Happy Time Child Development Center, Inc. is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing high quality care and
education for children ages 6 weeks to 12 years.Mission Statement:
To provide a high quality, safe, nurturing environment for children in which all families are supported so that they can learn and grow together.
Philosophy:*We believe that the family is the first and most important teacher in a child’s life and as educators we will respect and support that.
*We believe that young children learn through play and creative exploration.
*We believe that young children thrive in environments that are consistent where the adults and the routines are reliable.
*We believe that young children benefit from an environment that is clean, safe and flexible to their needs.
*We believe young children need adults in their lives that are loving, caring and compassionate.
*We believe that each child is an individual and comes to us with a different set of moral and cultural values and that as educators we will respect, support and cherish these differences.
Curriculum:HTCDC uses the Creative Curriculum as the foundation of our educational program. In addition to this we
incorporate the strengths, experience and knowledge of our teachers.Happy Time is an equal opportunity educator and employer. We will not discriminate on the basis of gender, race, religion, ethnic background, age, disability or marital status.
Equal Opportunity:
The center will be open from 6:00 AM until 6:00 PM, Monday through Friday.
Admission is on a first come, first serve basis for children ages 6 weeks to 12 years.
The following documents must be on file for each child to be admitted into our center.
-
Information sheet – information about your child that will assist the staff in caring for your child properly.
-
Physical examination – completed by a physician, updated yearly. For school-age children, parent can sign form.
-
Completed immunization card – signed by physician and parent.
-
Travel and activity authorization.
-
Picture release form.
-
Parent emergency medical consent form.
-
CACFP income form
ALL OF THE ABOVE ITEMS ARE REQUIRED BY THE STATE OF IOWA.
We are fully
licensed by the State of Iowa for one hundred and twenty children. This includes
infants (ages 6 weeks to 2 years) and preschool
children and before/after school children (ages 3 years to 12 years). The Iowa
Department of Human Services, as well as the Iowa State Fire
Marshal inspects our center annually. We also participate in the Child and Adult
Care Food Program and are inspected every 3 years.
Parents must provide authorization for administering medication. Parental authorization shall be on file for each medication.
A physician or pharmacist’s directions shall accompany each prescription drug.Please accompany your child into the building. Each child shall have direct contact with a teacher or the director upon arrival to assure that an adult is in contact with the child continuously. This also provides for the early detection of apparent
illness or other conditions that may adversely affect your child or other children.Parents will sign in their child/children upon entering the center and sign them out when leaving the center.
Children are only allowed to leave the center with individuals that are listed on the Emergency Pickup List - and they MUST
have a photo ID available. Please call ahead when anyone besides the parent/guardian will be picking up your child/renA quiet area under supervision will be provided for a child who appears to be ill or injured. The parent(s) will be notified if a
child has a temperature of 100 degrees or higher. It will be up to the discretion of the director and/or supervisor if the
child shall be sent home if due to a suspected illness. A child with a temperature of 100.6 degrees will be sent home and the parent(s) will receive written notification of the illness including the time the parent was notified. The child will not be
allowed to return to the center until the 24-hour fever-free period has passed (unaided by medication). Fever due to teething
and immunizations may be given special consideration. In addition, three episodes of diarrhea, one episode of vomiting, or any other symptoms of contagious illness, in all fairness to the other children, the child will be sent home. (Other factors such as appearance, the ability to take part in planned programming and contagious illness known to be in the center will also be
considered.) Children ill with the above symptoms or any other contagious illness should remain out of the center symptom
free for 24 hours. A no-nit policy for children returning after having head lice will be enforced.Please notify the center if your child will not be attending that day, even if your child is not sick.
Escape procedures are developed and practiced monthly for disasters such as fires or tornadoes.
Please park on the right hand side of the Happy Time Drive to facilitate safe traffic flow.
Parents may bring in prescription and non-prescription medications for the teachers to administer to the children as long as the these
guidelines are followed:
- All medications must be in the original container with the original
directions intact and labeled with the child’s name.
Medications cannot be more than 1 year old and Supervisors will not administer more than what the original container
recommends for the child’s age and weight.
- Parent/Guardian must complete and sign a written Medication
Authorization Form at the front desk.
