There is one Infant classroom and one Toddler classroom. Each room is staffed with a full-time Head Teacher, full-time Assistant Teacher, and part-time student teacher aides with occasional interns from Kishwaukee College or NIU.Our professional staff qualifications; exceed Illinois licensing standards. Head Teachers have Bachelor degrees in Child Development / Early Childhood Education / related field and the Assistant Teachers have Associates degrees (most often in Early Childhood Education).
The standards for Illinois licensing to be a teacher in an early childhood classroom is that one must have 60 college credit hours and have taken 6 credit hours in child development / early childhood education. A college degree is not required.
NIU Campus Child Care Center is committed to providing high quality care with skilled and educated professional staff.
Continuity of care is the high-quality practice of having teachers and children stay together for several years, rather than children changing teachers and groups of peers each year or more frequently. Because learning occurs simultaneously with emotional attachment, it is best for young children to have a stable caregiver throughout their early years. We strive for continuity of care - which is looped through the Infant, Toddler, and Two’s/Three’s classrooms at Campus Child Care. Children are moved up as a group into the next classroom one time a year with one of their teachers. Once in a preschool room, they have the potential to remain there until age 5. Staying in the same preschool room allows for continuity by having the same caregiver and group of children. This practice fosters strong attachments and benefits the children by giving them caregivers who know them and their parents well.All the children in our center will have a Primary Caregiver. The primary-caregiver system ensures that every child has a "special" person and that each parent has a primary contact. Either the Head Teacher or the Assistant Teacher will be your child’s primary. The primary caregiver forms a caring, nurturing, and responsive relationship with your child. In the classroom, she will be the "expert" on your child knowing pertinent information like your child’s individual schedule, developmental abilities and special needs, sleeping needs, and individual interests. Having a primary caregiver gives children a secure base. They learn to trust someone familiar who will care for them as they explore and who will be there to comfort them when they are tired, upset, or frightened. Their relationship with a primary caregiver helps children feel secure enough to relate to other adults in the child care setting. However, "primary" does not mean exclusive. Children should not become totally dependent on the presence of one person. The other staff in the classroom will develop a warm relationship with your child and have caring and learning interactions as your child explores the learning environment. Parents will have a parent conference at the end of each fall and spring semester with their child’s primary caregiver.
As a child care center, we are a community of children, parents, and staff all interacting and sharing our lives together. In a community, people work closely together and hopefully interactions are positive, helpful, kind, and understanding. Yet it is to be expected that from time to time people will experience some conflict, some concerns, and some difficulties. We recognize that parenting is one of the most difficult, intense and rewarding experiences in your life. We want you to share your thoughts, hopes, and dreams for your child. You want what is best for your child and we know it is your job to advocate and protect your child.We, as a staff, will make mistakes, create misunderstandings, and occasionally miscommunicate. When these mistakes occur, we want for you to tell us. As a staff it is our goal to offer your family the best in child care services possible. In order to meet our goal, we need your input, your suggestions, your questions, and concerns.
When you have a concern, please remember…..
- Teachers want the parents to feel very satisfied with the care their child is receiving.
- Talk to the teachers directly whenever possible. If you feel comfortable, ask your child’s teacher first about any concern. Teachers prefer that you talk with them directly, but they do understand if you would prefer to talk with the assistant director or director.
- REALIZE that if you have a concern with a teacher, the assistant director or director will need to inestigate and talk with the teacher directly about your concern and deal with the issue in a straightforward manner so the teacher can improve her performance and/or correct any mistakes or misunderstandings.
- Be assured that teachers do not hold a grudge against your child or "take it out" on your child after you have expressed a concern. We would not hire anyone at our center that would react in such an inappropriate manner. Actually, after expressing a concern, your child’s teacher will be more conscientious about your issue and try to improve.
- Consider using the "once is OK" rule. With minor issues, allow staff to make a mistake once or twice, but when it becomes a pattern, it is definitely a time to bring it to their attention.
