Daycare Deals

The Kansas State-Provider Cooperation Committee (SPCC), composed of Child Care Providers Together (CCPT), SRS, and KDHE have established a Healthy and Safety Fund to assit home based child care providers improve the quality of care they are providing to Kansas' kids. They are offering two grants at this time: Equipment and Materials Upgrade and Facility Upgrade.

EQUIPMENT AND MATERIALS

Overview: This grant will be awarded to home based child care providers for a wide range of projects that achieve educational, licensing, and health and safety improvements to home based child care facilities. Some projects for this grant could include:

Child safe car seats
Audio/visual equipment and learning materials
Books
Toys

Eligibilty:
*Full and Complete Grant application
*Kansas business address
*Proof of current registration or license
*Proof of twelve (12) months of current or continuing registered or licensed child care in Kansas.
*Proof of Completion/Certification of Infant/Child First Aid, CPR, and Safe Sleep/SIDS

Application information: This application asks question such as if you have provided care for an SRS subsidized family, if you attended the Professional Development Day provided by the Health and Safety Fund, and about any additional professional development activites. *These are just some of the questions on the application.

Purpose of Grant Money:

*Meet required health, safety, or licensing standards
*Create or enhance the development and early learning of children in your care
*Replace damaged or worn out equipment or materials
*Increase the sustainability of your child care business

Maximum Grant Allowance: $600
____________________________________________________________
FACILITY UPGRADE GRANT

Overview: This grant will be awarded to home based child care providers for a wide range of projects that achieve structural improvements to home based child care facilities. Some ideas include:

Fencing and gates
Playground surface
Outdoor play equipment that meets KDHE safety and licensure standards
Indoor child safe furniture
Guardrails for stairs

Eligibilty:

*Full and Complete Grant application
*Kansas business address
*Proof of current registration or license
*Proof of twelve (12) months of current or continuing registered or licensed child care in Kansas.
*Proof of Completion/Certification of Infant/Child First Aid, CPR, and Safe Sleep/SIDS

Purpose of Grant Money:

*Meet required health, safety, or licensing standards
*Improve accessibility for children with special needs
*Replace damaged or worn out facilities
*Increase the sustainability of your child care business

Maximum Grant Allowance: $2000

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To obtain a copy of the grant applications if you did not attend one of the Professional Development Days or just didn't get/lost a copy, contact Alexandra Townsend.  E-mail: townsend@afscmecouncil72.org
I believe this is the correct email, but I don't know. *If anyone got her phone number, please comment with it for others. Thanks!

Applications must be complete and postmarked on or before October 31, 2010.

It was nice to meet some new providers on Saturday at the Early Childhood Professional Development Day held at Butler CC campus. I was thrilled with the opportunity to take free classes and to get paid $100. The classes I attended were KDHE & SRS, Pediatric First Aid, and CPR. I wanted to write briefly about each class I attended. I'd also enjoy any comments about any classes others went to.

KDHE & SRS

I understand the importance of providers accepting SRS families, but the SRS part of the class scared me away. I was not thrilled with the stories I heard or about the chances for fraud. However, the class did teach me a few things about SRS:

*New providers will be sent an approval notice within 10 days.
*Providers no longer receive the copy of the childcare plan because SRS wants parents to take responsibility.
*SRS does not mediate in payment issues; they expect providers to treat them just as they would with a private pay family.
*SRS does not want providers to use a substitute unless in an extreme emergency.
*Providers need to keep records for SRS children for 3 years.