- Supervisors will record each date, time, dosage amount and initial
for each time the medication is to be given on the Medication
Authorization Form. If the child for some reason is not given the medication the teacher still must record the date, time, reason
for missed dose and initial the Medication Authorization Form.
- All medications must be stored so that they are inaccessible to
the children. If refrigeration is required the medication will be
stored in the kitchen refrigerator in a separate covered container.
- Only supervisors that have completed a Medication Administration Training will be allowed to dispense medication.
Happy Time has an annual registration fee of $25.00 for the first child; $15.00 for each additional child. This fee is due at the time of registration and helps to cover insurance costs. There is also a one-time deposit equal to one week of tuition that is due at registration. Deposit fees will be held to serve one of the following purposes: 1. Apply to the last week’s tuition in the event that a customer is scheduling to leave. 2. Apply to an account that is delinquent in payment. 3. Refund a customer in the event that a customer is scheduled to leave.
Payment is due the Monday that services are rendered. Your child may not attend the following week if the previous week is not paid in full. If you are currently on a bi-weekly or monthly payment plan (you are already paying ahead of time for services rendered), so your payment plan will stay the same.
The parents must provide baby bottles. Happy Time does provide Parent's Choice with Iron and baby food. Written feeding schedule for your child (under 2 years) is required if other than normal breakfast and lunch times.
The center provides breakfast for the school aged children at 7:00 AM and all other children at 8:00 AM. Preschool only
Food Brought From Home:
snack will be provided at 10:00 AM and lunches will be served at 11:00 AM for our younger children and 12:00 PM for our
older children. Then center will also provide afternoon snack at 2:00 PM or 3:00 PM. Monthly menus are posted on the
bulletin board in the entryway. If your child has an allergy or cannot eat a particular food, please inform the teacher. Happy
Time will need to receive written instructions from the child’s physician.
Children attending Happy Time not enrolled in school may bring prepackaged store bought snacks from home for special
occasions such as birthdays or holidays. (Due to an increase of allergies in children, snacks must be sent in their original
packaging, with the ingredients listed.) Children are encouraged to bring healthy snacks such as crackers, fruits and vegetables.
We ask that parents do not send candy, gum or soft drinks. All treats will be served along with the regular snack or meal.
Children in the school-aged classroom may decline the food that is offered and parents can provide the meal/snack if they so
choose. Again, we do encourage parents to provide healthy snacks or meals. Children’s food brought from home will be
stored in the refrigerator until mealtime to keep the food from spoiling. If a parent chooses to bring in food for their child we
ask that you label it with their name and the date.
Please dress your child in play-clothes that are washable and comfortable for jumping and playing.We will go outside everyday, weather permitting. Your child needs to bring the appropriate outside clothing for outside play
(winter-hat, mittens, boots, snow pants marked with your child’s name in each item of clothing and boots).We believe that outside time is an important part of your child’s education, so if they are too ill to participate in outdoor
activities parents should keep them home.All children need to come to the center with shirt and shoes appropriate for outdoor play.
Schedules are posted for your child’s activities in their classroom. Breakfast is served at 7:00 AM for the school aged children and 8:00 AM for all other children (please feed your child breakfast if they arrive at the center after 8:30 AM). Lunch is served at either 11:00 AM or 12:00 PM, depending on the age of your child. Morning Preschool snack will be served at 10:00 AM. Everyone will have afternoon snack at 2:00 PM or 3:00 PM, depending on the age of your child.
Happy Time Morning Preschool Only will follow the Vinton/Shellsburg School calendar for holidays/snow days. Snow days
will not be made up. Childcare will be open on Vinton/Shellsburg snow days. We will have morning preschool on
Vinton/Shellsburg conference days and in-service days. Calendars will be sent home the first day of preschool.
We plan several different field trips throughout the year. Parents will be notified in advance of each field trip. Volunteer help is always welcome and greatly appreciated.Some field trips will require an additional fee.
Transportation for field trips is provided by the Benton County Transportation system or on foot. Safety is our primary concern therefore all children riding on the Benton County Bus will be required to wear seat belts, and there will be at least one extra staff person (over required ratio) on all field trips. Also, when traveling on foot, the children will not cross busy streets and all adults present will teach and follow all traffic signs and rules.
Only children 3 and older will participate in field trips. All children must have a signed permission slip from the parent/guardian on file before participating in field trips. If a parent wishes that their child not go on field trips then alternate childcare will be provided at Happy Time (possibly in a different classroom when appropriate).
