The Crayon Box
Operational Policy Handbook
Welcome to my home childcare! I hope you and your child/children will feel welcome and loved here. This is the policy handbook I have to help us establish a great working relationship. I believe the children will learn a lot through playing and interacting with the other children in my care. We have learning time and play time and nap time and just being silly time. I hope your child will feel at home in our home!
I work on preparing your child for Preschool through different activities and an interactive curriculum. We also use computer time for preschool lesson.
My hours: My hours of operation are from 7:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. There will be times when a situation comes up and I will have to take my child to school, (this is rare) but if this occurs I will call you immediately so we can come up with a solution for drop off or me picking up your child on the way to my son's school.
Discipline is always
handled on this belief: The child is a good person – it is
his/her behavior that is unacceptable and needs to be changed or guided to a
more acceptable means of expression.
Payment Policy: We have a yearly contract. Breaking of
this contract is stated in this Policy handbook under “Trial Period” and “Termination
Notice”. Weekly contracted tuition payment is due on Monday of each week for
the current week. This is part of our family budget and prompt payment is
necessary. This fee is due if your child is absent due to illness, vacation,
etc. Please have
a backup provider in case I become ill or I take vacation.
I will give as much notice on illness. I will give about a month notice
on any vacation I will take. I take 1 to 2 weeks vacation a year. I get one
week paid vacation and any other vacation week I take is not paid.
Late Payment Fee: If you do not pay me on the first day
of care each week, you will incur a $10 per day late fee. This does include
each weekend day as well. This fee, plus all monies owed, must be paid prior to
your child returning to care. If the first day of the week should be a snow/bad
weather day of school, payment will be due the first school day of the week.
Returned Check Fee: Any returned check will incur a $25.00 fee (or
current charge) that my bank charges my account for each returned check. You will
be responsible for any other fees that I may incur due to a returned check. If
you should ever have two returned checks, all future payments will be made in
cash.
Late Pick-up: Please understand that my family and I have plans
outside of my childcare. If you are going to be late, please give me as much
advanced notice as possible so that I can plan accordingly. Also, late pick-ups
after 6:00 P.M. will
result in late pickup fees. This fee will be $5 for the first 10 minutes late and $1 for each minute thereafter. This fee will be due immediately upon
pick-up.
Rate Increase: I
reserve the right to increase my rate at any other time that costs increase at
a significant amount.
Pick-up Time: Children
will be released to you, their parent, or to the alternate that you had placed
on the application. Children will only
be released to alternate with notification by parent. For your child’s safety I will request to see
the driver’s license of the Alternate to make sure I am releasing your child to
the proper person. If the alternate shows up and I did not get permission from
you, the parent, to release your child to that person, the child will not be
allowed to leave my care. Please remember your child’s safety is my number one
priority.
No child is allowed outside the front door alone. Upon departure, an adult, my husband, or my self must accompany a child into the front yard. This is for the safety of the children.
Medication or
over the counter medicines:
I will not administer any Medication or over the counter medicines
without a written consent by the parent. The medicine must be in its original
bottle. I would prefer that medicines be
given by the parent. If I must
administer it because of time that it is to be given, Please fill out a form
and sign it giving me complete instructions on how to administer the medication
and when. All refrigerated medications
must come in their own cold pack cooler.
Illness Policy: I follow all
guidelines required by the Texas DFPS.
If I call you for any of the following reasons, it is state law you must
pick your child up immediately. All
childcare facilities and public schools must follow these laws.
Medical Emergencies: If a child is injured, while in my care, and requires medical attention, I will call 911 and direct the ambulance to take the child to the hospital specified on their application. I will then call the parent after I make sure the child is stable. I will need home phone numbers, cell numbers and all work numbers so that I may do my best to contact the parent.
Meals: I provide breakfast, lunch, and an afternoon snack each day (for toddlers and preschoolers). Breakfast will be served prior to 8:30 AM. If your child arrives later than 9:30 AM, please feed him/her at home. Lunch is served at approximately noon. Snacks will be served at approximately 3:30. Infants who are on breast milk must have a special cooler for storage of the milk. I will then place that cooler into my large freezer to keep frozen. Please supply plenty of breast milk so your child is happy and content while in my care. When your infant begins first foods, I will begin to steam fresh vegetables and make the babies food here at my daycare. That eliminates the purchase of baby foods in glass jars or plastic containers and the food is freshly prepared. If your child is not ready for table food, I must have written feeding instructions that are signed and dated by you. I need you (the parent) to update the feeding instructions every 30 days until your child is ready for table food. This is a requirement by the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services.
