140 Liberty Street, Blanchard, Pennsylvania 16826

Busy Bees Daycare

(570) 849-0078

WELCOME TO BUSY BEES DAYCARE!

At Busy Bees Daycare, one of our sole intentions is to provide a loving and warm environment for your child to feel at peace and comfortable in when he or she is not with you. You should feel at ease and confident that your child will have daily interaction with people who care and will positively influence his or her future.

The following policies and procedures are provided to facilitate and develop a better relationship between parents and caregivers. These policies and procedures are mainly essentials to provide a more secure feeling and protection to you and your child minimizing your fears while away from each other. Please keep in mind that Busy Bees follows the guidelines of the Dept of Human Services State requirements.

We hope this Parent handbook will be most informative, helpful, and beneficial to you providing a better understanding of who we are and what we are about.

MISSION STATEMENT AND PHILOSOPHY:

The purpose of Busy Bees is to create an environment for children to grow academically, develop physically, involve socially, and experience joy and respect.

We understand that no two children have exactly the same skills or learning style, that’s why we create a setting so that each individual child can learn in a free and organized environment. Our curriculum guide consists of age appropriate learning and activities that will advance a child in his or her learning progress toward kindergarten and/or grade school and beyond.

As child-care professionals, we want to be a valuable resource for parents and their children in the growth and development process. We provide a combined one-on-one tutoring, direct instruction, and small-group work type of setting in a way that works for each child. Everything at Busy Bees has an objective and a specific use. Our prepared environment is set up so that every child can see, touch, and use.

Likewise, it is not only important to us that we provide a healthy and safe learning environment but also to facilitate a healthy lifestyle by creating a variety of nutritious meals and snacks according to the guidelines set by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), accompanying with physical movement and exercises.

We believe by working together, both parents and Busy Bees, we will give a child a lifetime experience in finding a loving, quality and productive family daycare where joy, laughter, and respect overflow and a safety net.

Initials ______

AGE AND NUMBER OF CHILDREN ACCEPTED:

Busy Bees is licensed to care for a maximum of 12 children not including our own or relative children. School aged children use a higher ratio than the infant/toddlers. We provide care for children between the ages of 8 weeks to 12 years old. In order to provide quality child care services, Busy Bees has established limits on the number of children in each age group. Busy Bees strictly complies with child care regulations regarding child-to-staff ratios.

HOURS OF OPERATION:

Busy Bees accepts children Monday through Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. except on designated holidays and closings due to inclement weather/vacation. Although hours of operation are specified, we contract for specific hours for your child and you may be charged additional fees if you pick up or drop off your child beyond our contracted hours. (See contract). Busy Bees plans the day around the collective time frame of each child as well as each other phase of our daily routine. Parents should call the provider if they know the child will be more than 15 minutes late.

Initials ______

DAILY SCHEDULE: The following schedule (changes will be made and posted in the summer) is a general daily routine. Changes may occur depending on the weather or the children’s needs and feelings each day. Your child is at the care of Busy Bees when you drop off and leave the premises in the morning. When you pick up your child, it is your responsibility to care and look after your child.

7:00 A.M. Daycare Open Breakfast School Age

8:00 A.M. Breakfast Toddlers

8:35 Exercise/Outdoors

9:10 A.M Educational Learning Time

10:30 A.M. Snack time

11:00 A.M. Lunch

11:30 A.M Nap time

3:00 P.M. Circle Time (Games/Puzzles/Songs/Stories) Outside play

3:15 P.M. Snack Time

4:30 P.M Arts/Social Science /Skill Building Activities /Group Activities/Homework (for school aged)

5:00 P.M. Free Play/Clean up

CURRICULUM ACTIVITIES:

Busy Bees provides research-based materials designed for early childhood education. We use resources of various early childhood development materials that are also used by many local preschools and Elementary schools. Our curriculum is a Pre-K readiness program that prepares your child for Kindergarten consisting of:

numbers

reading social studies

creative art and music

science logic

motor skills social and emotional development

Initials ______

We also incorporate our circle time in our curriculum to provide an opportunity to help your

child develop in self-control, positive feeling, confidence, sharing and get along with others, and develop a healthy attitude. Our daycare is an open door policy; please feel free to discuss any concerns regarding our activities.

CIRCLE TIME ACTIVITIES:

Daily Activities Discussion .