- On the other hand, don’t allow concerns to build up. As concerns occur, share them with the teachers. It is disturbing to find out "later" that a parent had a number of concerns and never expressed them.
- Sometimes we cannot make changes you may request due to other restrictions, but we ALWAYS want to hear your suggestions. We promise to consider them seriously and respond to you in a timely manner.
The daily schedule for the children is a guide. It provides a framework for planning and organizing the daily routine and play activities for the children. The daily routines for children may be a little different based on the age of your child. Infants follow their own biological needs. They are fed, changed, and nap when they need it. Toddlers are changed/taken to the toilet before transitions in the day and as needed. Adjustments to the schedule are made as your child gets older and his/her needs change. You may also notice that as your child gets older, s/he may alter her/his own schedule to fit in with the group. Some common changes you may notice in your child’s behavior after enrollment in any group care situation include altered sleep/wake patterns (staying awake for longer hours or napping more frequently for short periods of time) or changes in appetite.The daily schedule below is an outline of a typical day with the infants and toddlers. Keep in mind again that, if needed, the schedule will include children’s individual needs based on their age. This is a sample that includes the different types of components to the daily schedule.
It is helpful to note for parents with children in the Toddler classroom that scheduling your child to be dropped off between 12:00 – 2:30 can be potentially disruptive for the classroom. During nap time it is often hard for a toddler to be dropped off into a dark and quiet room and not be able to move around a lot and play. Although Campus Child Care has flexible scheduling available, please be aware that nap time is truly a difficult time for this age group to be dropped off and is potentially hard for your child and disruptive to the sleeping children.
Typical Daily Schedule
7:15 - 9:00 Free play and diapering/toileting
9:00 - 9:15 Snack Time
9:15 - 9:30 Group Time
9:45 - 10:45 Outdoor Time
10:45 - 11:30 Free play/art/diapering/toileting
11:30 - 12:00 Lunch
12:00 - 2:30 Naptime
2:30 - 3:00 Transition from Nap/diaper changes/toileting/free play
3:00 - 3:15 Snack Time
3:15 - 3:30 Group Time
3:30 - 5:45 Art/outdoor play/free play/diapering/toileting
There are two snack times and a lunch time every day. Campus Child Care makes every effort to provide your child with wholesome, low sugar foods and to introduce your child to a variety of food tastes and textures. Snack foods include cereals and crackers, fruits and vegetables, yogurt, cheese, juice, and milk. Menus are posted outside your child’s classroom on the parent information bulletin board.Young infants will be fed according to their own schedule. As they grow and start eating solid foods, their eating needs will change and the eating times will be adjusted toward the group schedule. During lunch, infants not yet eating table food will be served cereals and jarred foods. Campus Child Care participates in the Child and Adult Care Food Program and is required to provide all of your child’s food including an iron-fortified formula. Formula is the only food that parents may opt to bring in their own based on preference (another formula brand or breast milk). Parents indicate this choice on a form sent with their initial enrollment packet and this choice can be changed at any time during the semester. There is no reduction in fees when a parent provides breast milk or formula.
As your infant grows and becomes more adept at eating, s/he will be using their fingers for eating "finger-foods" and working on using infant utensils. As infants gradually start to eat cereals, jarred foods, and table foods, parents will inform the teachers in the classroom as to what their child can eat. It is recommended that infants try new foods at home first, then parents can add the new food to the classroom list.
If your infant (eating table food) or toddler should have a food allergy or a food intolerance, please notify your child’s teacher immediately and a doctor’s note must be given to the center stating exactly what foods cannot be given to your child. If a doctor’s note is not provided we must provide the child with all the food we are serving for that meal. When a child has an allergy or an intolerance it is the parent’s responsibility to provide an appropriate food substitute.
