Community Connection for Child Care

Community Connection for Child Care Spring 2018

...Making the Connection

Who We Are In this issue…

Kern County’s only child care Are you prepared in case of a natural disaster?
Resource and Referral Agency,
Community Connection for Child The current California wildfires has many Third—Complete a family emergency plan.
Care (CCCC) is a child develop- of us wondering if we’re prepared in case Ready.gov has some samples that can be
ment and family services agency of a natural disaster. One of the questions downloaded.
dedicated to providing options, we may be asking ourselves is what will we Fourth—Make sure to practice your plan.
education and support to chil- do if our family is not together? Ready.gov
dren, families, child develop- has a check list on this topic.
ment professionals, and the
community. First—Put a plan together and discuss it

Where you can find us with your family.

2000 K Street, Suite 110  Find out how you will receive emer- Ready Kern
Bakersfield, CA 93301 gency alerts and warning?
(661) 861-5200
(877) 861-5200 Toll Free  What will you do for shelter? The Kern County Fire Department has devel-
(661) 861-5262 Fax
 How will you evacuate? oped a “state of the art” emergency notifi-
CCCC is open Monday—Friday
7:30 AM to 5:00 PM  How will your family members contact cation system for Kern county residence and

Resource & Referral (R&R) each other? business owners. They system is designed
Is open Monday t0 Friday
8 AM to 5 PM to quickly notify individuals who sign up for

Working to meet the child care Second—Make a list of each individual this system in the event of an earthquake,

needs of Kern County since 1977! family members needs take into considera- severe weather, fires, floods, or evacuation

tion each age group. of buildings or neighborhoods.

 What location does each family mem-

ber frequent? To sign up for this service or to obtain more

 List school names for each school-age information on this service—visit the Kern

child along with teachers names and County Fire Department website at:

room number. http://www.kerncountyfire.org/education/

 Does anyone have a special diet? ready-kern.html

 Is there a preference in religion of spe-

cial cultural instructions?

 List pets and their names.

Operated by the Kern County Superintendent of Schools, Office of Mary C. Barlow

Community Connection for Child Care Spring 2018

Message from the Director

In light of the natural disasters many have So, on behalf of our staff I wish you a happy and joyful
experienced recently, we are compelled to Spring season. Take some time to enjoy the blue sky, hear
dedicate our Spring 2018 Newsletter edi- the birds sing, and smell the Spring flowers.
tion to providing you with information on
emergency preparedness and disaster Sincerely,
planning. Cheryl F Nelson, DPA

As Californians, we know that fires, floods, and earthquakes
are very real and have the potential of causing a great deal
of stress, especially if there is a need to evacuate. We also
know that this can be a very stressful time for children who
may not understand the full impact of a disaster. So, being
prepared for a disaster is very important. This includes hav-
ing a Plan A and a Plan B.

Additionally, you will find in this edition our upcoming Spring
events, including our very popular Greg & Steve Children’s
Concerts. None of this would be possible without the pas-
sion and dedication of our Community Connection for Child
Care staff.

New licensed child care provider disaster preparedness requirements Best Practice suggestions from Community Care Licensing

Due to the current wildfires, Community Care Licensing  Child care providers should build an emergency kit
has new disaster preparedness requirements. large enough to accommodate the number of chil-

 Licensed child care providers must create a written dren in their home and number of staff.

disaster or emergency plan for their child care facili-  Providers should have a back up plan if the relocation
ty. site is impacted by the emergency.
 Child care providers need to make sure the day care  Providers should understand “911” procedures and
protocol.
children and staff know the signs for several types

of disasters.
 They must practice and document their emergency For more information on these updates, please visit the
drills with the day care children and staff every six Community Care Licensing website at:
http://ccld.ca.gov/res/pdf/CCSummer2016.pdf
months.

 They must include a plan for infants and children

with special needs.

 They need to make sure that parents contact infor-

mation is up to date.

 Large child care facilities need to establish more

than one way to inform staff of emergencies.

Operated by the Kern County Superintendent of Schools, Office of Mary C. Barlow

Community Connection for Child Care Spring 2018

Upcoming Events

Greg and Steve in Concert

March 21, 2018 and March 22, 2018 Greg and Steve on stage and in action performing
Tickets are only $8.00 each their silly song.

Both concerts will begin at 10:00 AM
Doors open at 9:15 AM
Concert location:
Valley Baptist Church
4800 Fruitvale Avenue
Bakersfield, CA 93308

Tickets may be purchased with check, money or- Audience participation is always so much fun!
der, purchase order, or online. Sorry no refunds
For more information and to purchase your tickets
Visit our website at :
http://kern.org/cccc/quality-child-care-training-
opportunities/greg-steve-concert/

A Community Action Partnership classroom with Greg & Steve.
Operated by the Kern County Superintendent of Schools, Office of Mary C. Barlow

Community Connection for Child Care Spring 2018

April 16, 2018 through April 20, 2018

The Week of the Young Child™ is an annual celebration hosted by the National Association for the Educa-

tion of Young Children. Many activities are available throughout the world to help us celebrate early learn-

ing, young children, families, and early age educators .