The KDHE part of the meeting was informative. I just wish we'd had more time with Kristi to find out more or ask more questions. Some highlights include:

*Lexie's Law should bring about more consistent trainings for providers as funded by the higher costs for renewals.
*If Registered to Licensed providers do have citations for noncompliance, these providers will have 5 days to come up with a plan.
*If a provider disagrees with a citation, she can complete a written statement for an Administrative review. If the finding turns out to be invalid, it will be taken off the provider's record. If it is valid, KDHE will explain how to fix the citation.
*KDHE has to take every complaint even if it is not a substantiated one.
*Providers will have 60 days to complete their 15 initial training hours. If she cannot get this, KDHE will give out up to 2 more temporary permits and up to 180 days.
*The local health departments will call to set up initial inspections of Registered to Licensed providers.
*If you send in a late renewal, the fee doubles to $170. Renewals more than 30 days late result in the daycare considered to be without a license. The provider would then need to start over.
*The open records part of Lexie's Law goes into effect May 2011. As I've written before, they are still working on how and what with this system. It likely will include the daycare name and address.
*Kristi Lawent can b reached at 785-296-1275.

Pediatric First Aid

We watched a video that we mostly laughed at. The best part of this class was practicing with an Epi pen.

CPR

This was the best CPR class that I've ever taken. The instructor was humorous. I loved how interactive the class was. Instead of read a book, watch a video, practice like the Red Cross classes I've taken, this class allowed us to interact with each other, one of the instructor's helpers, and the dummies. I learned more in this time than I've learned previously. If you took the class, you will know what I'm writing next!

Stayin' alive.


Ah, ha, ha, ha,

Stayin' alive.

Information on the childcare conference in El Dorado today will be coming soon. If you attended a great class today, let me know. I only attended the KDHE, First Aid, and CPR classes, so I'd really like to know about some of the others.

Sometimes it seems that Swagbucks will never let me win any, especially when I first started using it. I've found that the more I search, the better my chances are at winning quicker. If I've been searching a lot and winning about 3/4 times per day, then I can usually win some within 1 or 2 searches the morning of the next day. Other tips for winning easy swagbucks. If you haven't signed up already, you can sign up here. Friday is Mega Swagbucks Day, which increases your chances of winning! I've earned almost enough points for $50 worth of Amazon gift cards (saving for Christmas time) and cashed out for $5 cash via Paypal.

Special Offers: You can go to this page daily. Choose "No" or "Next offer" from the No Obligation Offers if you would not like the offer listed. You'll win 1 swagbuck per day just by visiting and getting through the Special Offers.

Daily Polls: Take a poll daily and win 1 swagbuck.

Toolbar: If you have the Swagbucks toolbar, you'll earn 1 swagbuck per day just for having it. It gives you the swagbuck every morning.

Trusted Surveys: I have not completed any of these, but you can earn Swagbucks by qualifying and completing the surveys. *This causes problems if you are a member of the Surveyhead site, and they might delete your account for using Swagbucks' Trusted Surveys. This is why I don't do the surveys on Swagbucks.

Codes: Swagbucks usually offers at least one code per day. This code is not supposed to be posted, so I can't do more than direct you to where you might find one. *I'll do this if I'm able.

Other than these tips for easy Swagbucks, just doing searches will earn you Swagbucks.

Get a free sample of Oxy Clinical here.

Walmart is offering a free sample of Nexxus shampoo. Get this here.

Get ANY small sub, chips and regular fountain drink for only $2.99! Click here for coupon.

This week (July 18th-24th), K-mart is offering an additional 50% off clearance toys. This would be great if you have any birthdays coming up or want to start stocking up on Christmas presents!

Congrats to the winner D!

D said: "I put this as my FB status!"

D, You have been contacted by email.

There is a great deal going on with Johnson & Johnson Red Cross brand items. This week, Target is offering a free First Aid case with select purchases of Bandaid and Red Cross items. Use this deal to get gauze pads and a free First Aid case for only .03!

Buy 4 First Aid small gauze pads $1.52 each
Use 2 $3/2 Johnson & Johnson Red Cross products
Bring your own bag for .05 off
Pay .03 for 4 small gauze pads and get a free First Aid case!

Thanks,
Common Sense with Money!

Today's Groupon is amazing! They're offering $20 worth of rubs, spices, and sauces for only $10! Get this here. *You can even purchase 2, which is good as well. The coupon is good for a year!

My husband and brother-in-law love the Heffy's barbecue sauce from All Things Barbecue! This is a great offer, and one I'll definitely have to purchase for a stocking stuffer or easy Christmas present.

