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Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>Christmas Gifts/Celebration
dolores 06:00 AM 12-12-2019
Does anyone give christmas gifts to children in your care and/or have a holiday party for families?
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maelb05 06:47 AM 12-12-2019
I get all the kids pajamas. The girls all matching and the boys matching. I give them to them the day before the last day I am open before Christmas. We have a pajama day (they all wear their matching pajamas) and we watch some special Christmas shows!
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CountryRoads 06:52 AM 12-12-2019
I get the kids a little gift and I also get the parents a gift. I think I spent $12 a kid this year and found a really good deal on cyber monday for a picture gift for $2 () for the parents. I have a family that only comes 1 day a week, so I didn't get them anything. Maybe I'll bake them some cookies or something.

We don't do a party. We'll probably just watch some Christmas movies on the last day before break and have an easy, laid back day!
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Meeko 07:26 AM 12-12-2019
We have Polar Express Day. They all wear their pj's. We play Christmas music and make apple bread to take home for their families (makes the house smell amazing!). We read the book (my son bought me a special edition many years ago as it was one of my favorites many years before the movie came out)
They get a printed train ticket and we set up chairs like a train. Then we watch the movie, have hot chocolate and each child gets a bell before they go home.
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Cat Herder 08:11 AM 12-12-2019
I bought them all gifts to take home and will have a small Christmas party during snack. They will also take home the ornament they made for their own tree.
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dolores 08:33 AM 12-12-2019
Thank you all so much! These are all great!
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Jupadia 08:51 AM 12-12-2019
The kids all get a small gift from me that includes a book, I try not to spend more then 10. I only have a small group of up to 5 max so it's not to expensive. They also do a small gift exchange between them (gifts brought home to open), for a few years I had a couple family's gifting all kids, so I cut it back to do am exchange.

Christmas eve I'm only open to noon, so we watch a movie for our party and have a fun lunch. Earlier in the week or week before we do lots of crafts, make ornaments for parents, and decorate cookies.
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Annalee 11:24 AM 12-12-2019
The dollar tree had packs of 6 foam ornaments so I got three kinds for my 12 kids. They will make those then we made an ornament where you make the bow out of a piece of yarn the length of your child with a cute saying about how tall they were in 2019 from pinterest. Putting them in treat bags to be given to parents. We bought the kids gifts (puzzles or matching game and a shape sorter for the little one). My parents bring things to be taken to the nursing home. We will have pancakes and wear pajamas on Monday, December 16 to complete all of this work. Then I am working through Dec. 23 but nothing major going to happen at daycare except for funtime and maybe some old time rudolph, frosty, etc. movies. Then not doing daycare again till Jan 6, which is the date of my annual QRIS assessment. Yep I'm a glutton for punishment but want it over that bad. Just come on and get'r'done!!!!
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Jo123ABC 11:36 AM 12-12-2019
I try to stay within a $10 limit per child also. This year the boys each got a truck set and the girls each got a "hairdorable" whatever that is... New novelty toy my daughter wanted. The youngest got a baby doll set and they all get a coloring book with their toy. Last year big kids got Melissa and Doug wood jigsaw puzzles and younger ones got chunky puzzles. We do a laid back "party" day with a Christmas movie, maybe a craft or cookie cutting, a treat at snack time and open gifts after snack. We do it the last day of care before Christmas also. The kids make gifts for parents. This year we are putting a thumb print reindeer on an ornament, sugar cookies, and 1 or 2 more crafts I haven't decided on yet. We'll probably do a holiday craft/project 3-4 days next week.
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Cat Herder 11:38 AM 12-12-2019
Originally Posted by Annalee:
Monday, December 16 to complete all of this work. Then I am working through Dec. 23 but nothing major going to happen at daycare except for funtime and maybe some old time rudolph, frosty, etc. movies. Then not doing daycare again till Jan 6, which is the date of my annual QRIS assessment. Yep I'm a glutton for punishment but want it over that bad. Just come on and get'r'done!!!!
Nice! I am also working on the 23rd, I only closed the 24th-25th this year. I am also due for my assessment at any time in the next 30 or so days. I knew they would not show up today because I am at half ratio, nothing is broken, no infants came today, no loose dogs are running through the neighborhood, my neighbor is not burning leaves filling the playground with smoke, the toilet is not overflowing, none of my fingers are in bandages and everything is spotless.
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Jo123ABC 11:48 AM 12-12-2019
Originally Posted by Cat Herder:
Nice! I am also working on the 23rd, I only closed the 24th-25th this year. I am also due for my assessment at any time in the next 30 or so days. I knew they would not show up today because I am at half ratio, nothing is broken, no infants came today, no loose dogs are running through the neighborhood, my neighbor is not burning leaves filling the playground with smoke, the toilet is not overflowing, none of my fingers are in bandages and everything is spotless.
SO TRUE!! Also, what is QRIS assessment? I've been seeing it mentioned here and there. Probably a dumb question but I'm curious
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Ariana 11:49 AM 12-12-2019
I get the kids inexpensive Christmas books and the parents a little something. This year my daughters school was doing a chocolate fundraiser so I got them all a small box of chocolates.
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Annalee 11:54 AM 12-12-2019
Originally Posted by Jo123ABC:
SO TRUE!! Also, what is QRIS assessment? I've been seeing it mentioned here and there. Probably a dumb question but I'm curious
Where the state stays with you 4-6 ours grading you on many different areas and then gives you a report card.....don't you wanna be a part of that??
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Jo123ABC 12:06 PM 12-12-2019
Originally Posted by Annalee:
Where the state stays with you 4-6 ours grading you on many different areas and then gives you a report card.....don't you wanna be a part of that??
Sounds super fun! I'll pass!
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Cat Herder 12:07 PM 12-12-2019
FCCERS - https://www.ersi.info/fccers.html
Materials list (14 pages) - http://center-elp.org/wp-content/upl...-Checklist.pdf
Scoresheet - https://www.ersi.info/PDF/FCCERS-RSS8-09.pdf
Textbook - https://www.kaplanco.com/product/135...n-spiral-bound

