GOD
BLESS YOU AND YOUR HERITAGE
The Little Lambs Child
Care Center is a Day Care/Preschool program located
in the city of Kalamazoo just north of I-94 at 2031
East Cork Street, between Portage and Sprinkle Road.
The Center is licensed by
the Department of Social Services of the State of
Michigan for children between the ages of two weeks
and six years.
The Center offers a
Christ - centered preschool curriculum and is
sponsored by the Bethlehem Baptist Church’s Child
Care Governing Board. The daily operation of the
Center is under the immediate supervision of the
Center Director.
CHRIST - CENTERED
PROGRAM
The preschool years have
earned the title of the “formative years.” They are
the years when patterns and values are formed.
Numerous studies have shown that things learned in
the first six years of life greatly affect a
person’s value-system, emotional stability, and
intellectual potential for life. It is a time when
the individual forms his/her most firmly held values
and beliefs.
Long before man
understood the importance of the “formative years,”
God had instructed His people to teach their young
about the great things He had done. He knew that if
they neglected this task, the next generation would
not know Him. In many ways the great social problems
of this decade stem from the fact that we have
neglected to nurture our children’s spiritual
development.
Little Lambs Child Care
Center recognizes that children need repetition,
guidelines and routines during their physical,
intellectual, emotional, social, and spiritual
training. We understand that children learn by
exploring, experiencing, discovering and doing. At
the Little Lambs Child Care Center many
opportunities
for children to learn important life
skills are provided. The Center appreciates the fact
each child is uniquely created by God and has
his/her own set of needs. Therefore, the child based
center activities at Little Lambs
vary according to
the age and abilities of each child. These
activities fit into a consistent, yet flexible daily
schedule. At all times our primary emphasis is the
sharing of Christ’s love and compassion as we care
for your child.
PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
Little Lambs Child Care
Center believes that preschool children need both
time for guided play as
well as time for free
expression for proper physical growth and
development. Each day, both large and small motor
activities, some structured, others not, are
provided as well as adequate rest periods.
INTELLECTUAL AND
EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Providing children with a
great deal of imaginary play opportunities and
challenging them with open- ended questions such as
“How else could we do it?” or “What do you think?”
are the means employed at the Center to develop
intellectual skills. A curriculum that is child
centered and hands on is used to teach reading and
math readiness.
Emotional development is
rooted in teaching children that they were created
by God for a purpose,
and that they are loved
individually. When a child fully realizes this and
begins to experience success in the program,
self-esteem and emotional stability will naturally
follow. SOCIAL
DEVELOPMENT
Little Lambs Child Care
Center provides children with guidance that
encourages caring, compassion
and consideration of
others in all relationships. Be it with peers,
adults, pets, or property, the child is taught to
respect others. “Be ye kind one to another” is the
social model at the Center. Through this experience
as well
as training is social skills through role
play, puppets and bibliotherapy (books and stories),
children will develop caring personalities.
SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT In
addition to nurturing childrens’ physical,
intellectual, emotional and social development,
Little Lambs nurtures their spiritual development as
well. This will be accomplished through the Little
People’s Bible Program. The program is divided into
twelve themes which repetitively teach the Christian
views of Love, Giving, Obedience, Kindness,
Thanksgiving, Forgiveness, Prayer, Power, and
Courage as well as the the events of Creation,
Christmas, and Easter. These life-sustaining values
prepare children to meet life’s challenges with a
solid foundation. The children learn to talk with
God on a daily basis, with prayer being said before
meals and nap. During our Bible Story Time the
children are encouraged to share prayer requests and
to pray for these special needs.
As stated above, we teach
the events of Christmas and Easter, as told in the
Bible. Consequently,
we do not promote Santa, the
Easter Bunny nor do we observe Halloween.
Valentine’s Day and the month
of February deals with
God’s love.
TODDLERS The
Toddler Lesson Plans are posted outside the Toddler
Room door, along with The Parent Corner Board, a
copy of the current menu and the teacher work
schedule. Please take advantage of the information
found here.
6:30-8:15 Gather time,
snuggle, play
8:15-8:30 Wash hands and
pray before breakfast
8:45-9:00 Diaper
changes
9:00 -10:00 Lesson plan
activity/specific toys
10:00-11:00 Large
motor/go for a walk/play outside
11:00 -11:15 Wash hands and pray
before lunch
11:15-11:45 Lunch
11:45-12:00 Video, diaper
changes and pray before nap
12:00-2:00 Nap time
2:30-3:00 Quiet play, wash
hands and pray before snack/diaper change
3:00-4:00 Large
motor/outside play
4:00-6:00 Teacher choice
activities, parent pick up
STATEMENT OF POLICIESA.