School-age children will be transported to and from school also by Benton County Transportation. All children are required to wear seat belts and follow bus rules at all times. A copy of bus rules will be given to all children and parents for reference.
Children who are not following the bus rules will have a pink slip sent home to parents explaining the situation. If three slips are sent home in one months time; the parents, Director and transportation staff will have a conference. The child will not be
allowed on the bus for 30 days. If the child continues to break the rules a second conference will be called and the child may
not be allowed on the bus again.
GUIDANCE & DISCIPLINE POLICY
Guidance & Discipline at Happy Time are used as learning tools.
Incidents will arise when children of all ages will test
their limits
with the teachers. The teachers at Happy Time will use these moments as
opportunities to help the
children learn what the boundaries of
appropriate behaviors are.
In the younger age classroom the first response to children pushing their limits will be to distract their attentions to something else. If this doesn’t work, or it is an older child is not making good choices; the teachers will explain to the child why the behavior was not appropriate. The teacher will also offers alternatives to the child’s behavior to help them learn what to do if a similar situation arises again. If the child continues to push the limits, the teacher will ask the child to sit in time out. Time out can be used as an opportunity to teach anger management or to just help the child calm down so they can understand the situation.
Teachers at Happy Time will also work to be proactive with behavior
concerns. They will provide an appropriate
environment that stimulates
the children’s learning process and encourages good behavior. Teachers
will also model good
behavior for the children. This is very important
when guiding good behaviors.
AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR POLICY
Aggressive behavior is defined as any behaviors that does or could cause injury to another child or destruction of property.
The teacher, for any incident of aggressive behavior, will fill out an incident report. The teachers will keep open lines of
communication with the parents to try to teach the child that the behavior is inappropriate. After 3 incident reports a conference will be called between the teacher, parents and director. During this conference a plan will be put into writing to help manage the situation so that no one’s safety is being compromised. If the aggressive behavior continues (if another incident report is filed) then a second conference will be called and the director will make the decision whether or not the child will be allowed to continue to attend Happy Time. The safety of all of the children in the class will be taken into consideration when this decision is made.
Biting
Biting is fairly common in young children and it
evokes strong emotions in adults both parents and educators. Biting is often
very painful and frightening for the child who is bitten. It can also be very
frightening for the child who bites. Biting happens for different reasons with
different children under different circumstances. The first step in learning to
control it is to look at why it may be happening. Teething aside, children may
bite out of curiosity, frustration or to seek attention.
When a biting occurs we remain calm and do not express frustration or anger to
the child that has bitten. We make sure all children are safe. We focus the
attention on the child who was bitten by giving them the emotional and physical
support they need. In a calm firm voice, the child that bit will be removed from
the situation addressed with a clear and simple “no” with a look of disapproval
and redirected to a positive activity. The wound will be assessed and cleansed
with soap and water. If there was blood exposure further steps will be taken to
ensure blood exposure protocols are followed. If the child that has bitten is
verbal and able to talk about the incident we will give them helpful strategies
to use next time instead of biting. Names will be kept out of the incident
reports to keep with Happy Time’s confidentiality policy. Happy Time will assess
the child to see if his/her needs are being met. Observe and document patterns
of behavior before and after biting occurs. Work together with parents to
collect information on the child to address the child’s needs and to have a
positive outcome for the child, his/her family and Happy Time.
Weapons of any kind are not allowed at Happy Time. This includes; but is not limited to, guns, knives,
explosive devices or any other objects that are being used as a weapon. Weapons and other dangerous objects shall be taken from students, parents or anyone else who brings them on Happy Time property and the authorities will be called.
Parents of children found to possess a weapon or dangerous object on childcare property shall be notified of the incident.
Confiscation of weapons or dangerous objects may be reported to the law enforcement officials and the child subject to
disciplinary action including suspension or expulsion.The director of Happy Time shall have the authority to recommend expulsion for a child on a case-by-case basis for children
Weapons under the control of law enforcement officials shall be exempt from this policy and may be displayed for
or parents who are in violation of this policy.
educational purposes with the authorization of the director of the childcare center.