Bottles
Parents of bottle-fed babies will need to provide 2 - 3 labeled bottles, nipples, and lids. If you are breast feeding your child, all breast milk must be dated and have your child’s name on it. Fresh breast milk will be stored for 24 hours in the refrigerator or up to two weeks in the freezer. Milk that exceeds this time frame will be discarded. Contents remaining in any bottle must be discarded within two hours. Only breast milk, formula, or water will be placed in your child’s bottle. No bottles will be served with cereal or any other food product in them. Juice can only be served from a tippy cup. Mothers are welcome to come and breastfeed their infants at any time. If a parent chooses, they are welcome to use the nursing room at any time. It is a cozy room with a couple of gliders.
We provide infant drinking water to make the formula for the infants. Bottles are not heated in the microwave, as this will produce "hot spots" in the formula or breast milk, and are warmed by a small crock pot with water.
If your child is breast fed and a parent forgets to bring in breast milk or the frozen supply is depleted, the infant will be fed our formula. We will try and get in touch with your first to see if breast milk can be supplied by you soon. However, if we are unable to get in touch with you and your child is hungry, we will feed him or her the formula served at the center.
Children who are 12 months and older will be given the lunches and snacks that are being served and drink whole milk. The Food Program allows one month after a child's first birthday to continue with formula. If formula is served past age 13 months then a doctor's note must be in your child's file for this. Breast milk is considered the equivalent to cow's milk and does not require the note from your child's doctor to continue.
The older infants will be sitting in chairs with trays or a small table with chairs and toddlers will be at tables to eat their meals. Children in the toddler room will be using tippy cups or regular cups and using utensils. Depending on the age grouping of children in the Toddler room, bottle drinking may or may not be a practice. For example, if a young toddler around 12 months is in this room, then considering this child’s use of a bottle, it may be comforting or helpful in the transition to a tippy cup for the bottle to be used at times. It is our goal to work cooperatively with the families and their child’s routine; however, bottles are not the common practice as the toddlers get older. Bottled infant water is only provided for making bottles and serving to the infants to drink. We do not purchase bottled water for any other purposes. The children have access to tap water in the Toddler room at any time of the day through the drinking fountain at the sink.
Infants nap according to their own schedules. If an infant should fall asleep while being rocked, lightly bounced, or taken for walk in a stroller, they will be put in their cribs to continue their sleep. As your child grows and matures, cot sleeping will be encouraged. This will assist especially in the transition from the Infant room to the Toddler room when that time comes. Toddlers also will nap on a cot. All the bedding for infants and toddlers is provided by the center and is washed here.Infants will be placed on their backs to sleep in a crib. The infants at Campus Child Care are provided with a firm, tight-fitting mattress in a crib that meets current safety standards. There will be no pillows, quilts, bumpers, comforters, sheepskins, stuffed toys, or other fluffy products in the crib. Two children are never sharing a crib at the same time. A blanket and sheet will be provided for your infant and toddler. The above practices are supported by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. These practices are required by the DCFS licensing standards.
We understand that practices may be different at home and that some children have unique situations (e.g. – twins that may sleep together in the same crib). However, we must follow licensing guidelines and adhere to the above stated policies. It may or may not be difficult for some children to adjust if they are used to sleeping in a different position or with a parent/sibling.
Campus Child Care provides disposable diapers and wipes for children in the Infant and Toddler classrooms. Your child will be changed at regular intervals throughout the day and as needed. Store-bought wipes are used when changing your child; we will use plain water and wash clothes for children with a diaper rash. We have Desitin to put on rashes; feel free to bring in any other cream if you would like it to be applied to your child’s rash. We will not be applying baby powder on the infants. The use of powder has been linked to childhood asthma and other respiratory difficulties. If your child has an allergic reaction to the disposable diapers provided at the center, the parent can bring in disposable diapers that will not cause this reaction. (Typically we have been using Luvs or Huggies; however, this is subject to change at any time.) There is no reduction in fees when a parent provides their own diapers.