Admissions
The Little Lambs Child Care Center
considers children for enrollment without regard to
sex, race,
creed, or color.
1. An Application Fee and two MI
Dept. of Consumer and Industry Services Child
Information Cards (which include statements
authorizing emergency medical care, persons to
whom a child may be released,
and field trip
participation) will be required for enrollment.2. A valid Health
Appraisal Form, including an up-to-date immunization
record signed by a licensed
physician or designee,
is due
on the first day of attendance.
This form verifies the state of the child’s
health
and any restrictions on activities that may be
required. This form must be updated annually for
infant
and toddlers, and every two years for
preschoolers.
3. Applicants must also fill out a
Family Size and Income Form for our food service
program.B. Delivery and
Pick - Up of Children
No child is to be brought before 6:30
a.m., nor be picked up after 6:00 p.m. If a child is
left beyond
6:00p.m., a $5.00 fee will be
assessed for each additional five minutes.Children must never
be left without direct transfer to an adult.
Therefore, children must always be brought directly
into the Center by an adult. Each day parent or
guardian
must
sign their child in upon arrival and
out when they
leave.
Upon arrival to pick up a child, an
adult appears intoxicated, we will call another
adult on the MI Department
of Consumer and Industry
Services Card to come and get the child. If no other
person is available, we will
offer to call a cab. If
the adult refuses any help, and insists on taking
the child, the police will be called
upon that
adults’ exiting the center. C.
Tuition
Weekly tuition for each enrolled
child will be due in advance of the first day of
attendance.
All future payments are due on the last
day of the current week for the next week.
A $15.00
late fee will be added for tuition that is received
late. If there is a problem with payments,
contact
the Director as soon as possible. All tuition rates
are subject to annual reviews.
TUITION RATES - See current pricing
under
Pricing
We prefer all payments to be made by
check, payable to Little Lambs. If a check is
returned by the bank there will be a $25.00 Center
charge in addition to the late fee and any bank fee
charged to returned checks. Additionally, you will
be required to pay with cash or a money order after
the 2nd NSF check.D.
Absences and
VacationsBecause program
licensing requirements require that the Center
employ staff based on the number of children
enrolled, the Center
willnot
be able to give tuition refunds for days an enrolled
child is absent. If the Center Director is given at
least a two week notice in writing so that staff
arrangements can be made, a maximum
of two weeks
vacation per year may be allowed without having to
pay tuition or re-enrollment fees.
Our year runs
from September to September. We currently do not
save your child’s place if you choose to withdraw
your child for the summer. We
do make
every effort to contact you if that place is ready
to be taken, so that you may have first choice on
returning before fall.
If your child will be out for the
day, please call the Center at your earliest
convenience to let us know.
E. Withdrawal From
ProgramWithdrawal of a
child will require that the Center be notified in
writing a
minimum of two weeks in advance.
If the Center is not given the stipulated two weeks
notice, the parent or guardian is obliged to pay the
equivalent tuition fee. If a child is absent two
weeks without notifying the Center, the space will
be filled and the child considered dropped from
enrollment. Re-enrollment will require a new
application fee and placement on the waiting list.
Occasionally a child may be dropped from the
Center’s enrollment if developmental problems cause
him/her to harm others, if the parents or guardian
fails to pay tuition/fees or if the parent or
guardian is habitually tardy in picking up his/her
child.F.
Bad Weather
Little Lambs will usually close for
severe weather only if businesses and factories are
closed. Notification of Center closing will be
announce on radio station WKZO
(590 AM) and television station
WWMT (Channel
3). There will be no refunds for days missed due to
severe weather closings.G.
DisciplineThe children are
treated lovingly, consistently, and sensibly. When
the need for discipline arises, our staff know that
the main purpose of any discipline is to teach, so
they will:
1) Access the situation - what is
contributing to the difficulty?
2) Encourage another activity -
redirect
3) Use “Quiet Time” - often one
minute per year of age. This is followed by a brief
conversation about the difficulty and what some
other acceptable options might have been.
4) Encourage the child to use their
words to resolve the problem on their own. Words may
be given
to help even the youngest preschooler begin
to acceptably deal with conflict.
Children are not allowed to harm or
intimidate one another. They are gently, but firmly
taught the values of sharing, compassion, and
cooperative play. Attention is given to each child’s
individual needs, but
at the same time, the welfare
of the entire class is taken into consideration.If a
severe or persistent problem occurs, the
teacher/director will contact you and will work
together with you to find a solution that is best
for your child.
If a workable solution is not met, we reserve the
right to ask you to find other care for your child.
