We Currently Have Openings
PHILOSOPHY
It is our philosophy at Calico Kids that we
provide a caring, positive and warm environment for each child, much as you
would do at home. We believe that each child is an individual and as such
should develop and progress at his or her own pace with loving encouragement
from the staff. We encourage each child to develop socially and intellectually
teaching them to acquire the skills necessary to succeed in a learning
environment.
GENERAL INFORMATION
We accept children from six weeks through
school age.
Calico Kids Day Care is open Monday through
Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. If your child will not be attending on
any given day, we ask that you notify us before the child is scheduled to
arrive. If you know in advance that your child will not be attending on any
given date, please let us know as early as possible.
Please park cars in the circle when you drop
your child off. If you have an infant and have a lot to carry, or if the
weather is bad, please feel free to pull down the driveway. If it is snowing
out and the plow may need to go around the circle, please pull down the
driveway.
We have a secure, code accessed building.
We encourage all parents to have back-up
child care in the event that day care must be closed for any reason.
HOLIDAYS AND VACATIONS
We are closed for two breaks during the year;
one at Christmas and the other the third week of July. We are closed for
Thanksgiving break, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, two education days and
five other holidays. We are not closed for weather realted days unless we
don't have electricity. If we are schuleded to be open we are, almost without
exception, open.
LATE FEES
Parents are asked to pick their children up
by their scheduled pick-up time. If for any reason you are going to be late,
please notify us as soon as possible. If you will be picking up after 5:30
p.m. there will be an additional fee of $1.00 per minute per child starting at
5:30, payable to the person on duty at the time of pick-up. The late fee is
only charged if you are late more than three times during a 12 month period,
and not for weather related late pick-up.
CLOTHING
Outside clothing should be left downstairs in
the closet. This includes boots and/or shoes that may be muddy or sandy.
Diaper bags should be placed either on the rack above the hook or directly
under the hook on the floor. Please do not hang diaper bags or back packs on
the hooks. Please be sure that the doorway is kept clear at all times.
We ask that your child be dressed
appropriately for the weather, if in doubt send a change of clothing. All
clothing should be marked with your child’s name. Children are not allowed to
wear or bring baseball style caps to day care. Hats cannot have a bill, we
have found that the bills can hit into other children and cause bruising. We
also ask that the children wear sneakers, not sandals, in the summer. This is
for your child's protection as we have found sandals can be dangerous while
the children are running and playing outside.
TOYS
Please do not allow your child to come to day
care with toys, as we cannot be responsible for loss or damage. Also, please
no candy, gum or other “junk food”, money ,cough drops, hard candy, or
balloons (deflated or inflated). No umbrellas or sunglasses. The items
mentioned present a serious danger to your child’s health and safety. We ask
that these items be left at home, not in the closet.
FOOD
We follow the guide lines of the USDA Child
Care Food Program but are not members of this program. If you would like to
help provide the children with nutritious snacks please let us know. We
really appreciate the help from parents. We can always use juice, fruit,
crackers, cheese, yogurt, slice and bake cookies, cheerios, etc. We do
provide a healthy lunch and snacks. Children are served organic milk from
Richard's Dairy in Dracut Ma.
NAP
Nap and rest time for infants is very open.
Infants nap as needed in "pack and plays" provided by the parents. Infants
will only sleep in their own pack and play, no other infant will use your
infant’s pack and play at any time. Older children nap from approximately
12:00 (after lunch) until 2:30 p.m. in sleeping bags the parent has provided.
If you need to pick your child up during nap time, please let us know before
arriving so that we may have them ready without disturbing the other sleeping
children. If the shades in the day care room are down, the children are
sleeping. Please either wait for the shades to go up, or come to the front
door.
ILLNESS
No child will be accepted at day care if they
have or have had in the past 24 hours a temperature of 101 or over. This
means without Tylenol, Advil, Motrin, etc. Your child may return to day care
when their temperature has been below 101 for 24 hours. If your child has
vomited, has diarrhea, discharge from the eyes, or any suspicious rash in the
past 24 hours, please keep your child at home. Parents will be notified to
pick their child up if any of the above symptoms appear during the day care
hours.
MEDICATION
We ask that children not come to day care
with medication. If possible, please ask your physician to prescribe
medication that can be given twice a day so that it may be administered at
home. If there is a critical situation and your child does need to have
medication at the day care it must come with a doctor’s note, in a single dose
pharmacy labeled bottle (the label must state the child’s name, doctor’s name,
type of medication, dose, and other necessary information), and you must fill
out a permission form before you leave.
POTTY TRAINING
We are often asked about potty training - we
are experts in that field! When you and your child reach this exciting
milestone we are here to work with you!
GENERAL
If you ever have concerns or problems please
do not hesitate to speak with me. I can be reached by phone day or evening.
If it concerns your child it is best to speak in private where they cannot
hear what is being discussed, so a phone call works well. We are never too
busy to take the time to speak with you. Also, please be honest, if you have a
problem and don't let us know, we certainly can't fix it. It is our goal to
keep you and your child as happy as possible!
With cooperation from everyone we can make
this a successful and positive experience for your child. We look forward to
a long and happy relationship with you and your child.