May’s Book of the Month is:

Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson

Harold begins this story with only a purple crayon. From there his imagination and sharp wit takes him on adventure that only knows the bounds of what he imagines.

Here are a few, fun activity ideas that could go along with this book:

Art- Teachers can provide a variety of purple materials to make collages. Children can paint, color, play with clay, etc. to music. Teachers can simply also put out red and blue paint and allow the children to explore it, using a variety of painting utensils such as plungers, fly swatters, spatulas, bubble wrap and paint brushes. Teachers could also lay out butcher paper (or visit the local newspaper and ask for the ends of the newsprint rolls, a good cheap source of big paper) on the floor or a table and have the children draw on it.

Sensory Table Idea- Put a variety of different shaded purple items in the sensory table. Teachers could also place different shades of blue and red items as well, talking about how mixing red and blue together you get purple.

Math- Teachers could provide purple, as well as red and blue foods, and graph  the children’s likes and dislikes. Simply allowing the children to mix paint is also a math activity.

Some of these ideas may not be appropriate for all ages. Use your best judgment on what the children in your care are capable of and modify if you need to. Please feel free to give Bill a call at 1(800) 676- 2805 or email at bbuss@cccconnect.org if you have any questions or comments.

The Department of Human Services regrets to inform you that there is not enough money in the state budget to pay for child care services for the rest of the fiscal year ending June 30, 2012.  We have requested additional funds from the General Assembly but to date we have not received any additional dollars.  Without additional money, we can’t continue to pay for child care services. 

Effective immediately, you should expect a delay in payment for April services.  We will continue to receive and process bills on a first in first out basis until funds are depleted.  If additional money is made available, we will process bills in the order they were received.  Without more money, bills for most of April services and all of May and June services will be held until July, 2012.  Payments will resume in July when the FY13 budget is available.   

We are sorry for the hardship this creates for you.

UPDATE: 5/7/2012
Please be advised of the following from IDHS:

There is a bill posted and sponsored by Sara Fiegenholtz to provide supplemental funding for child care.  The General Assembly has adjourned until Tuesday, so that is the earliest date upon which it could be acted.  It is not a guarantee, as it needs the votes of the membership to pass.  We will keep on top of this but wanted you all to know there is some movement to address the shortfall.

Have you became a Gateways Registry member yet?

Would you like to know more about it?

Click here for Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about the Gateways Registry.

CDA Scholarship Program

Limited Time Offer!

Interested in becoming teacher qualified, enhancing your professionalism, and gaining the knowledge to become a quality child care provider?

Please call Community Child Care Connection, at 1-800–676-2805, ext. 8225 and request an application. Please do not wait as space is limited and time will run out.

If you want to know more about the CDA process visit www.cdacouncil.org

Program is contingent on available funding.

April’s Book is:

It Looked Like Spilt Milk by Charles G. Shaw

This book is about the different shapes clouds can take on and will have children wondering what “it” is until the end. The book is very easy to read and will lure the children in with its repetitive use of language.

This book can be used in a lesson on weather, the sky or just for the simple joy of reading a book.

•Art – Give the children a blue piece of paper (if a child asks for another color that is fine also). Give the children some white paint in squeeze bottles or give them eye droppers, spoons, paint brushes or other fun utensils to paint with. Have the children put the paint on to the paper any way they want to. You can also ask them if they would like to fold it or make another print with it by placing a piece of paper on top to create a fun design. Afterwards you can ask them what the design looks like. Write down their words on an index card and place it next to the work of art. You could expand this by having various white materials such as cotton balls, crate paper, and collage materials to place on their art. You could also talk with the children about other colors of clouds and use those colors as well. This activity includes creativity, fine motor, and literacy.

•Outside - Take the children outside and have them lay on their backs and look at the clouds. Have them describe what shapes they see.  Writing this down and reading it to the children is a great way to show them the importance of literacy as they will watch their words become writing and words again.  Also, a great way to get your children outside and enjoying the fresh air.

Some of these ideas may not be appropriate for all ages. Use your best judgment on what the children in your care are capable of and modify if you need to. Please feel free to give Bill a call at 1(800) 676- 2805 or email at bbuss@cccconnect.org if you have any questions or comments.

