Other Resources
Children's Center Policies
Please click a topic below to see a policy.
- Activities (daily Schedule)
- Birthdays
- Bottles
- Clothing
- Diapers
- Discipline
- Emergency
- Hours and Scheduling
- Illness Policy
- Lunches
- Nap Times
- Parent Involvement
- Parent-Teacher Conferences
- Photos/Camcorders
- Reporting and Resolving Complaints
- School Closing
- Signing In/Out
- Snacks
- Student Participation
- Study Time
- Toys
Activities
7:30am to 9:00am - Children's Choice (Children choose from a variety of activities in the room)
9:00am to 9:30am - Breakfast
9:30am to 9:40am - Activities in the gym
9:40am to 11:00am - Children's Choice (Children choose from a variety of activities in the room)
11:00am to 11:30am - Circle Time Activities (Song sticks, storytelling, and group discussion)
11:30am to 12:00pm - Outside play (Children's Choice)
12:00pm to 12:30pm - Lunch
12:30pm to 2:30pm - Naptime, Children's Choice for Uppers (Children choose from a variety of activities in the room)
2:30pm to 4:00pm - Children's Choice (Children choose from a variety of activities in the room)
4:00pm to 5:30pm - Join with other rooms in the center (Children choose from a variety of activities in the room)
All activities are subject to change in accordance with the children's needs
Birthdays
In order to help make your child's birthday more special, we suggest you send a special book to share. Ask the room teacher for guidance.
Bottles
Baby bottles are not allowed at the center unless medically required. A pacifier can be substituted.
Clothing
Dress your child so he or she can play outside everyday. Please label clearly all clothing, coats, shoes, etc. Clothes unmarked will be marked by staff. Children need to be dressed in play clothes, which can withstand mud, paint, and other messy materials. A complete change of clothing (underwear, socks, shirts, pants, etc) is required to be kept at school. Please put them in a labeled shoebox.
Diapers
For those children, who are not toilet trained, please provide a large labeled box of disposable diapers. Please watch for notes which will tell you when a new box of diapers is needed.
Please inform staff when you begin toilet training so we can coordinate our efforts. Feel free to ask staff about toilet training ideas and get a copy of our toilet training handout.
Discipline
Daily schedules and consistent room rules are maintained to provide order and security for children. Teachers plan a variety of appropriate activities to enhance growth, development and self-esteem, encouraged self-control and self-directedness, and allow for individualized programming.
The Center believes in using a positive approach when disciplining and guiding social interactions with the children and under no circumstances uses or condones physical forms of discipline. We ask that parents do the same while at the Center. If your child becomes too difficult to manage, please ask for teacher assistance. Sometimes children have had a hard day, too.
Emergency
In the case of an emergency (illness or accident), Campus Safety and Security will be sent to the parents classroom to ask the parent to come to the Center to get the child. If the parent cannot be found the emergency contact person, on the child's information card, will be called and expected to come pick up the child. Please keep all information (classroom changes, telephone numbers, and contact persons) up to date.
Hours and Scheduling
The Center is open 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Enrollment at the Center begins each semester when registration begins for WCC.
In order to facilitate adjustment, children must:
- Stay at least two continuous hours each day they attend.
- Attend a minimum of two days per week.
- Attend a minimum of six hours per week.
Parents who need times other than their regularly scheduled times can request "Extra Time" from the room teachers in advance. This time must be for on-campus activities such as meeting with counselors, taking tests, study, etc. This will be recorded on the "Extra Time Sheet" located under the regular sign-in sheet in the classroom. This time will be charged for at the highest rate and separately billed to the parent twice each semester. If you come without checking the time, you take the chance of being turned down.
Please call us to let us know if your child will be absent or late. We worry when we do not hear from you. It also helps us to be better able to plan our day.
Illness Policy
The following policies were written with the health of everyone in mind. Specific illness information was provided by the Washtenaw County Health Department.
Your child should stay at home if he/she does not feel well enough to participate in all group activities both inside and outdoors.
Common Cold: The immune system of a preschool child is not fully developed; therefore, he/she may contract a common cold quite frequently. A child who has a simple cold may attend school if he/she feels well enough to participate in all daily activities including outdoor play. However, if there is excessive nasal discharge or a severe cough, it is recommended the child stay at home.
Any time a child has been crying more than usual or complaining about discomfort for over 1/2 hour you may be called to pick up your child.
