  • Food: Serve fruits or vegetables at every meal, eat meals family-style when possible, and no fried foods.
  • Beverages: Provide access to water during meals and throughout the day, and do not serve sugary drinks. For children age two and older, serve low-fat (1%) or non-fat milk, and no more than one 4-6 ounce serving of 100% juice per day.
  • Infant feeding: For mothers who want to continue breastfeeding, provide their milk to their infants and welcome them to breastfeed during the child care day; and support all new parents in their decisions about infant feeding.
First Lady Mrs. Obama unveiled Let’s Move! Child Care this morning while visiting children at CentroNia, a bilingual child care center in Washington, DC.“Everyone is going to see that these small changes can make a big difference. If our kids get into the habit of getting up and playing, if their palates warm up to veggies at an early age, and if they’re not glued to a TV screen all day, they’re on their way to healthy habits for life,” First Lady Mrs. Obama said. “That’s why I’m so excited about Let’s Move Child Care – because I know that childcare facilities and home-based providers can be a real building block for an entire generation of healthy kids.”

To best support child care providers who choose to meet these practices, Nemours is leading an effort to provide free, comprehensive resources and tools in a newly developed website, and the National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies is committed to providing technical assistance to providers. Child care providers and parents can go to HealthyKidsHealthyFuture.org for these free tools and resources and to share success stories. Let’s Move! Child Care comes as a combined effort from the government, private, and non-profit communities. Ending childhood obesity is a responsibility we all share, and working together, we will make a difference.

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Travel Training for Youth Service Providers

Public transportation can be a youth's ticket to independence—especially if they have an IndyGo Summer Youth Pass. After all, our service can get them to work, school, activities and more without having to rely on their parents or care givers.


However, for kids, teens and young adults who are unfamiliar with our bus service, it can seem like an intimidating experience. But we can help curb that anxiety with our travel training program.

On June 9 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. and June 10 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., we will host a "train the trainer" workshop for youth service providers, enabling them to successfully teach their clients how to ride the bus.

These reservation-based sessions, which are limited to 55 participants, are free to staff and volunteers of Indianapolis-area service providers. Workshops will take place at the IndyGo facility, located just west of the Indianapolis Zoo at 1501 West Washington Street. The facility is accessible via the Route 8 and free parking is available in the front lot.

If interested in attending, please contact IndyGo business development coordinator Bryan Luellen at 317.614.9284 or bluellen@indygo.net.

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Play and Learn Summer Schedule

Looking for something FREE to do with your children this summer? Have you heard about our Play and Learn program? Play and Learn is a free, fun program for parents, grandparents, or caregivers and their children (ages infant to age 8) looking for a place to play!! We offer play/ learning opportunities, snacks and drinks, and an attendance incentive program.

Below is our Summer 2011 schedule and locations! We hope to see you there!

Mondays:

IPS School 58 - starting June 13th
321 N Linwood Ave.
 9:30 am – 11:30 am

Tuesdays:
IPS School 56 – starting June 14th
2353 N. Columbia Ave.
9:30 am – 11:30 am

Wednesdays:
IPS School 31 - starting June 15th
Immanuel UCC
402 Prospect 
 9:30 am – 11:30 am

Thursdays:
SECS - HealthNet Clinic – starting June 16th
901 Shelby
 3:30 pm – 5:00 pm-Senior Center

Fridays:
IPS School 51 - starting June 17th
3426 Roosevelt Ave
9:30 am – 11:30 am

Monday, June 6, 2011

2011 PRESCHOOL READI2011 READINESS CAMPNESS CAMP

Who: Preschool-age children with delays in speech & language skills, cognitive & social skills, or fine & gross motor skills

What: Summer day camp developed and run by First Steps therapists specifically designed to address developmental delays and improve your child’s transition to school in a therapeutic peer group setting

When: Two 3-week sessions 9AM-11AM Mon, Wed, & Fri June 13-July 1 & July 11-July 29

Where: Children’s Therapy Connection
7424 Shadeland Station Way Indpls, IN 46256

Enroll by June 3rd for only $75 per week or $30 per day
Sign up for all 6 weeks and get 1 week free! Plus, 2nd child is 25% off!
Need-based scholarships available on a limited basis

See our website for more details. Call to reserve your spot today! (317) 288-7606
http://www.childrenstherapyconnection.com/

Handwriting Camp

Does your child need help holding a pencil? What about copying shapes or cutting on a line?
Can your child print his or her name? Do your child’s letters and words run all over the paper?

If this sounds like your child, he or she may enjoy attending a fun,week-long, summer Handwriting Camp!
Feeding Friends Children’s Feeding Clinic and Therapy Services is pleased to be offering two different summer camps, one group for Kindergarten Readiness and one for Beginning Printing.

The groups will be run by an Occupational Therapist who will focus on helping your child improve pre-writing and writing skills for school, using the principles of Handwriting Without Tears. Handwriting Without Tears is the official program adopted by the state of Indiana for school writing programs.

Each group will have 3-4 children and will run for 1 ½ hours each day. Each child will receive a Handwriting Without Tears notebook, a chalkboard with chalk, handouts for writing tips, and a bag to carry all their fun handwriting gear!

When: Monday June 13 through Friday June 17, 2011
Where: Feeding Friends Children’s Feeding Clinic & Therapy Services
11699 Maple St. Fishers, IN 46038
Times: Kindergarten Readiness Group—9:30-11:00 am
Beginning Printing Group—11:15-12:45 pm
Cost: $125 per child

Contact: Elaine Lewis, MS, OTR at 652-7330 or otelaine@sbcglobal.net