Outside Play: I believe that outdoor play is important for a child’s development. We will try to have outdoor play each day depending on weather and the children’s moods. Please ensure that your child has the appropriate clothing and supplies for outdoor play - i.e. jackets for cool weather, sun block for hot days. Your child will get dirty, so please understand when they come home dirty. You may consider keeping a change of clothing either in their diaper bag/backpack or here in their special container. I have a few clothes that I keep here as spares, but I do not have a large selection.
Diapers: If your child is still in diapers or
pull-ups, you need to supply them and please supply ample amount. Again you can
send these in your child’s bag each day or keep a supply in their special
container. You are also responsible for supplying ointments, lotions, and/or
powder. Please write your child’s name
on the container for the state to see this is your permission to apply it to
your child. I will supply the wipes. If
you child has allergies to wipes, you will be responsible to supply the special
wipes your child requires.
Nap/Quiet Time: at approximately 12:00 PM to 2:30 PM,
the children will lie down for a nap or have quiet time. I use my daughter’s bedroom
and my own room. If your child has “outgrown” his/her nap, they will be
required to lie down for 30 minutes and after that they can play quietly.
Babies are in playpens in my room so as not to be disturbed by the older
children. Their nap time depends on them
and your schedule at home.
Pets: I do have three dogs that are family pets. They are very friendly dogs but are placed in my room a majority of the daycare hours. They do come out and visit with the children and go out back to do their doggy business. All dogs have their shots and have no record of biting. I do keep a close eye on the children when they interact with all three dogs. All dogs are healthy and flea free.
Parental visits: I have an open door policy. Parents of children in my care are allowed to come at any time during my business hours of operation to observe their child/children, or observe the child-care home’s operation and program activities, without prior approval. If you would like to have lunch with your child, please let me know and I will prepare extra for you. It is exciting and fun for the children to have their parents visit.
Fire Safety and Emergency Practices: It is required by the State of Texas that we have a Safety and Emergency practice in place in case of Fire, Tornado or Chemical spill disaster. I have included with my Operational policy an addition to comply with Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. Please read it and sign the paper stating you have received and are aware of where we will be outside my home due to fire or Chemical spill evacuation and where we will be in my home during a Tornado. Please know I will do all I can to protect your children if any of these should occur. (May 1, 2011)
Trial Period: Your child will be accepted into my
childcare initially on a two-week trial basis. If for some reason either you or
I feel that the arrangement is not for the best, either party can terminate care.
Termination Notice: I require a two-week notice of
termination of services needed. This should be in writing. You may opt to pay
two weeks of care in lieu of notice. I will also give the party two weeks notice in case both parties cannot agree upon services of my care.
Should
the need arise for me to terminate care due to non-compliance to policies or
excessive aggression such as continuous biting, or continual injury
to another child then NO notice will be required as to protect the other
children from more injury.
The following days are paid holidays I close on these days:
January – January 1 (New Year’s Day)
March/April-(Good Friday)
May-(Memorial Day observed)
July – July 4 (Independence Day) If July 4th should fall on a weekend, I will follow government closings for this holiday.
September – first Monday of the month (Labor Day)
November – Fourth Thursday of the month (Thanksgiving) and Friday after Thanksgiving.
December – 24, 25, and 26
December – 31
Communication: I believe that I am a partner with you
in your child’s development. I believe for this to be a successful venture, you
and I should have open communication with one another. I will try to give you a
verbal report on your child’s day each day at pick-up. For infants, I will “try”
to provide a written daily report. It will include information about meals and
diaper changes.
I look forward to having your child in my care each day. Your
children are loved while they are in my care. I enjoy the hugs and kisses that
I get each day and feel that God has blessed me in this career. I also look
forward to my relationship with you. It is important that you express your
concerns and needs to me.
To review a copy of the minimum standards and this child-care home’s most recent Licensing inspection report please go to
Main Page: http://www.dfps.state.tx.us/
Where my daycare operation is listed along with minimum standards for a child-care home: https://www.dfps.state.tx.us/child_care/Search_Texas_Child_Care/ppFacilityPortal.asp
Also a copy of my most recent inspection is located on the board above the Children’s cubbies along with all other important forms.
Texas Department Of Family And Protective Services
8700 N. Stemmons Frwy., Ste. 104
Dallas, Texas 75247
(214) 583-4253
1-800-582-6036
http://www.dfps.state.tx.us/