The following is a list of specific communicable diseases or illness symptoms that exclude a child from attending school:
| Disease/illness symptoms | When child may return |
|---|---|
| Fever 100 degrees or above | Fever free for 24 hours without a fever reducing medication |
| Vomiting | 24 hours symptom free |
| Diarrhea (giardia, salmonella, shingella, viral) | When stools are formed and symptom free for 24 hours |
| Nasal Discharge (yellow or green mucous) | Discharge is not thick yellow or green and/or if the child has been on antibiotic for 24 hours |
| Chicken Pox | After all skin lesions have dried |
| Mumps | After swelling is gone (about 9 days) |
| Strep Throat | After 24 hours of antibiotic treatment |
| Measles or German Measles | Not earlier than 4 days after onset of rash |
| Pink Eye or Conjunctivitis (Bacterial, viral or allergic) | When eyes are mucus free or on medication for 24 hours |
| Hepatitis A | With physician's clearance |
| Impetigo | With physician clearance, after medication for 24 hours and infected parts covered |
| Ringworm or Pin Worms | After 24 hours of physician prescribed treatment and kept covered |
| Lice | When infestation and nit free as the result of treatment with a medicated shampoo. |
| Scabies | After 24 hours of physician prescribed treatment |
| Unidentified Rash | With physician's clearance |
| Meningitis | With physician's clearance |
| Influenza | With physician's clearance or fever free without fever reducing medication for 24 hours |
| Roseola | After rash clears |
| Hand, Foot and Mouth | When lesions heal and drooling ceases |
| Croup | After free of viral infection and child is no longer having difficulty breathing |
If your child contracts a communicable disease, please notify us as soon as possible. Parents of other children will be alerted to exposure to the disease. Your privacy is assured.
Medication
We will not give the first dose of any medication.
We do not give over the counter medicine.
If it is necessary for your child to take medication while attending our programs the following applies:
- All medication must be in the original pharmaceutical container with the Doctor's name and child's name and prescribed dosage.
- A medication permission slip must be filled out and signed by the parent stating the name of the medication and the time and amount of medication to be administered.
Please do not give your child any medicine (this includes aspirin, Tylenol, throat lozenges etc.) to take on his/her own.
Lunches
If your child is in the Center between 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., please pack a lunch. Do not send candy, gum or soda.
Use a labeled lunch box. Bags allow the smell out and attract insects. The Center will provide milk at lunch time.
Lunch is important for children. It provides vital nutrition which replenishes their energy and helps them through their busy day. The following guidelines have been provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) as being necessary to meet young children's needs for proper nutrition:
- Milk: 1/2 cup for 1-3 year olds, 3/4 cup for 3-6 year olds.
- Meat or meat alternate: Meat, poultry, fish, 1 oz. for 1-6 year olds; or cheese, 1 oz. for 1-6 year olds; or cooked beans/peas, 1/8 cup for 1-3 year olds, 1/4 cup for 3-6 year olds; or peanut butter, 1 T for 1-3 year olds, 2 T for 3-6 year olds.
- Vegetable or fruit, 1/4 cup for 1-3 year olds, 1/2 cup for 3-6 year olds.
- Bread, enriched or whole wheat, 1/2 slice for 1-6 year olds.
Nap Times
Every child who rests will need a small crib sheet for the cot and a small blanket. This will be sent home weekly to be laundered.
All children attending the program for 5 or more continuous hours, according to licensing regulations, are required to have a rest period. A rest period consists of allowing the child to rest on a cot for a minimum of 20 minutes or until the child falls asleep which ever comes first. No child will be denied the opportunity to rest if they so choose regardless of the number of hours in attendance. For those children who will not require a rest period, activities are available in the adjacent room for their age group. If your child does not routinely nap but you would like him to on occasion please let your room teacher know in advance.
Parent Involvement
A child's success in school is greatest when parents and school form a cooperative team with common goals. The partnership we foster between home and school in the preschool programs provides for greater continuity, and coordination in your child's learning. The more school and family communicate the more appropriate and individualized the education plan will be for your child.
We have an open door policy; therefore, parents are welcome and encouraged to be involved in whatever way they can.
Some ways you may choose to participate are by:
- Attending parent/teacher conferences
- Volunteering to help with special classroom projects
- Volunteering to spend time in the classroom
- Helping with field trips
- Preparing and sharing foods and celebrations that honor your family heritage
- Preparing materials for the classroom in your native language
- Sharing special interests or hobbies with the children
- Acting as an interpreter for non-English speaking families
- Helping to plan special events
Parent-Teacher Conferences
Conferences are a time for both parents and teachers to share information about the child. They are scheduled late Fall and early Spring unless needed at other times.