Sing Along

Months of the Year

Day and Date

My Five Senses

Reading Counting/Pattern Skills

Days of the Week

Seasons

Alphabet

ARRIVAL POLICY:

Upon arrival at Busy Bees Parents must sign the child into care. Children are not permitted to walk to the premises on their own, parents must accompany and handover their child to the staff in the room. To facilitate an easy transition and help the child through the anxious time, it is best for parents to leave the facility immediately after they say goodbye. The longer the parent prolongs to say goodbye to an anxious child, the more anxiety the child might feel. Our staff is dedicated to best meet the needs of your child throughout the day. If a child is unsettled to the arrival routine after a reasonable period of time, we will discuss with parents other options to assist with a smoother transition.

Drop off Time: All children must be dropped off at their respective individually contracted times. Charges will occur if you drop off your child earlier than his or her scheduled time of care unless previously arranged. ABSOLUTLY NO DROP OFFS DURING NAP TIME!!! If there is an emergency and a child needs picked up at naptime, please call Busy Bees at least 30 minutes ahead of time. Continuous pick-ups during naptime will result in termination. It is a disturbance to all the other children in care as well as your own but we do understand that sometimes emergencies happen.

Initials ______

PICKUP POLICY:

Upon arrival at Busy Bees parents must sign the child out of care. Once a parent signs the child out, the parent is solely responsible for supervising their child on daycare premises. Parents are required to exit the facility once they have signed their child out of care.

PICK UP TIME:

Children must be picked up at their individually contracted times, and/or before the daycare is closed. If they are not, all appropriate individuals will be notified. Overtime fee will be applied.

AUTHORIZATION FOR RELEASE CHILD POLICY:

To ensure the safety of the children attending Busy Bees Daycare, we will follow the following procedures for the pickup of a child from the facility: Only the parent or individuals designated by the parent may pick up a child. Under no circumstance the child will be released to an unauthorized individual.

The parent must notify Busy Bees in advance in writing if someone other than the parent or authorized person will pick up the child, which we will request a photo ID for identification from the individual. If the parent has not provided Busy Bees with such information, the child will not be released to anyone else, and the parent will be notified. Should a parent arrive intoxicated, we will contact local police and/or someone from the emergency contact list. We will make every effort to delay the impaired parent for as long as possible while contacting other authorized contact, the local police, and child protective services. Should any other authorized person other than the parent arrive intoxicated, we will not release the child. Busy Bees will contact the parent, local police and child protective services.

PLEASE NOTE: ALL CHILDREN MUST BE SIGNED IN AND OUT WHEN IN DAYCARE FACILITY. NO EXCEPTION!

SEPERATION/DIVORCE:

Unless Busy Bees has a court order on file, no child will be refused to a parent at any time. This means, if you have a mutual verbal agreement with the other parent, Busy Bees is still required to release the child to the other parent. A court order signed by the judge must be kept on file for child to be held from the other parent.

ENROLLMENT/REGISTRATION:

All childcare available begins with an interview with the parent/legal guardian and the child for introduction and review the program’s policies. All forms must be completed and submitted before the child begins care service per certification standards. No child will be allowed in daycare without a complete up to date immunization record and emergency card on file.

Initials ______

The following forms are required to be on file for each child per certification standards:

Parent information and checklist (to be discussed and completed by provider and parent together)

Emergency Contact Form

Child Health Assessment (to be completed by the child's physician)

Medication Authorization Form if necessary

Completed and signed contract.

Cancellations to your child’s participation in the daycare must be provided in writing with two weeks’ notice. Changes and cancellations will be effective upon the request date for the changes or cancellations in the written notice. Failure to attend childcare or make the weekly payment does not release parents from their financial obligations.

TRIAL PERIOD:

It is important that parent, child and provider build a relationship and are good matches to each. The first two weeks of enrollment at Busy Bees is considered a "trial period." Either parent or provider can terminate childcare during this trial period without advance notice. You will be responsible for payment for days the child attended during the trial period.

Your trial period will begin on ______and will end on ______. Please note after the two-week trial period has passed, you will enter into a contractual responsibility and child care may be terminated by the Provider or the Parent(s) with advance written notice. You will be responsible for the balance of the tuition payment and any legal fees applicable.

CHILD CARE TUITION FEE:

Tuition fees are based on the hours agreed to use childcare. Busy Bees does not have full/part time slots. Your fees are for enrollment into Busy Bees and are not negotiable. Payments are made in advance the Monday before the week of child care begins. Payments may be made by check, cash, or money order. No out-of-state checks are accepted. Busy Bees will not adjust childcare fees for late arrival, early pickup, or missed days.

LATE FEE:

If fees are not paid in full and/or received after Monday, parents agree to pay a $5.00 per day late fee. If payment is not received within 3 days at drop off time, the child will not be allowed to attend the facility until payment is received in full. Parent agrees that if seven (7) days passes without payment made, childcare services will be terminated and the collection’s process begun. Timely payment is essential for continued enrollment at Busy Bees.

