Play and Learn Program

Press Release

Contact: Child Care Answers Resource and Referral Agency

Phone: 317-636-5727 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Date/Time: July 30, 2012

Play and Learn Program Prepares Children for Kindergarten

Not all children have the opportunity in Central Indiana to attend preschool or a high-quality child care. The childhood years leading up to kindergarten are a vital part of a child’s brain development and learning patterns. For those children that are at home with their caregivers Child Care Answers offers a Play and Learn Program designed with the purpose of helping caregivers interact in an educational way with children to ensure children are prepared to enter kindergarten.

The program is offered weekly in neighborhoods throughout Indianapolis, generally held in IPS schools giving the children and families a chance to become familiar with the local school. During the sessions parents and caregivers are set in an environment allowing them to play with their children, interact with other adults, relax, and have the opportunity to ask questions and referral information.

Each session includes an art activity, sensory activity and math building activities. The goal of these activities is to give the parents an opportunity to see simple activities to help build kindergarten readiness skills while playing with their children. While also offering a chance for the children to have positive social interactions with other children and teach valuable social skills such as playing together and sharing.

These sessions are offered daily throughout Indianapolis and are completely free to parents, caregivers and small home child care providers. For more information about the program contact Leslie Wildhauer at lesliew@childcareanswers.com or 317-926-3401 extension 307.

Don't forget the CDA Renewal Amnesty program - Renew today!

Each initial CDA has an expiration date and must be renewed in order to stay active (within three years for an initial CDA and five years for a renewed CDA). If you do not renew before the expiration date you may have to "start over" and do all of the hard work it took you to get your first CDA rather than go through the much easier, faster, less expensive renewal process.


The Renewal Amnesty Program allows all who have earned or renewed a CDA in the last ten years to apply for Renewal, even if their CDA has expired. If your CDA has a credential date of January 2002 or later, you are eligible for Renewal Amnesty.

Take advantage of the CDA Renewal Amnesty program before it's too late!

Even if you don't need to renew, please be sure to let your colleagues with CDAs know about the program. The Renewal Amnesty program ends this December. We wouldn't want anyone to miss out on this great opportunity so please act now!

Click here to learn how to renew www.cdacouncil.org/renewal

Your Baby Can Read! Video Maker Shuts Its Doors

July 16, 2012
Contact: Shara Drew (617-896-9368; shara@commercialfreechildhood.org)
For Immediate Release


Your Baby Can Read! Video Maker Shuts Its Doors
Children’s Advocacy Group Declares Victory for Families

BOSTON -- July 16 -- The company responsible for deceptively marketing the video series Your Baby Can Read! has ceased operating.

Last year, the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood petitioned the Federal Trade Commission to stop Your Baby Can, LLC and its founder and spokesperson Dr. Robert Titzer from falsely claiming that their product would teach babies to read. The video series, priced at $200, encouraged parents to put infants as young as three months in front of screens and was advertised heavily on television. Five months after CCFC’s request for a federal investigation, TV advertising for Your Baby Can Read! stopped completely. The FTC is still investigating the company.

“By making grandiose promises, Your Baby Can Read! exploited parents’ natural tendency to want what’s best for their children,” said CCFC’s director Dr. Susan Linn. “But there is no evidence that screen media are effective for teaching babies anything—let alone a complex skill like reading. In addition to conning parents out of $200, the company’s false and deceptive marketing may have been putting babies at risk.”

Research has linked infant screen time to sleep disturbances, attention problems, and delayed language acquisition, as well as problems in later childhood such as poor school performance and childhood obesity. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no screen time for children under age two. If parents followed Your Baby Can Read!’s viewing instructions, their baby would have watched more than 200 hours by the age of nine months.

A notice at www.yourbabycanread.com informs visitors that “the cost of fighting recent legal issues has left us with no option but to cease business operations.” In addition to CCFC’s complaint, the company was the subject of an investigative piece on the Today Show and had been battling class action suits.

CCFC is still urging the FTC to take action, to send a message that such deceptive marketing will not be tolerated.

Dr. Linn added, “The Commission has in its power to force Your Baby Can to provide compensation for parents who were deceived, and to prevent Dr. Titzer from creating another company making similar false claims. Even more important, taking action will deter other companies from making deceptive claims about the educational value of screen media for babies.”

The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood (www.commercialfreechildhood.org) is a national coalition that counters the harmful effects of marketing to children. CCFC is a project of Third Sector New England (www.tsne.org).

Free Kids' Fair and Sackpack Giveaway

We all do better when our children receive safe, loving care every day - Grand Rapids Herald-Review: Opinion

We all do better when our children receive safe, loving care every day - Grand Rapids Herald-Review: Opinion: As Minnesota children settle into their summer care routines, many parents breathe a sigh of relief. Arranging care that engages their older c…

Kids Day at The Indiana State Fair

August 13th from 10am-3pm

Activities throughout the day from children including visits from PBS's Clifford and Phineas and Ferb. The Midway will offer unlimited rides from noon-10pm for $15.