Our center, as a licensed facility, is required by law to report child abuse. The law states: When in the course of working with
a child, the employee must report if there is reason to believe that the child has suffered abuse or neglect. Our staff has been
trained in mandatory child abuse/ neglect reporting.
If a parent/guardian has a concern, appeal, or grievance concerning an action, which took place at the center, the parent should orally contact the teacher/staff person with the concern and request corrective action.
The staff person will consider the information and respond to it in writing, including any corrective action taken within five
working days.If the parent/guardian does not agree with the action taken, the parent may put the concern in writing and request a meeting
with the Director, within 14 days. The concerns may be presented directly to the Director in this meeting.The Director will respond in writing to the parent/ guardian concerning any action taken within five working days.
If the parent should present the concern in writing to the Board of Directors within 30 days.
The Board of Directors will inform the parent/guardian as to when the matter will be reviewed (the next board meeting after the receipt of the complaint). The Board will hear information at that time and render a written decision concerning the center’s actions within 14 days. That decision is final.
Harassment of employees, students and parents will not be tolerated at Happy Time. Harassment includes, but is not limited to, racial, religious, national origin, age, disability, and sexual harassment. Harassment by board members, administrators,
employees, parents, vendors, and others doing business with Happy Time is prohibited. Individuals whose behavior is alleged to be in violation of this policy will be subject to discipline, up to and including, discharge or other appropriate action.
Employees, students and parents who believe they have suffered harassment shall report such matters to the Director or the
Board of Directors.
The Director and the Board of Directors have the discretion to discharge a child for any violations of the rules contained herein by either the child or the parent.The Director and the Board of Directors have the option to discharge a child for nonpayment of fees 14 days after the due date.
If you withdraw your child from Happy Time Child Development Center for any reason, and leave a balance unpaid, and
have made no arrangements to pay your bill, your balance will be forwarded to H&R ACCOUNTS in Cedar Rapids, IA.
They will make further attempts to collect on your account, and your credit may be affected.
All information concerning an individual child and his/her activities at the center are confidential. Information of specific nature
is not to be shared with anyone other than staff or parent(s)/guardian(s).Written records for individual children are kept in the Director’s office and can be only obtained by the Director or Supervisor for staff or parent(s) use.
Written records will be destroyed seven years after service to a child no longer attending the center.
You may enter Happy Time through the main entrance in
the front of the building. Our facility has a secured coded entry, so only staff
and families with the code can access the entrance. The code is to be kept
confidential. This means unauthorized visitors are never a risk to your child’s
safety. Unauthorized persons will be let in by the front office. There is a
doorbell to ring if you need attention. All doors will remain locked.
All visitors and volunteers must sign in and show out and show ID when visiting
the Center. Visitors will remain in the front lobby or if are needed to go to a
room will be escorted to the specified room and always be in the company of a
staff member. Volunteers will also be escorted to the specified room and always
be in the company of a staff member. Volunteers will sign a forms giving Happy
Time permission to perform an Iowa Record Check as well as be fingerprinted to
send into the DCI to have a national record check done.
Happy Time staff is trained to ID anyone they do not know and check the name of
that person with the forms on file or contact a supervisor for approval. Staff
as well as the supervisor on duty will monitor all persons who are permitted on
Happy Time property to make sure they are never left alone with a child and stay
in their designated area.
Staff will maintain a clear view of children at all times. Children will be
supervised at all times by taking head count, signing children in and out when
arriving and departing. No child will go unsupervised or be left alone with a
person not employed by Happy Time.
This policy is included in the parent and employee handbook as well as attached
to the volunteer/substitute record statement
HAPPY TIME MANAGEMENT/BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Happy Time Child Development Center is managed by a full time Director.
Happy Time’s Board of Directors meets the third Monday
of every month at 6:00 P.M. at the center. The Board of
Directors is made up of
a combination of Happy Time Parents and Vinton Community Members. The number on
the
Board of Directors is 9.
A list of the Happy Time Board of Directors is located in the office.
In accordance with Federal law and U.S.
Department of Agriculture policy, Happy Time Child Development Center
is
prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national
origin, sex, age, or disability.
To file a complaint of discrimination, write:Happy Time Child Dev. Center is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights
1400 Independence Avenue, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20250-9410Or call (800) 795-3272 (voice) or (202) 720-6382 (TTY).
Revised 2010
Happy Time Board of Directors