Initials ______

RETURNED CHECK:

Parent agrees to pay $35.00 fee for all checks returned unpaid in addition to the check amount in cash. If a check is returned unpaid, all future payments by the parent must be made in cash. If a check is returned and results in overdraft fees to Busy Bees, those charges will be forwarded to your account and payable immediately.

OVERTIME FEE:

Busy Bees is closed at 5:30 p.m. Overtime fee of $3.00 per minute will be charged to any child who is not picked up after 5:30 p.m. Overtime payment is due on the same day the service is rendered. If the child is not picked up by 5:45 p.m. and parents or emergency contacts cannot be reached, Busy Bees is obligated to contact authorities.

COLLECTION FEE:

If any payment obligation is not paid when due and parents refuse to fulfill their payment obligation, parents’ account will be turned over the MDJ. Included in filing will be late fees, filing fees, sheriff serving fee and any other fee necessary to recoup the monies owed.

CHILDCARE FEES: Child care fees are due and payable regardless of the children's attendance.

CHILDCARE SUBSIDY: For parents who receive subsidy from the state, co-pay payments are due Monday prior to care. Late fees will follow the same as regular pay parents, $5.00 per day. As with regular pay parents, no care will be given if payment is not made on its due date. NO EXCEPTIONS Full tuition is payable until subsidy has started. At which time reimbursement will be made minus the designated co-pays.

In the event that subsidy is suspended (state budget, paperwork, non compliance) payment will be made in full by parents until which time monies are received from the subsidy office. Reimbursements will be made minus the weekly co-pay once payment is received.

PAYMENT PROGRAM:

Childcare can be expensive and we understand that. We like to offer a discount plan to families to help with that. Parents are offered the option to pay once a month at a 5% discount. This typically saves you between $20-$25 a month per child. Families who elect to pay once a month make their payments on the 1st of the month vs on the first Monday. As with all families, you will be invoiced every month as to your total. Because some months have 5 weeks and some have 4, your totals will change monthly.

I would like to participate in the monthly payment program. I understand that if payment is not paid on the 1st of the month, that I may be excused from the program and asked to pay weekly at a higher rate.

Parent signature:______Date to begin program______

Initials ______

ABSENCE/APPOINTMENTS:

Parents should notify Busy Bees by 8:00 a.m. if the child will not attend daycare on a scheduled day and at least 24hour advance notice of all medical, dental, or other scheduled appointments. This will allow the provider to keep track of your child’s attendance and when a deviation of contracted schedule occurs. Knowing if a child will be absent for the day will help the provider to effectively plan for the day.

No Children are allowed in the daycare after receiving shots!

If a child has been ill, we request that you provide the nature of the child’s illness to the daycare so we can only keep track of any illnesses, which may occur at our facility. If your child has a communicable disease, we request that you share the diagnosis to Busy Bees, so that we can notify parents of the children in the daycare that a communicable disease is present. Please keep in mind that only communicable disease information will be shared. It is our goal to maintain and protect your child’s confidentiality.

PARENTS TERMINATION OF SERVICES:

When a Parent decides to terminate a child care relationship for any reason, the parent shall provide at least two weeks advance written notice to the provider. If the Parent(s) fails to provide at least two weeks advance notice, the Parent(s) agrees to pay the regular scheduled fees for the two weeks or portion of such two weeks immediately after such notice during which the Provider had no notice of such termination.

PROVIDER TERMINATION OF SERVICES:

If the provider determines that it would be in the best interest of a child to terminate a child care relationship, the provider will provide two-week written notice including a final statement of fees due to the parent or legal guardian.

Busy Bees retains the right to terminate a child's participation without notice for the following reasons:

A child's behavior is destructive, uncontrollable, violent, or threatening to the other children or providers at the care facility. This determination is made in the sole discretion of the Provider.

A parent's behavior is threatening or abusive to the other children or providers at the care facility.

Child care fees are 3 days or more delinquent.

Repeated contract violations by the parent or legal guardian.

All terminations of this type can be made effective immediately. To avoid unfortunate situation from occurring, parents or legal guardians are responsible to read the entire child care contract and should inquire for a detail explanation if any of the rules and regulations is not clear to understand prior to enrolling the child in the childcare. Termination due to any of these reasons would be a last resort if parents/guardian and provider are able to resolve the issue together. Upon termination of child care services, Busy Bees, with no obligation, is willing to assist with referrals. However, it is the parent's responsibility to find alternate child care.