Photos/Camcorders
Occasionally photos or films of the children will be taken at the Children's Center for use on campus. Please let us know if you do not want your child to participate.
Reporting and Resolving Complaints
If a parent has a complaint or concern against a staff member or policy of Washtenaw Community College Children's Center, the procedure discussed below is required to be followed. The purpose of this procedure is to provide a mechanism for resolving a compliant in a positive manner while sharing respect for those involved.
The process consists of the following steps:
- Parent discusses the concern with the classroom head teacher or makes an appointment to see the director.
- A group meeting can be arranged if the concern is not resolved through the first step.
- If a parent does not agree with our discipline methods, we will explain the discipline guidelines we use under our licensing Agency.
- Alternative methods will be addressed to get needs met. The college has a psychologist that can help a parent with a stressful life.
- In order to validate a parent's concern, there needs to be mutual respect toward those involved.
We try to work with our parents within the policies and procedures of our child care licensing Agency.
Under no circumstances is a parent permitted to:
- Yell at or belittle a staff member.
- Make a threat or perceived threat either physical or oral to any staff or child at the WCC Children's center.
- Scold, reprimand or discipline another child in the Center.
- Slam doors, throw objects or destroy property.
- Have any physical contact (aggressive behavior) towards staff or children.
It is important to note, however, that not every Center is right for all children or meets the needs of all parents.
Plan of Action: Should any of the above behaviors happen, the following courses of action will be taken:
- A written warning will be given, and a copy will be forwarded to the Vice President of Student Services.
- A meeting with the Vice President will be scheduled and appropriate action taken.
- The parent's use of the Center for their child will be terminated. (If a parent makes a threat or a perceived threat either physical or oral, termination will be automatic without going through steps 1 and 2).
- Security will be called if staff feels protection is needed.
- The behavior of parents who are students is subject to the "Code of Conduct" as stated in the Student Rights and Responsibilities Handbook.
Admission and Withdrawal Criteria:
When child care services must be withdrawn parents will recieve a preliminary conference followed by a two week notification. Services may be withdrawn due to:
- Non-compliance with Center rules, policies, or procedures.
- Inability of Center to provide quality care as defined by the director for special needs children or families.
Contact us for more information.
School Closing
If the college closes, the Center closes also. If school is cancelled due to snow, ice, power outage, water main break, or if your child is ill, there will be no subtraction of costs or exchange of time.
Signing In/Out
Each room has a "sign-in" sheet. Your child's name will be listed alphabetically by his or her first name.
Upon arrival:
- Record the time in the "in" box.
- Record your expected return time in the box marked "return".
When you pick up your child:
- Record the exact time in the "out" box.
- Initial your name on the "out" box.
All Children must be brought into a room where a caregiver is present- not left on the playground or in a vacant room. If your child's room is out for a walk, sign the child in as usual and ask if they can stay with the neighboring room until their class returns.
Note: it is very important to always sign your child IN and OUT since this record will be used to identify those children present during an emergency or fire drill.
If someone else is picking up your child, please tell the caregiver and write his/her name on the sign-in sheet below your sign-in time for that day. Make sure that this person's name is on the child's information card as having permission to pick up your child. Driver's license identification is a must for someone new-picking up your child.
Snacks
Breakfast and a mid-afternoon snack are provided to all children here at approximately 9 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. USDA nutritional requirements are met. The breakfast consists of 1) milk; 2) juice, fruit, or vegetable; and 3) bread product or cereal. The mid-afternoon snack consists of 1) milk or juice and 2) fruit, vegetable or bread product.
We strive for variety in our snacks and try to provide many "cooking experiences." From time to time we may ask parents to bring food items which will help us expand these experiences. Your donations are always welcomed and appreciated.
Please let caregivers know if your child is allergic to any foods/insects or if they are vegetarians.
Student Participation
WCC Children's Center is a teaching/learning center. Students from WCC, University of Michigan and /or Eastern Michigan University will be observing and/or playing with children to help students learn more about children. Sometimes this involves structured questions-and -answer games as well as manipulative games. All student projects will be supervised to make sure they are age appropriate and add to the child's growing experience.
Study Time
Parents who are students, are allowed study time between classes and before and after classes during non-peak hours. Peak hours are Monday- Thursday from 9:00 a. m. - 2 p.m. There is no study time allowed after 4:00 p.m. Study time is limited to 1/2 your credit hours (example: if you are taking 12 credits hours, you are allowed to register for 6 on-campus study hours).
Toys
Please do not send your child to school with toys from home. We cannot be responsible for loss or damage. If a child does bring a toy from home, it will be kept in the child's cubby until the child goes home.