• Parent Information

    FAQ & General Information

  • Drop off and Pickup

    An adult must accompany your child into and out of the center. Parents of toddlers are asked to let their teacher know how their child’s morning before school was. Please sign the arrival and departure times on the attendance sheets located in each classroom. Please communicate with your child’s teacher, if someone other than you is picking up your child. For your child’s safety, we cannot release him or her to anyone without your written consent. After signing in, please help your child place his or her lunchbox on the shelf, and wash their hands. Be sure to check your child’s mailbox for special notices. Toddler and Preschool lunch boxes are kept in their classroom, so please provide an ice pack. All container and food products must be labeled and dated with your child’s name.

    Every attempt will be made to contact the parent if a child is in attendance past closing time. After 30 minutes, individuals who have been listed in the child’s file as emergency contacts will be called and asked to come get the child. By state regulation, if no one is available after 60 minutes, the state police will be contacted. There is a $15.00 per 10 minute increment per child fee after the child’s contracted pick up time.

    Behavior Management Policy

    The goal of discipline is to help the child develop inner controls so that he/she may move toward appropriate social behavior. Methods for resolving conflicts are:

    • Positive guidance
    • Setting clear limits
    • Redirection

     When disputes arise among children or between a child and teacher, the teacher will encourage a talking out process among those involved. The goal of this talking out process will be to acknowledge feelings and find solutions using children’s ideas whenever possible. A child who may be overly aggressive or is repeatedly destructive of other children’s work may be asked to make an activity choice in another area if talking things through has not resulted in better self-control. Staff will continuously supervise children during disciplinary actions. Staff may never use physical punishment, (Ex- hitting or slapping) psychological abuse (Ex-name calling or threatening) or coercion (Ex-withholding food or using force) when disciplining a child.  No child will be physically restrained unless it is necessary to protect the safety or health of the child or others, using least restrictive methods, as appropriate.

    The goal of this policy is to limit or eliminate the use of suspension, expulsion and other exclusionary measures.

    When a child engages in aggressive or unsafe behavior, the center will:

    • Remove the child from a situation where there is difficulty, explain to him/her why the behavior is inappropriate and to suggest another activity.
    • Notify the Director.
    • Meet with the child’s family to collaborate and implement action plans designed to improve the behavior and reduce the safety risks;
    • Encourage the family toward the professional supports needed for the child’s success if we do not achieve positive change through redirection and positive guidance in a reasonable time;
    • Collaborate with professional supports/resources to implement and to support our efforts and encourage positive change; (A list of support/resources is in the Parent Handbook).
    • Consider suspension or expulsion of enrollment if an unsafe situation is not resolved within a reasonable period of time. HCCC will give a list of alternative placements for the child. HCCC complies with federal and state civil rights laws.

     

    • The center reserves the right to request a parent to withdraw his/her child from our program if we feel the child’s behavior is detrimental to the well-being and/or functioning of the whole group. Examples of this behavior might be continued biting, aggressive behavior that cannot be resolved after parent/teacher conferences or adjustment problems for the child. Any conflict will be discussed at length with the parent before making a decision to withdraw the child. Biting another child hard enough to break the skin or leave a mark may constitute an immediate need for a “leave of absence” for the child for a short time.

    Medical

    No child should attend the child center if he or she has a communicable disease, a fever of 100.5 degrees of more, a rash of undetermined origin, diarrhea, green discharge from the nose, open sores, persistent cough, or vomits. If your child develops any of these symptoms, he or she should not return to the center for at least 24 hours, symptom free. The Director may require a doctor’s note before a child will be readmitted to the center after an illness.

    If your child becomes ill at the center, he or she will be isolated and you or an authorized adult will be notified. In the event of a medical emergency, you will be contacted and the ambulance will be called. Your child’s doctor will also be called as stated on the medical form and the consent-for-treatment form you signed at the time of enrollment (may also be found online).

    The teachers are authorized to give certain medications to the children when the State guidelines are followed. If your child has a medical condition for which an emergency medication would be necessary, please see the Director so that your child’s physician can fill out the necessary permission forms. All medications will be kept in a lock box.