For more details visit the State Fair's website at www.indianastatefair.com

Toddler's death highlights inconsistencies in Indiana day cares - 13 WTHR Indianapolis

Toddler's death highlights inconsistencies in Indiana day cares - 13 WTHR Indianapolis
What's important to take from this story is that regulations in Indiana do vary vastly depending on the type of care it is. Parents searching for care have services available to them free of charge that will not only help them locate child care in their neighborhood but educate them about the regulations and what to look for in a quality child care setting. In central Indiana parents can contact Child Care Answers to help them in their search at (317) 631-4643 or visit online at http://www.childcareanswers.com/.

Office Closed

Just a reminder our office will be closed on Wednesday July, 4th. We will reopen on the 5th at 8am. Wishing you and your family a safe and happy holiday!

Bullying in Indiana Symposium

2012 Education Symposium presented by the Children's Coalition of Indiana presents:

Bullying in Indiana

Session 1: Bullying & Cyberbullying

What are they? What are the systems in place to prevent/stop them?

What holes exist in the current system?

Session 2: The Dividing Line

Where are the lines between bullying, school discipline, and free speech?

Session 3: Best Practices

Where do we go from here?

July 26, 2012 ~ 9:00 a.m.‐1:00 p.m. ET (check‐in, 9:00‐9:30 a.m.)

Cost is $15 ($10 for CCI members) and includes lunch.

The Villages Training Room
3833 N. Meridian St., Indianapolis

Register by July 20 at http://tinyurl.com/738mrn4.

For more information, contact Leslie Hankins–
lhankins@ayskids.org, 317‐803‐3134 x18

CEUs available

FREE Training Opportunity

Looking for some FREE traning opportunities? Check out the webinars offered through Early Childhood Investigations.

June 27, 2012, 2 PM EDT, Felicia DeHaney, Ph.D.

Family, Culture, Program Administration, and Social-Emotional Development- A Lens for ECE Administrators
Sponsored by National Black Child Development Institute

July 11, 2012, 2 PM EDT, Jeff Holden

Lined up around the Block: Build Waiting Lists for Your ECE Program with ideas from the Fortune 500

August 15, 2012, 2 PM EDT, Barbara Kaiser

Challenging Behavior is Everyone’s Challenge! How to support ECE staff who work with children with challenging behaviors.

August 22, 2012, 2 PM EDT, Dr. Bill Strader

Put future ECE leaders to work in your program: Making the most of college students in early childhood settings

To register for the webinar and view additional topics offered visit the website at
http://www.earlychildhoodwebinars.org/presentations/

3 hours of FREE training for licensed providers in Allen, Hamilton, Johnson, Lake and Marion Counties

DoD-Funded Military Child Care Liaison Initiative is offering online professional development opportunities through the Child Care Aware Training Academy ™ Indiana is one of 13 states selected to participate in the Military Child Care Liaison Initiative, a U.S. Department of Defense-funded project in partnership with Child Care Aware® of America (formerly NACCRRA) to expand the availability of quality, affordable community based child care for military families. There is an opportunity for no-cost professional development through this initiative.

The Department of Defense (DoD) is funding a series of three online trainings for

licensed child care providers in Allen, Hamilton, Johnson, Lake and Marion Counties.

➤➤ Developmentally Appropriate Practice

➤➤ Planning Language and Literacy Experiences

➤➤ Mathematics and Science Experiences for Young Children

These trainings count toward licensing requirements and the professional development clock hour requirements for Paths to QUALITY.  A certificate indicating that the participant has completed three training hours will be awarded upon completion of all trainings.

All trainings must be completed by December 31, 2012.

Register now and be part of this exciting professional development opportunity.

To register, send your name, email address, county, and state to:

 providertraining@naccrra.org

Please watch for an e-mail from “Smart Horizons.”

Space is limited – Register today

Play and Learn

Have you hear about our Play and Learn program? Play and Learn is a FREE program designed for kids ages 0-5 and their parents or caregiver. Play and Learn groups are an excellent place to have fun with your kids. They are:

• FREE!! There is no cost to families!
• Located in YOUR neighborhood.
• Not only fun but helps prepare kids for the skills they need for kindergarten success!
• A GREAT way to learn about community resources and meet other parents in your area!
• Open to child care providers as well! Just be prepared to play with the kids and keep your ratio 4 children to 1 adult!

Our summer session begins Tuesday, June 26th ! We meet on the following days and locations:

Tuesday 9am-11am

IPS School 56

2353 N Columbia Ave

Wednesday 9am-11am

Immanuel United Church of Christ

402 Prospect

Thursday 3:30-5pm

SouthEast Community Services

901 S. Shelby St.

Senior Center, 2nd Floor

Friday 9am-11am

IPS School 51
3426 Roosevelt Ave

For more information contact Leslie Wildauer at (317) 926-3401 ext. 307. Or email lesliew@childcareanswers.com .