With infants commonly on the floor, Campus Child Care wants to provide a clean, safe, and healthy environment in the Infant Room. We practice a "shoe-free" policy in this room. We ask that adults entering the carpeted area of the infant room please slip a pair of shoe covers over their shoes. We take this action to prevent outside contaminants from being brought into the room and spread onto the carpet; particularly during the cold weather with the snow and salt. The infants spend much of their time exploring on the floor, so it is best that these areas be kept as clean as possible.
Active and sometimes messy play is going to be a part of your child’s day. It is recommended that children wear comfortable, washable play clothes that are easy to move around in and okay if something spills on it! Children must be dressed in clothing and not just wearing a diaper and/or Onesie. Parents are asked to bring a complete change of labeled clothing, including socks, onesies, shirts, pants, shorts, etc. to be left at school. If clothing items are not labeled it makes it extremely difficult to remember which items of clothing go to which children. It is also a good idea to keep a light sweater or sweatshirt in your child’s cubby in case it feels a little chilly that day. For older infants who are walking, it is helpful if parents keep a clean pair of shoes here at the center for your child to wear in the classroom.
Children who are enrolled in the warmer months should also bring a hat, sunglasses, and sunscreen. Sunscreen will not be applied to infants under 6 months. If you want your child to have sunscreen applied before reaching 6 months of age a doctor’s note must be provided to the center stating your child can have sunscreen applied to him/her.
Children who are enrolled in the colder, winter months must be properly dressed to go outside. Every child goes outside. Infants must have warm and protective clothing and toddlers need to have clothing appropriate for playing on the playground (boots, snowpants, hats, scarf, waterproof mittens).
Parents of infants are asked to bring 2 - 3 labeled bottles to be kept at the center. This includes the nipples, rings, lids and disposable bags (if needed). We prefer for children in the toddler room to drink from tippy cups instead of bottles.
If your child uses a pacifier, parents are asked to provide a labeled one. Children in the Infant room who use pacifiers will have them on an as-needed basis throughout their day. Children in the Toddler room who use them will have a pacifier only at nap time. Toddlers will not be allowed to walk around the classroom with a pacifier during the day for the following reasons: it is not healthy for a child to pick up a pacifier off the floor once dropped and put back into their mouth; another child may put someone else’s pacifier in their mouth; it is difficult to understand a child who is trying to talk with one in his/her mouth; and, their muscles in their mouth and tongue need to learn how to work when they talk without a pacifier in it.
If your toddler has a special "lovey" to sleep with, like a small stuffed animal or small blanket, please label it and your child will have it during nap. At times a new child may have a hard time transitioning, we try and work with the families in helping this adjustment be less stressful. A toddler bringing a comfort item to help him or her transition into child care is certainly welcome. Eventually, your child will not feel the need for it at school and will have formed positive relationships with his teachers. We view transitional comfort items as something that will benefit the child in helping him/her feel secure in this new environment.
Parent Pocket and Cubby – Children will have a cubby and a parent pocket assigned to them. Cubbies will hold a child’s outdoor clothing, bags, or other personal items. Parent pockets should be checked each time your child comes to school. Newsletters, notes from your child’s teacher, and other pertinent information is placed here.
Daily Verbal Communication – We encourage parents to talk with their child’s teacher at drop-off and/or at pick-up. It is important for the teacher to know information about your child, like how they slept last night, when they ate last, if they have any medicine, if they are teething, etc. The sharing of this information is important to best meet your child’s needs.
Diaper/Nap Board – In the infant room there is a dry-erase board that communicates to parents the diaper changes, nap times, and feeding times/food eaten/amounts of all the children. For bottle fed babies it will also indicate how many ounces were eaten at that time. The toddler room will also have a dry erase board to communicate the diapering. Napping times are on a dry-erase paper in the Parent Information bulletin board.
Monthly Newsletters – A monthly newsletter is provided to parents sharing information on child development topics, curriculum, policies, and other announcements.