Get a free sample of Sun Crystals all natural sweetener here.

Since I've been following the Weight Watchers diet, I'm always looking for sweeteners that are natural. I've heard all the bad press about the sweeteners, but diet pop is better than regular for me. So, my family has taken to trying other methods/drinks without these sweeteners. My husband loves the Crystal Light Pure packets that I told you Vocalpoint offered (The offer is no longer available). He tried them and was hooked; I've now purchased 3 boxes of them for him. I think he'll be excited about this free sample!

Coupons.com has the Huggies $2/1 Huggies Wipes coupon back again! Get it here.

Did you get the letter in the mail about Child Care Provider Professional Development Day? Providers will valid licenses or registrations can earn $100 for completing 6 hours or more of FREE classes on Saturday July 24th! If you are a Registered provider currently, this can get you many of the 15 hours that you need to complete. This is a great opportunity provided by KDHE, SRS, and CCPT/AFSCME. (I don't need this many hours for my renewal, but I'll go to earn $100, get free classes, and meet other providers.)

Classes offered:
Pediatric CPR and First Aid
Changes and Updates in child care Regulations/Licensing and what's to come
Signs of Abuse and Neglect
Safe Sleep Practices
Food: It can Be More than Just for Eating
Quick, Grab that Camera
Conscious Discipline Applications With Children

I am going to be attending the CPR class because I feel that I should always review it even though I just had it in 2009. I'll also be attending the Changes and Updates in licensing for the blog's purposes. I want to know what changes might be coming.

To sign up, create an account here. Then follow these steps:
1. Login
2. Under the Kansas seal, add conference #1023121 to the Search by Course Id Field.
3. Click the course title. Read the details correctly.
4. Select the Registration tab and Register for Conference button.
5. Click the add button for the sessions you would like to attend.

I'll be at this conference day from 8am-6pm, taking classes. I would love to meet other providers!

Become a fan of Famous Footwear on Facebook by hitting "Like" on their page. If you do, you'll be able to print out this coupon (good in stores only) for $10 of $10 purchase. This could mean some free or cheap shoes. This coupon was good for today and tomorrow only. So, use it tomorrow July 12th! I know I'm planning to go shoe shopping tomorrow!

While you're there, become a fan of Daycare Deals here.

CSN Stores has given me the opportunity to do a giveaway! CSN Stores will be sponsoring the giveaway of a $40 gift certificate good at any of their 200+ stores to one lucky reader! They have everything from dining room furniture to the crayons used to color on that table! [I have a few who like to color on my table. :) ] This would be a hard choice for me because I found so many items under $40. Here are a few that I really liked:




Rules: This contest is open to residents of the U.S. and Canada only. The winner will be chosen randomly by the email address provided. *Make sure to leave an email address because the winner will be contacted by email.


1. Visit http://www.csnstores.com/ourstores.asp, find an item you like, and comment about which item(s) you would like to buy or use the $40 toward on a purchase. *Make sure to leave an email address because the winner will be contacted by email.

2. Become a fan on Facebook by hitting "Like" on my Facebook page. Leave a comment telling me that you became a fan. *Make sure to leave an email address because the winner will be contacted by email.

3. Share this giveaway with others. Blog, Twitter, or Facebook about the giveaway. Leave a comment with a link to your blog post or what you posted. *Make sure to leave an email address because the winner will be contacted by email.