It is super fun. My state posts the scores on the website so if you don't participate your name drops to the bottom and they shame you in commercials during family dinner time for being "low quality". Even after 25 years of operation without a substantiated complaint or documentable injury. We just love it.
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Annalee 12:11 PM 12-12-2019
Originally Posted by Cat Herder:
FCCERS - https://www.ersi.info/fccers.html
Materials list (14 pages) - http://center-elp.org/wp-content/upl...-Checklist.pdf
Scoresheet - https://www.ersi.info/PDF/FCCERS-RSS8-09.pdf
Textbook - https://www.kaplanco.com/product/135...n-spiral-bound

It is super fun. My state posts the scores on the website so if you don't participate your name drops to the bottom and they shame you in commercials during family dinner time for being "low quality". Even after 25 years of operation without a substantiated complaint or documentable injury. We just love it.
Oh yeah ^^^^^^ That's what I'm talking about!
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flying_babyb 05:09 PM 12-12-2019
We have a simlar program. Ours is Iters and echers, early head start. Our lady showed up today, 5 mins after I promised my 1-2 year olds they could paint (SIGH). So 6 kids cram around a table made for 4 (cause the big boss says meals are a small group thing and we cant feed all 8 of our kids at once, so some have to wait). Well 6 kids, 2 teachers, one table... Yep paint on kids, paint on table, paint on me. It was a mess. Then she fallowed us down to the school age room, where 3 of my kids got mad cause there wernt enough bikes, 2 biffed out chasing balls and one of the kids in the other class decided to scream "Shut the F-word up!" then "f-word you miss teacher!". OMG the look on her face. One of my kids turns and says "YOU NAUGHTY!" and slaps him!
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e.j. 05:26 PM 12-12-2019
Originally Posted by Cat Herder:
FCCERS - https://www.ersi.info/fccers.html
Materials list (14 pages) - http://center-elp.org/wp-content/upl...-Checklist.pdf
Scoresheet - https://www.ersi.info/PDF/FCCERS-RSS8-09.pdf
Textbook - https://www.kaplanco.com/product/135...n-spiral-bound