Upcoming Webinar Opportunity

Early Childhood Investigations is pleased to present

Family, Culture, Program Administration, and Social-Emotional Development- A Lens for ECE Administrators presented by Dr. Felicia DeHaney June 27, 2012

Join Dr. Felicia DeHaney, Chief Executive Officer of the National Black Child Development Institute (NBCDI), and one of our country’s leading experts on child development for children of color, as she addresses the cultural aspects of asocial-emotional development of children from birth through age eight. This free webinar will cover:


• school as a stressor

• familial cultural and linguistic identity

• building and supporting resilience

• your role in guiding teachers and families to support social emotional development.

Participants will receive practical tools and strategies to strengthen what they are currently doing to help children succeed in school.

Learn more and register now!

But, wait... There are so many more webinars!

A Day without Child Care

Read 'Round the Circle

Love Reading? Love Kids?
Join Colts DB Antoine Bethea to help us break the national reading relay record of a single book!

We can make it happen with 500 people! We’ll provide the book. You read the story.

Invite your family and friends to read a sentence from the beloved children’s novel Charlotte’s Web.

June 7
5 p.m. on Monument Circle
Sign up today at uwci.org!

Another FREE webinar: Using ECE Technology DAP-Style! Top Questions Answered

Join the ECE Technology Wizard, Chip Donohue, as the moderator of this fast-paced webinar with Fran S. Simon, M.Ed. and Karen Nemeth, Ed.M., Co-Authors of Digital Decisions: Choosing the Right Technology for Early Childhood Education. The webinar will focus on practical recommendations to help you integrate technology in your program using developmentally appropriate techniques that focus on learning and relationships. You will learn more about:

• the DAP technology planning process
• evaluating apps, websites, and software to ensure they align with constructivist approaches, as well as preschool standards
• integrating technology into learning centers in child-initiated programs.
• using technology meaningfully to enhance child-centered learning

Webinar is June 6th. Learn more and register now!

Summer Reading Programs

With the start of the summer season filled with hot days it gives a great chance to cool off in the shade with a few good books. Many local libraries and bookstores offer great summer reading incentives that will not only keep your children reading but reward them for it.

Half Price Books is once again offering their Feed Your Brain Summer reading program in which children who read at least 300 minutes receive a $5 coupon to use during the month of August.

Barnes and Nobles summer reading program offers a free book for reading 8 books through the summer.

Scholastic has a Summer Reading Challenge in which kids can log their minutes read for a chance to win prizes.

Most local libraries offer fantastic summer reading programs!

Exciting Opportunity for CACFP Providers

Indiana's CACFP Award Program

The Indiana Department of Education received USDA's 2011 Team Nutrition Training Grant (a two-year grant) to create and implement an award program that will encourage and recognize Indiana Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) facilities for adapting menus and policies that align with the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

Facilities participating in the CACFP may apply for one of three award levels. Use the application materials and resources below to learn more about the award and how to apply. To sign up to participate in an online training that will walk you through the award program and give you an opportunity to ask questions, click HERE.

Why Apply?

• To improve children's diets and bring program meals in line with USDA nutritional guidelines;
• To promote your facility to parents by demonstrating that you care about children's health;
• To be recognized by recieving:
• A certificate of achievement;
• A parent letter to share your success with parents of the children in your care;
• A press release template to assist you in promoting your award to your local media; and
• Signage to display your achievement at your facility.

For more information on the program visit their website at http://www.doe.in.gov/student-services/nutrition/indianas-cacfp-award-program .

Shower Your Baby with Love

Community Baby Shower and Maternity Fashion Show

(Plus a workshop for dads!)

Who: Pregnant moms and families. Dads are welcome too! Free!

When: Sunday June, 3 2012

Where: George Washington Community High School Entrance #2 2215 West Washington St., IN 46222

What time: 2-6 p.m. Registration begins at 1:30 p.m.

R.S.V.P.: Call 317-926-1170 to register.

Chance to win a car seat, crib and much more!

All expecting new moms will receive:

• Baby gift pack
• Refreshments
• A chance to win prizes
• Information about keeping baby safe and healthy
• Plus a special workshop and gift bag for dad

Doctors will be there to answer questions you have about your pregnancy or new baby.





Free Tax Webinar for Child Care Providers

IRS Hosts Free Webinar on Tax Related Guidance for Child Care Providers


On June 5th the IRS will host a free webinar spefically addressed at family child care providers.

Entitled "Tax Related Guidance for Child Care Providers" the webinar will cover:

* Income items

* Recordkeeping tips

* Business use of the home calculation

* Expense issues

* Depreciation rules and reporting

* Food Program reimbursements

To register for the free webinar, click here.

The webinar will be broadcast at 2pm Eastern Time. It will be archived for later viewing on the IRS Video Portal after approximately three weeks. You may want to alert your tax preparer about this webinar.