NAEYC activity suggestions! Community Connection for Child Care Community Connection for Child Care

Monday April 16, 2018 kicks off the and the Kern County Beal Memorial and Kern Early Stars are proud to an-
week of the young child. Library invite you to help celebrate nounce the first Parent Café which will
Put on some music and get up and the children of Kern County. be held on:

dance with your child. Story time at the Kern County Beal
Memorial Library located at
Tuesday April 17, 2018 701 Truxtun Avenue
It’s Tasty Tuesday!

Invite your child to join you in the Bakersfield, CA 93301

kitchen to prepare a healthy meal or

snack. Studies show that children Tuesday April 17, 2018 April 20, 2018
eat better when they help prepare Preschool Story Time 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
the meal. For children 3-5 years of age
11:00 AM to 12 noon at the
Wednesday April 18, 2018 Larry E Reider Center
Get out the building blocks, legos, Wednesday April 18, 2018
pillow, and blanket and build a fort, Toddler Story Time 2000 K Street
castle, cars, or anything you can im- Bakersfield, CA 93301
agine. Help your child build those For children from 18 months to 2
social skills years old. Dinner and child care will be provided
for the parents and children that take
11:00 AM to 11:30 AM part.

Thursday April 19, 2018 Friday April 20, 2018 The purpose of the Parent Café is to:
Pull out the art supplies and encour- Story Telling and Enrichment Activity  Raise awareness and build capacity
age your child to create their own
piece of art. NAEYC states that chil- For ages 0-5 years old at on deliver of the Strengthening
dren develop creativity, social skills, Families Five Protective Factors
and fine motor skills with open end-
ed projects. Community Connection for Child Care Framework.

Friday April 20, 2018 2000 K Street, Room 204
Sharing Family Stories day
Pull out the photo album and share Bakersfield, CA 93301 We’d like to thank Early Childhood
your families story. Council of Kern and the Community

Connection for Child Care Foundation

for their support of the Parent Café.

Operated by the Kern County Superintendent of Schools, Office of Mary C. Barlow

Community Connection for Child Care Spring 2018

What should a preschooler know about technology?

According to Warre Buckleitner, PhD, Found- What should children know about technology

er and Editor of Children’s Technology Review, by the time they enter kindergarten?

children have been exposed to technology  Navigate a computer, iPad, and similar
since 1761 when they were introduced to devices. Move a mouse or cursor;
scissors. He states that technology should

be “integrated into a child’s daily routine so  Be aware of the power button;

that they become more adept at using  Know some common technology terms,
them.” like, digital camera, iPad, computer, inter-

How do you use and choose technology for net, mouse, keyboard, printer;

preschooler?  Have taken their first digital photo;
 Introduce and offer support to children 
Find the numerals on a QWERTY key-
and allow them to experiment, don’t try board which is your standard English
to formally “teach” then technology. computer keyboard;
 Allow them to pretend with different

types of gadgets they see their parents  Be able to type their name on a QWERTY

using like a smart phone, iPad, or laptop. keyboard;

 Allow your children to browse the web  And, understand the basic functions of a

in the context of their daily play. browser, including how to open or close Here you see Amilia helping her little brother Sylis
windows and use the back key. navigate through a matching game on an iPad.
 Allow children to use a digital camera to

take pictures to document a story.

 Introduce new technology to children

before using it in a learning center. For more on this article visit:https://

 Allow your child to search for words on www.scholastic.com/teachers/articles/

the web that result in images instead of teaching-content/what-should-preschooler-

text alone. know-about-technology/

Kids lunch recipe: Taco cups

Ingredients:
 1 pound of ground beef
 1/4 cup or 1 packet of taco seasoning
 1 cup water
 Tortilla scoops
 Shredded cheese of your choice
 Mild salsa or ketchup

Fry the ground beef until browned. Add the taco seasoning and the water.

Pick tortilla scoops that are completely whole and arrange on a baking pan. Place a small amount of taco meat in the
scoop. Sprinkle with shredded cheese. Put a small amount of salsa or ketchup on each cup. Bake in a 350 degree oven
just until the cheese is melted.

Add milk, a fruit, a vegetable (or two vegetables), and this meal is Food Program approved.

Operated by the Kern County Superintendent of Schools, Office of Mary C. Barlow

Community Connection for Child Care Spring 2018

Help us celebrate
Read Across America

March 2, 2018
9 AM—11 AM
1300 17th Street, Suite 1B
Bakersfield, CA 93301

There will be storytelling and enrichment activities for children and families.
We will also be hosting a Book Fair to promote children’s literacy.

Please RSVP with our Resource and Referral Department at (661) 861-5271

Important: Kidde Fire Extinguishers Recall

There was a safety recall on Kidde fire extinguishers with
plastic handles
and push button indicators due to failure to discharge and
nozzle
detachment that was released by the U.S. Consumer Prod-
uct Safety Commission on November 2, 2017.

If you have one of the recalled units, you should immedi-
ately contact
Kidde to request a free replacement. Call Kidde at (855)
271-0773 or visit

Operated by the Kern County Superintendent of Schools, Office of Mary C. Barlow