When:Saturday, April 21, 2012
           9:00am-1:00pm

Where: Northfield Inn, Springfield, IL

Cost: $10.00

RSVP by Friday, April 6, 2012

To see additional information, and to print off and fill out the registration form click here.

March’s Book is:

I Stink! By Kate and Jim McMullan

This story is about a wide eyed garbage truck and it’s fondness for being loud and eating  gross, stinky trash. The garbage truck goes through the process of garbage collecting including making alphabet soup with things such as dirty diapers, moldy meatballs and smelly sneakers. Kids will love the descriptive words and the loud, bold text as well as the eye engaging art found throughout the book.

Teachers can use this book in a variety of ways.  The book can be used to talk about garbage, what garbage trucks do with our garbage and recycling. The book can also be used in conjunction with a transportation theme.

•Art- Some art ideas include using “garbage” such as old magazines, egg cartons, boxes, newspapers, juice can lids, bottle caps, or cardboard to create their own art. This art idea is also a wonderful way for children to explore three dimensional art without spending crazy amounts of money on art supplies.

•Gross Motor- Garbage can toss. Have the children toss waded up newspaper into an empty garbage can. Afterwards show the children how you can recycle the newspaper or use it for art. You can also toss other items like golf balls or water balloons into the garbage can.

•Dramatic Play- Add items a sanitation worker might have to your dramatic play area such as gloves, hat, garbage can, and boots. Another addition might be to get a refrigerator box and create your own garbage truck. Ask the children what things might go on the garbage truck and how the garbage truck might look like such as how many wheels and what color you should make the garbage truck. You can add the garbage truck to your dramatic play area after you have completed it and let the kids pretend they are combing the town looking to pick up garbage.

Some of these ideas may not be appropriate for all ages. Use your best judgment on what the children in your care are capable of and modify if you need to. Please feel free to give Bill a call at 1(800) 676- 2805 or email at bbuss@cccconnect.org if you have any questions or comments.

CCCC is currently assessing ways that we can better serve you as our most valued resource.  We have heard your concerns about long wait times, delays in processing paperwork and feeling rushed through your meetings with our employees.

In an effort to address these concerns and to offer the highest quality of customer service possible, CCCC will be implementing the following changes beginning Monday, January 23, 2012:

1. All employees within the CCAP program will dedicate Wednesdays to processing documentation.  Clients and providers wishing to meet with CCAP team members can do so Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, or Fridays 8:00am – 3:45pm.

2. All calls that come into the agency will be routed directly to your assigned case load phone extension.  This will increase the likelihood that you are able to speak to the same employee consistently to increase consistent messaging and a better understanding of your individual needs.

3. In order to ensure that all visitors have adequate time to receive the assistance they deserve, we ask that you arrive prior to 3:45pm each day to meet with employees. 

We appreciate your feedback and hope the above changes help us to serve you better each day.

Sincerely,
Tiffany Simmons

February’s Book is:

Llama Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney

In this simple rhyming book Llama gets tucked into bed by Mama. Soon after being tucked in and Mama going downstairs drama begins to happen. Llama begins to worry and his soft whispers soon become loud yells when Mama does not come back. Will Mama come back to comfort him? Children will like the simple rhyme  structure of this book .

When reading books it is always a good idea to discuss what the children think before reading the book, what they think will happen next, and then what happened in the book afterwards.

Some good questions to ask before reading are:

• By looking at the cover, what do you think this book is going to be about?
• Tell me what a llama is.
• Tell me about a time when you felt alone and scared.

Some good questions to ask while reading:

• How do you think baby llama feels when mama is walking out of his room?
• Do you think it was a good idea for baby llama to “holler” for his mama? Why or why not?

Some good questions to ask after reading:

• What do you think would have happened if mama llama had not run up to baby llama’s room?
• Tell me about what you do before you go to bed?
• Baby llama had a stuffed animal that he slept with, what do you sleep with?

Here are a few, fun activity ideas that could go along with this book:

• Dramatic Play: Have a Pajama Party! Have the children wear pajamas and bring their stuffed animals.