Not all centers are for all children.H.
ClothingThe children spend
part of each day outdoors. Therefore, durable and
washable clothing appropriate for weather conditions
is necessary. In the winter, children will go
outside when the wind chill is above 20 degrees, so
jackets, snow pants, mittens, mitten clips, and
large, comfortable boots are a must.
In the summertime, bathing suits and towels are
needed so the children
can play in water/sprinklers. During the day, our
art projects and science/cooking activities are
hands-on and many times messy. Please send your
child to the Center in clothes that you do not care
if they become soiled. We do our very best to
protect clothing, but messes occur as part of the
learning process.A complete change of clothes must
be brought in on the first day of school and changed
to accommodate the seasons. All clothing must be
marked with the child’s full name.I.
Injuries
Should a child be injured at school,
a Center staff member will provide basic care -
cleanse the area, apply Band-Aid or ice as needed.
If the child needs to be seen by a physician, the
steps that will occur are
(but not limited to) the
following:
1) attempt to contact parent or
guardian
2) attempt to contact child’s
physician
3) attempt to contact parent or
guardian through a friend or relative
4) if unable to contact parent,
guardian or physician, the Center will either call
an ambulance or take the child
to an emergency room.J.
Illness at the
CenterNo child is to be
at the Center if they are visibly ill. We sympathize
with the difficult situation this could cause, but
we want to be considerate of other families who may
also have a difficult time if their child is
infected. You should plan
ahead for alternate care if you can’t take time off
work.
Grandparents, neighbors, and friends are good
sources.
We will call and ask that a parent
come immediately to pick up a child who has a fever
of
101 degrees or higher, has an undefined rash, has
intestinal upset, diarrhea or vomiting,
sore or
discharging eyes (including, but not limited to
conjunctivitis - pink eye) or ears,
or has profuse
or discolored nasal discharge.Children need to be
fever
free without medication
when returning to the Center. If you request that
we administer fever reducing medicine during the
course of the day, we reserve the right to take your
child’s temperature before such medication is given.K.
MedicationsWe
prefer that all medications be administered to your
child by you at home. However, if your child
needs
to be given medication while at the Center
the medication must
be in the original bottle with the original label
and have the child’s name clearly printed on it. A
medication permission must be filled out, signed and
dated before any medication will be dispensed at the
Center. A tag will be placed on the back of your
child, stating the time the medication is to be
given.L.
Fire
In the event of a fire, a manual fire
alarm system will be used. Two blasts from a Coast
Guard air horn
will signal staff to remove all
children according to a prearranged escape route and
practiced fire drills M.
Food Service
Little Lambs Child Care Center serves
a nutritious, well balanced breakfast, lunch, and
snack each day.
The food is served in quantities
which meet or exceed the guidelines of the Federal
Child Nutrition Act.
Children with special dietary
needs or allergies are worked with on an individual
basis. Please see
the Director for the necessary
forms needed if it becomes necessary to make any
changes or
substitutions on our menu. Infant foods
and formulas must be supplied by the parent.No food may be
brought from home except for birthday treats or
special occasions. For safety reasons
do not send
gum or hard candy. We also ask that if your child is
eating in the car on the way to the
Center that this
food be finished or left in the car, rather then
bringing it into the Center to finish.
Food will be served family style to
encourage and teach table manners, as well as math
skills,
small motor skills and communication skills.
A monthly menu will be included with
the Little Lambs Newsletter or may be picked up at
the sign in desk.
In the operation of
the Child Care Food Program
no child shall be
discriminated against because of
race, color, national
origin, sex, age, or handicap.
Any person who
believes that he or she has been
discriminated against
any USDA-related activity
should write
immediately to the Secretary of
Agriculture,
Washington, D.C. 20250N.
CONFERENCES
Conferences may be requested at any
time that the Director, Teacher or Parent feels
there is a need.
Our regularly scheduled
Conferences occur in the Fall and/or the Spring.
O.
FIELD TRIPS AND
SPECIAL EVENTS
Through the course of the year we
endeavor to provide extra curricular programs for
the child. These may include, but are not limited
to, gymnastics, trips to the Library/Museum and
walks to the Nelbert Tot Lot,
located on Konkle
Street, around the corner from the Center. We
regularly use the Book Mobile and
have a Librarian
come to the Center to share books and stories with
the children.
Community helpers - dental hygienist,
nurse, veterinarian, scientist, etc. visit our
Center to compliment
our themes.
If you have any questions or comments
about Little Lambs Childcare
Center,
you can call us at (269) 344-9731, or email
us at
littlelambs2031@yahoo.com at any time.
