To elevate child development to a new level by leading the social and emotional growth and education of young children by providing a safe, welcoming home-like environment with a caring, educated, and professional staff that promotes partnerships between parents children and other early childhood professionals.
Need a night off? Can't find a babysitter? Check out Saturday Night Live @ Katie's Kids! Saturday Night Live is a Saturday evening full of fun for children while families go out. Children can enjoy playing, having dinner with friends, and snuggling in for a movie.
Thank You
The teachers would like to thank all the families who
helped in making Teacher Appreciation a SUCCESS.
The food was delicious as well as all the extras the families did to make the teachers feel appreciated.
We feel very grateful to work with such amazing families.
Our task is the help children communicate with the world using all their potential, strengths and languages, and to overcome any obstacle presented by our culture.
-Loris Malaguzzi
Help spread the word of Katie's Kids!
Do you have a friend, neighbor, or colleague looking for care? For every family you refer to Katie's Kids we will apply a $50 credit to your account after the family has been with us for 90 days.
Barefoot is Best
Growing With Nature book by Chris Kiewra & Tina Reeble
"Not only does going barefoot feel great, it also nourishes, strengthens, and promotes agility in a child's growing feet, ankles, legs, knees, and hips-benefits that children are going without in today's over-shod society," explains an article on the Education.com website.
"In fact, podiatrists say that bare feet should be a vital component of a child's everyday life, in all seasons. The bare foot functions almost like a sense organ, feeling subtleties of changing terrain while walking and playing, and making countless small adjustments in how each step is taken. These adjustments actually help each of us form our balance, movement systems, and posture for life."
In the book, Growing with Nature, Chris Kiewra and Tina Reeble include a section on how connections with nature build body competence in children. "One outcome of children's disconnection from nature is a lack of sensory stimulation," they write. "Increased time in sterile indoor environments, use of manufactured plastic toys, and earlier and prolonged use of electronics all decrease opportunities for children to use all their senses. This is especially concerning since the window of opportunity to best develop the senses of sight, touch, and hearing is during the preschool years."
Summer Safety Checklist for Kids
1. Sunscreen
When it comes to protecting your kids from the sun, sunscreen plays an important role. But sunscreen is just one of the ways to guard against the sun's damaging rays. Because the sun's rays can reflect off of the sand and water or other reflective surfaces, hats, and sunglasses can also play an important role in preventing UV damage.
Apply sunscreen. It can certainly be challenging to remember to apply sunscreen at least 30 minutes before going outdoors. But that's exactly what you and your kids should do before heading outside, even on cloudy days (that's because UVA rays can go right through the clouds and still cause damage). Use generous amounts of UVA- and UVB- blocking sunscreen with an SPF of at least 15 and reapply every two hours or more often after swimming or sweating.
Get some sun-protective clothing. Dress your kids in hats in wide brims and tightly-woven cotton clothing or clothes that have SPF built-in (many kids' clothes, especially swimsuits, have sun protection in them nowadays). Try to stay out of the sun between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., when the sun is at its most intense peak, and try to stay in the shade as much as possible.
2. Protect Against Bugs
Bugs are one of those annoyances of summer. But insects such as potentially disease-carrying
mosquitoes and bees can also be harmful to kids. To protect your child against bugs:
Use insect repellents to guard against ticks, which can carry Lyme Disease, and mosquitoes, which can carry the West Nile Virus and other viruses. Many repellents are made with DEET, an effective insecticide that is toxic or even potentially deadly if swallowed. If you do use a product containing DEET, it's crucial not to apply the product to a child's hands or face to avoid possible ingestion; it's also important to wash off the product before bed to prevent overexposure to the chemical.
3. Prevent Dehydration
Whether your child is playing soccer with teammates or running around in the park with some buddies, it's important to keep in mind that frequent water breaks are very important to prevent
dehydration. Your child should drink water before exercise and during breaks, which should be about every 15 to 20 minutes. On particularly hot and humid days, it's also a good idea for parents to spray down kids with some water from a spray bottle.
4. Don't Forget Helmets
Your child should wear a helmet whenever she is on anything with wheels, such as a scooter, bicycle, or roller skates. A helmet is the most important device available that can reduce head injury and death from a bicycle crash, according to Safe Kids USA. And be sure to set a good example by always wearing your helmet when riding your bike.
5. Practice Food Safety
Foodborne illnesses increase in the summer because bacteria grow faster in warmer temperatures and humidity. On top of that, more people are eating and preparing food outdoors, at picnics and barbecues, where refrigeration and places to wash hands are not readily available.
To prevent foodborne illnesses:
Be sure to wash your hands before preparing or serving any food. Make sure your children wash their hands, or at least use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer, before eating.
Keep all perishable foods in the refrigerator and do not keep leftovers un-refrigerated for more than one or two hours.
6. Guard Against Drowning
Each year, more than 830 children ages 14 and under die as a result of
accidental drowning, and an average of 3,600 children are injured in near-drowning incidents. Between May and August, drowning deaths among kids increase by a whopping 89 percent. If you have a swimming pool or if your child will be near one, it is crucial to put multiple safety measures in place to keep kids safe.
Put barriers around the pool to restrict access. Use doors with locks and alarms to keep kids out when adults are not present.
Never leave kids unsupervised.
Remember that drownings can happen silently. You may not hear splashing or a call for help-a drowning can happen in minutes and may be silent.
Do not use flotation devices. Inflatable "floaties" and other flotation devices and toys can give kids who cannot swim a false sense of security.
Learn CPR. You may never need to use it, but knowing CPR for adults and for kids is something that can mean the difference between life and death in an emergency.