• Literacy/ Music: Make up silly rhymes with the children. Sing songs or wordplays with words that rhyme or songs about bed or bedtime. Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed is a good one.

• Games/ Gross Motor: Play Wake Up Llamas. Have the children pretend they are asleep and cover them up with blankets. Mama yells “Wake up Llamas in pajamas!” and the children “wake up”. You can also play a listening game telling them, they can only wake up when you say “Wake up Llamas in pajamas!” but then replace Llama with another animal. Also, you can use blankets and do parachute games with a blanket instead. This promotes cooperative play.

• Art: Gather materials that you may see on pajamas such as flannel, fleece, silk, etc. A good (and cheap) place to find them is thrift stores or in the odds and ends section, and craft stores. Have the children use toothbrushes to paint glue on. Instead of using paper use recycled materials such as boxes or containers.

Some of these ideas may not be appropriate for all ages. Use your best judgment on what the children in your care are capable of and modify if you need to. Please feel free to give Bill a call at 1(800) 676- 2805 or email at bbuss@cccconnect.org if you have any questions or comments.

January’s book is:

Alfie Runs Away by Kenneth Cadow

Alfie is fed up with having to take a bath, set the table and make his bed. His breaking point however is when his mother attempts to throw away his favorite red shoes, even if they are a bit too small.  He decides he is going to run away. With the help of his mom, Alfie packs his bag full of supplies such as snacks, water, a flashlight and a blanket. Feeling the weight of the bag, Alfie makes it as far as the backyard before settling down to figure out the one thing he was missing in his bag.

Here are a few, fun activity ideas that could go along with this book:

• Art: Give the children a wide variety of materials such as paper, crayons, markers, glue and collage materials. Collage materials can be magazines, different types of paper, stickers, yarn, etc.  Ask the children to make their favorite thing to wear or their favorite thing to take on a trip. The key as is to all art activities is to leave it open ended. If a child makes a pizza monster, that is okay. 

• Math: Count the items Alfie puts in his bag. Match shoes and/or socks. Use water bottles with measurements on the side in your water table. 

• Dramatic Play: Try to include items in Alfie’s bag (flashlight, water bottle, teddy bear,etc.) in your dramatic play area. 

• Social Emotional: Discuss while reading the book how Alfie feels. Talk with the children about how they might feel if they were in Alfie’s shoes. 

Some of these ideas may not be appropriate for all ages. Use your best judgment on what the children in your care are capable of and modify if you need to. Please feel free to give Bill a call at 1(800) 676- 2805 or email at bbuss@cccconnect.org if you have any questions or comments.

Regardless of which holiday you and your family choose to celebrate, “‘tis the season” for giving and receiving gifts for children of all ages and stages of life. With so many options available, it is hard to know what is appropriate for the little one you are purchasing for! Here are a few tips that may help you this holiday season:

What makes a toy “good” AND safe: http://illinoisearlylearning.org/tipsheets/goodtoy.htm

“Age appropriate shopping” cheat sheets: Which toy for which child?
http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/pubs/285.pdf

Here is some additional advice provided by the American Academy of Pediatrics:

• Keep in mind that the most educational toys are ones that fosters the interaction of an adult with a child in supportive, unconditional play. Toys are never substitutes for the attention of devoted caregivers.

• Provide children with safe, affordable toys that are developmentally appropriate. Include toys that help promote learning and growth in all areas of development. Avoid toys that discourage children from using their imaginations. Social-emotional and cognitive skills are developed and enhanced as children use play to workout real-life problems.

• Make a thoughtful selection of toys and remember that a toy does not have to be trendy or expensive.

• Be skeptical of educational or developmental claims made by advertisers, especially product claims of intellectual enhancement.

Limit video game and computer game purchases. Total screen time, including television and computer use, should be less than 1 to 2 hours per day.Children younger than 5 years should play with computer or video games only if they are developmentally appropriate. Check the box for suggested age for usage.Children  should always be accompanied by the parent or caregiver when utilizing the internet.

For additional advice, please follow this link:

http://aappolicy.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/pediatrics%3b111/4/911