It is super fun. My state posts the scores on the website so if you don't participate your name drops to the bottom and they shame you in commercials during family dinner time for being "low quality". Even after 25 years of operation without a substantiated complaint or documentable injury. We just love it.
That's truly awful!
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Josiegirl 02:20 AM 12-13-2019
Originally Posted by maelb05:
I get all the kids pajamas. The girls all matching and the boys matching. I give them to them the day before the last day I am open before Christmas. We have a pajama day (they all wear their matching pajamas) and we watch some special Christmas shows!
Cute idea!! Bet they love seeing each other all dressed in jammies and looking like their friends. My dcks always used to love pajama days.
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Josiegirl 02:22 AM 12-13-2019
Originally Posted by Meeko:
We have Polar Express Day. They all wear their pj's. We play Christmas music and make apple bread to take home for their families (makes the house smell amazing!). We read the book (my son bought me a special edition many years ago as it was one of my favorites many years before the movie came out)
They get a printed train ticket and we set up chairs like a train. Then we watch the movie, have hot chocolate and each child gets a bell before they go home.
Love it! I can picture something like this as being one of their fond memories of being in daycare.
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Josiegirl 02:30 AM 12-13-2019
Originally Posted by Cat Herder:
FCCERS - https://www.ersi.info/fccers.html
Materials list (14 pages) - http://center-elp.org/wp-content/upl...-Checklist.pdf
Scoresheet - https://www.ersi.info/PDF/FCCERS-RSS8-09.pdf
Textbook - https://www.kaplanco.com/product/135...n-spiral-bound

It is super fun. My state posts the scores on the website so if you don't participate your name drops to the bottom and they shame you in commercials during family dinner time for being "low quality". Even after 25 years of operation without a substantiated complaint or documentable injury. We just love it.
Egads, that's so sad really. So many quality programs going by the wayside because they don't want to get/stay wrapped up in all the paperwork and requirements. They're now going to require our state to do assessments if you want to be a 3 Star program, where it used to be 4 stars and up. People are dropping their stars left and right. One of my provider friends told me how rude the assessors were when they came into her home, how they only saw what they wanted to see, so she didn't pass. Ex. she had a nice trunk of dress up clothes/accessories which they never opened so said she didn't have any. Plus she had a tired toddler at lunch time and they told her she needed to change his schedule, thus screwing up her lunch time and nap time routines. Um, every kid has an off day.
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Josiegirl 02:33 AM 12-13-2019
One idea we did during our Christmas parties was a book exchange; the kids enjoyed that a lot. And decorating graham cracker houses.
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Annalee 04:22 AM 12-13-2019
Originally Posted by flying_babyb:
We have a simlar program. Ours is Iters and echers, early head start. Our lady showed up today, 5 mins after I promised my 1-2 year olds they could paint (SIGH). So 6 kids cram around a table made for 4 (cause the big boss says meals are a small group thing and we cant feed all 8 of our kids at once, so some have to wait). Well 6 kids, 2 teachers, one table... Yep paint on kids, paint on table, paint on me. It was a mess. Then she fallowed us down to the school age room, where 3 of my kids got mad cause there wernt enough bikes, 2 biffed out chasing balls and one of the kids in the other class decided to scream "Shut the F-word up!" then "f-word you miss teacher!". OMG the look on her face. One of my kids turns and says "YOU NAUGHTY!" and slaps him!
Not sure about head start in your state, but I have some friends that work at headstart here. They, generally,do well on their assessment because headstarts gear more toward "what the child wants no matter what". My friends tell me it's a nightmare some days, though, as they have lots of behavioral issues and are not allowed to "deal" with some of them but have to allow the children to be "who they want to be"....i.e. if I child spits in your face, then you basically do nothing but say thank you.

I think QRIS wants us to become headstart free-for-alls in my state. Head start pays well and offers great benefits and with my degree, I could get a job there quickly as they have lots of turnover here. However I think I will just stick to my own FCC program.
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Cat Herder 06:43 AM 12-13-2019
Except for the part where headstart has been a proven failure, repeatedly.

https://townhall.com/columnists/matt...ilure-n1812639
https://fee.org/articles/head-start-...p-for-failure/
https://www.cato.org/publications/co...ic-waste-money
https://hechingerreport.org/is-head-start-a-failure/
https://www.dailysignal.com/2013/01/...start-failure/
https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/1...ichma.h12.html
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Blackcat31 07:01 AM 12-13-2019
Shhhh, that is "fake news".

Actual facts don't prove anything.
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Annalee 07:56 AM 12-13-2019
Originally Posted by Blackcat31:
Shhhh, that is "fake news".

Actual facts don't prove anything.
"You're killing me, Smalls!"
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Tags:christmas, redistribution of wealth
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