Parents are welcome at any time to come and visit their child. For mothers who are breast feeding, the infant room provides a comfortable and peaceful area to enjoy that feeding time. Observation booths are also available for you to come and watch your child without him/her knowing you are here.
For some children, particularly toddlers, multiple separations from the parent during the day may make the transition to school more difficult. If you find that your visits are more upsetting to the child than consoling, you may want to take advantage of the observation booth viewing for awhile.
Each semester a family social is planned. This could include events like: a potluck, a picnic lunch, a fun curriculum night, ice cream social, or a breakfast. Attending these events are great ways to show your child that school is part of the family routine and to strengthen the bond between home and school.
Parent conferences are scheduled two times a year (Fall semester and Spring semester) and may also be held at any time parents or teachers find it necessary. The infant and toddler years are marked by so much growth and change that conferences are a good time to discuss all the developmental issues surrounding them. Teachers put out sign up sheets prior to the times conferences will be held. Parents are encouraged to sign up to talk with their child’s primary. A developmental summary is shared with the parents during this time. Parent conferences typically take around 30 minutes.
During the first two years of life, children are working on acquiring a sense of trustworthiness of oneself and others. This is the sense of safety and security that comes from responsive and predictable care from familiar others to whom the child is attached. In the toddler years, a strong sense of autonomy is building. This comes from being treated as an individual and being allowed opportunities for independence.When children feel the sense of independence, power, and competence, they can step out into the world and be active learners and problem solvers. Young children need a safe environment full of opportunities to explore and have fun. They need to be able to see, touch, feel, and move.
The curriculum for the infants and toddlers involves everything that happens to the child throughout the day. Responsive care giving is the key component to setting up a safe and secure environment and trusting relationships. Everything that a child experiences is a learning opportunity. For example, diaper changes are perfect opportunities for learning experiences: language, singing gently to a child; showing gentle touches; letting the child know that this is not a hurried or rushed experience and that they are valued and precious individuals; gently moving their legs in a bicycle motion stimulating movement or having them reach and grasp for an object. Throughout the day, teachers will take advantage of these caregiving experiences that are so important in the early years of life and turn them into meaningful and positive experiences for a child’s healthy development.
Along with the individual caregiving moments, teachers will also plan and organize their environments to provide experiences which enhance motor development – reaching, grasping, crawling in and out, throwing, pulling; cognitive development – object permanence, cause and effect experiences, language, listening and responding to sounds and voices, and problem solving; social development – playing among others, positive peer interactions, and expressing emotions towards others.
Planning for infants and toddlers does not necessarily involve "lessons" but rather opportunities for experiences that as individuals they can make the most out of. When teachers organize materials for the room, they take into account children’s individual differences along with their knowledge child development. Planning is based on observations of the children using their interests, their new skills, and their reactions to materials. As the children grow and change, the teachers change the classroom environment. They may put out more challenging climbing equipment or add a building area with different toys. A classroom may look very different at the end of a semester than it did at the beginning!
Group care poses many different and new situations that children are exposed to on a daily basis. One thing they are typically exposed to is different types of illness. As a general center policy, we do not refuse mildly ill children. Children may have a cough or a sniffle and still attend our center. Please refer to the Parent Handbook for more center related policies concerning Health and Safety.It is common for infants and toddlers to frequently get sick in group care. Perhaps you will see a runny nose lasting a long time or you find yourself visiting the pediatrician every few weeks during those colder months. Children this young have not yet built up their natural antibodies for fighting off viruses and bacteria that invade their little bodies. Young children’s immune systems are immature, making them less resilient to illness.
Handwashing
At Campus Child Care, we are firm in the belief of healthy practices. Hand washing is one of the best ways to cut down on the transmission of germs. Teachers in the classrooms follow proper handwashing techniques through out the day – including but not limited to: before and after eating or handling food; before and after feeding a child; before and after diapering; after handling or cleaning body fluids - after wiping noses, mouths, bottoms, sores; after outdoor activities; upon entering the classroom. Children as well engage in many handwashings throughout the day. In the Toddler room, the children have a sensored sink to turn water on and off – reducing the spread of germs from child to child.