Doing each of these 3 things gains you an entry into the giveaway for a total of 3 entries. This starts July 9th at 8am (CST) and ends July16th at 12am (CST). The winner will be posted July 17th!!! Good luck!

~~~Some items might incur shipping charges or international charges for Canadian readers.

Coupons.com has a good coupon if you're planning a trip to Worlds of Fun or Oceans of Fun soon. They're offering a coupon for $10/Worlds of Fun admission, $3.50/Oceans of Fun, or $10/Ride & Slide tickets.

Coupons.com has some good coupons available right now. I've made a list of the ones I found the most useful.

$1/1 Welch's Refrigerated Juice (some flavors run about $2.64 at Walmart, so this would make it $1.69.)

$1/2 Nabisco Multipack products

$1/2 Pillsbury sweet rolls

Free Clorox Liquid Bleach when you buy 45oz or larger Clorox 2 product

.50/2 Pillsbury biscuits

.50/2 Pillsbury crescent rolls

$1/3 Libby's canned vegetables

$1.10/3 (any 3) Pillsbury baked goods products

$1/2 Libby's fruit products

If you use gloves when you change diapers or just like to have disposable gloves around, Buy.com is offering 1000 ct. box of gloves for $10.68 plus free shipping. Get these here. *These are in size Medium.

Walmart has rolled back some of their bed-in-a-bag sets to only $34! I'm really excited about this because I found some for a King size bed for this price. Every time I try to find a complete set for my bed, it's too expensive. Find this set and others here. You can get free shipping with Site to Store.



 * If you're not sure sometimes on the quality of Walmart brands, see if they have one of these sets at your nearest store. Prices vary by store too, so it might be higher or lower at your store. I found a set I like, but I'm going to visit Walmart tonight to make sure it's a soft comforter and check the price before I purchase online. If you've never purchased something from Walmart.com before, it's actually really easy and trustworthy.

I was working before I had my daughter, so I had to make the decision about whether or not to stay at home with her or go to work and find her a daycare. I did choose to stay home with her, and it was a great decision for me. I also chose to start an in-home daycare so that she could have friends. These are some advantages to home daycares:

1. Individualized Attention: Groups in home daycares are usually smaller than groups of children in center daycares. So, children in home daycares will likely get more one-on-one attention. (I only have 6 kids at the most, so I can spend more time with each child.)

2. Stable Environment: Children in home daycares will likely stay with the same provider throughout infancy, toddler stages, and preschool ages. They might even stay through some of their school years. This allows children in home daycares to develop deep, meaningful relationships with their caregivers and the other children. (It is hard when one of my daycare kids leaves due to job changes or moves to another state because I truly develop a relationship with my daycare kids. I know what foods he/she likes, when he/she naps, the coloring book he/she prefers, etc)

3. Flexibility: Daycare homes are more flexible with drop off and pick up times than center daycares. (I'm really flexible on the times with my parents.)

4. Cost: Daycare homes are generally cheaper than centers. Daycare homes don't have to worry about paying for buildings or employees, so caregivers can charge less. (My rates are less than centers in Wichita)

5. Development: Watching other children move and play causes younger children to want to emulate them.

*I know that my daughter is happy in a home daycare environment. As she has grown from an infant, she's watched the older kids walk, run, jump, and climb. She's now emulating them because she wants to do what she has seen them do. This also happened with my youngest in care (10 months). Before starting care at my house, she wasn't even scooting. After the first day, she was starting to pull herself around my carpet. Now, she crawls everywhere. My home daycare also allows my daughter to have friends. She loves when her friends are over here; she shrieks with glee when I carry her out of her room every morning!

The information in this post is based on "Advantages of Placing Kids in Home Daycare: Benefits of Family Childcare Programs for Kids" by Charlina Stewart. Obviously, I did throw in my own comments and thoughts as well.

I went shopping last Wednesday before some of my coupons expired. This is what I was able to buy for .73! All of the coupons used were ones I posted on this blog. Play the Summer of Savings Game that Kroger is doing right now for the chance to win prizes. I won a free package of the Kool-Aid Fun Fizz as shown above.

Check out my newest featured daycare, Little Pumpkin Daycare.

Walmart.com has lowered the price of the Little Tikes 30th Anniversary Cozy Coupe to only $25.54! This is an absolutely great price because these run around $50 or more usually. You can get free shipping by choosing Site to Store. You can also go through ebates for 1% cash back or mypoints for 1 point per dollar.

Get this watergun with a tank backpack for water for the price of $4.49. Chose the watergun for $7.99, and use code "MLCK400371070144AL1" to lower the price to $4.49! The offer includes free shipping. Get this offer HERE.