    Allergies

    When a child enrolls at the Housatonic Child Care Center and has known allergies, the parents will fill out the required health statements including an authorization for medications and an emergency health care plan from the physician. The Director will supply both of these forms. The parent will be required to have both forms signed by the child’s doctor before the child may attend the center. In addition, the parent will keep the staff well informed of the severity of the child’s allergy by answering the following questions:

    • What is the specific allergy?
    • What foods or other substances should be avoided?
    • How might an allergic reaction be triggered?
    • What symptoms does your child display?
    • What steps has the child’s doctor told you to follow in the event that symptoms of a reaction occur?
    • Will the child need to be isolated from other children during snack and lunch time?
    • Has your child ever had to use Benedryl or an Epi-Pen because of an allergy attack? How well did he/she respond? Was it necessary for your child to go to the hospital?

    For our complete Illness Policy, please click here. Be sure to review all policies before enrolling your child. 

  • Items From Home

    For Preschool:

    • Fitted sheet and blanket
    • Lunch (we provide AM and PM snack)
    • Extra set of clothes
    • Jacket, sweatshirt, or snow clothes depending on the season
    • Bug spray and sun lotion of your choice clearly labeled with your child’s name

    For Toddlers:

    • Snacks and lunch with all containers clearly marked with the child’s name and date
    • Sippy cups clearly marked with the child’s name
    • All food cut into 1/2″ pieces! When the little ones are hungry they are hungry NOW and the teachers need to open the lunch box and get them fed as quickly as possible without having to take the time to prepare the food
    • Extra set of clothes
    • Jacket, sweatshirt or snow clothes depending on the season
    • Diapers for the week
    • 3 packs of wipes per month
    • Crib sized sheet
    • Soft blanket for rest
    • Cuddly toy that will comfort your child
    • Bug spray, sun lotion, and diaper cream of your choice clearly labeled with your child’s name

    For Infants:

    • Snacks and lunch with all containers clearly marked with the child’s name and date
    • Bottles and/or sippy cups clearly marked with the child’s name
    • All food cut into 1/2″ pieces! When the little ones are hungry they are hungry NOW and the teachers need to open the lunch box and get them fed as quickly as possible without having to take the time to prepare the food
    • Extra set of clothes
    • Jacket, sweatshirt or snow clothes depending on the season
    • Diapers for the week
    • 3 packs of wipes per month
    • Soft blanket for rest
    • Cuddly toy that will comfort your child
    • Bug spray, sun lotion, and diaper cream of your choice clearly labeled with your child’s name

    Snacks and Lunch

    The parent provides the morning snack and lunch and the afternoon snack. Every child should have an ice pack in their lunch box. Food items need to be labeled and dated with the child’s name. Please use a thermos for foods you want to be served warm. We are not a “nut free” center, however, nuts are choking hazards and cannot be sent as snacks for infants/toddlers and preschooler’s who are 3 and under. 

    Toddlers need to come to school with food cut up into small pieces, even if this is different than what you do at home. The teachers often have eight children to feed at a time and it can be quite scary when they need to react to a child having difficulty swallowing. The preschool children are encouraged to open their snacks and lunches themselves and eat their healthy foods first. Please limit the desserts (no gum, candy, or fruit snacks) and try to eliminate as many prepackaged foods as possible. A basket containing napkins, plastic spoons, forks, and cups are at each lunch table.

    Toddler parents are always asking for suggestions for food to pack. It is important to offer a nutritious variety of foods yet allowing the toddler to decide how much and what they will eat. Snacks could include various cheese cut into small pieces; fresh, frozen or canned fruit; applesauce; grapes which are cut in half, length wise; yogurt; toast; hard boiled eggs; and crunchy items such as, crackers, cereal, rice cakes, and granola bars. PLEASE NO popcorn, pretzels, nuts, raw peas, chunks of carrot or whole grapes, as well as whole or chunked hot dogs, which could be a potential for choking.

  • Office Hours and Conferences

    Both the Director and Assistant Director are present approximately 90% of business hours and have alternating schedules. There is an open door policy unless there is a meeting in progress, in which notice will be posted. Discussions about your child’s progress are always welcomed. If the Director is participating with the children in the program, she is happy to answer quick questions or stop in the office to discuss questions, concerns, or suggestions. A need for a longer talk can take place in the comfortable surroundings of the office at a time convenient to you. Please call anytime for an appointment.

     

    Parent-Teacher Conferences are held twice a year. We encourage you to sign up so that teachers can share your child’s portfolio and profile, and questions, concerns, and your goals for your child can be discussed. You’ll be given a pre-conference form to complete in advance. Please be assured that any assessment tools are used only by the teachers and are confidential as our staff non-disclosure policy states. You would also be asked to give permission in writing to release any information to other agencies or our consultants at any time.