General Disinfecting
Toys that have been mouthed in the Infant and Toddler classrooms are disinfected every day throughout the day. Teachers often will place a toy into a container after a child has mouthed it to be cleaned in the next batch. At the end of the day, other equipment and materials will be cleaned as well. The diaper changing area is disinfected after each use. A bleach solution is used for general disinfecting and the infant room has a dishwasher for sanitizing.
Fresh Air/Outdoor Play
Classrooms are aired frequently; particularly during the colder months with warm, stale heated air warming the center. The children play outdoors daily weather permitting. Fresh air in the colder months does not cause or promote illness; it actually facilitates good health. Cold air is not related to making a child sick. If a child is in attendance during the outdoor time, s/he is healthy enough to then go outside with the rest of the children. All children in attendance during their classroom’s outdoor play time will be going outside.
The outdoor policy is clearly stated in the CCC Parent Handbook. The infants and toddlers will be going outside unless it is raining, the heat index is over 100, and on winter days when the wind chill is below 10 degrees. Parents may not make requests for their child to stay inside while the rest of the group is outside. If these requests were granted, there would be serious staffing issues. For example, if 1 infant was left inside with 1 teacher, that would leave 8 infants to be with only 2 teachers – creating a 4:1 ratio of children to teachers for that group. Granting these requests are not feasible, not practical, and not fair to the other families and children. The program requirements for all ages in the Illinois State Licensing Regulations state:
Section 407.2:
- "The facility shall provide a basic program of activities geared to the age levels and developmental needs of the children served. The daily program shall be posted, and shall provide:
- Daily indoor and outdoor activities in which children make use of both large and small muscles . . . .
The following is a statement on Outdoor Play that was developed and reviewed by the 4-C (Community Coordinated Child Care) Nurse and the 4-C Health Advisory Committee.
Programs are expected to include outdoor experiences in their daily activities during all seasons. Children benefit from the fresh air by breathing air that has fewer germs in it than indoor air and outdoor exercise will increase their general fitness and resistance to infection.
Colds and flus are more common during winter months because they spread easily when people spend more time in closed, heated, and stuffy rooms. Breathing warm, dry indoor air irritates tissues in the nose and throat making it easier to catch a cold. Therefore outdoor experiences help promote health not illness.
When it is very cold with the wind chill temperature of 10 degrees F or lower, children should spend only 15 or 20 minutes outside at a time and be dressed appropriately for the weather.
Taking the children outside is considered healthy practice in a quality child care program. Of course the infants and sometimes toddlers are not as mobile and free to move and play in the snow as the preschoolers are. Taking them on short walks in the buggies and providing them with fresh air and sunshine is what they need to get.
Laundering/Sleeping Materials
The bedding on the cribs and cots are washed at least twice per week. When illnesses are prevalent, laundering happens even more often. After every sheet change, the cots or crib mattresses are disinfected. Both the infant and toddler rooms have a washer and dryer. The infant soft toys are able to be washed as much as needed to prevent the spread of germs.
All children entering group care should be immunized against disease at appropriate ages as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Children must have a medical exam, TB skin test (for those 1 year and older) and immunizations in place prior to the first day of attendance at Campus Child Care Center.
Immunizations happen on a regular basis during the first year of life. It is understandable that there are sometimes side-effects resulting from these, a couple being pain and/or a mild fever. If accompanied by a doctor’s note, we can administer an over-the-counter pain reliever brought in by you after your child’s immunizations indicating that is specifically for the relief of pain due to immunizations. We cannot administer medication as a fever-reducer. The center’s policy for a child being sent home for a fever is 101 degrees or above. Typically, immunizations do not create high fevers; however, if your child does have this high of a fever, regardless of it being the result of immunizations or an illness, parents will be notified to come and pick up their child.