Classroom Charts

Classroom charts are great. They are an excellent way to decorate your classroom while reinforcing important concepts. Children’s eyes are naturally drawn to bright colors, and they read what’s on the walls in their classrooms. Educational charts are ideal for schools and come in many different types.

Incentive and motivational charts encourage students to do well in class and behave in a positive manner. Behavioral charts are a type of incentive chart that tracks behavior and rewards positive behaviors. Subject charts, such as Language Arts or Science, provide excellent reference for students (but cover them up during tests!). Multilingual charts can often be used directly in the teaching process.

Having your students make their own charts can be a great way to solidify concepts. You can either give these charts to the students for home use later or save several for next year.

The Bulletin Board

The bulletin board is the centerpiece of the classroom. Decorating the bulletin board can be a very fun project for teachers. You’ll want a good background (fabric or fadeless paper works well) and some accents. The daycare supply store carries commercial bulletin board sets with many themes. Pick a border decoration that goes with your theme to finish the edges of your bulletin board. Border decorations can also be used to mark off different sections or your board or wall. You can put classroom charts on your bulletin boards too.

Simmons Kids Cribs

 

We are now partnering with Simmons Kids daycare cribs to provide you with an even larger selection of cribs for your daycare or childcare. Simmons Kids is the top retailer of cribs in the United States and has been serving their customers for over 40 years.

Beginning in January 2012, we will be offering a great variety of certified daycare cribs offered by Simmons Kids.

What makes Simmons Kids daycare cribs different than the rest?

They are committed to quality and exceptional value on each crib they offer. All Simmons Kids cribs will come standard with 4” caster wheels which will mean that when you buy a Simmons Kids Daycare crib, you will have a crib that is already evacuation certified! Now that is great value!

When you decide to purchase your new certified daycare cribs to meet the new mandatory federal safety guidelines for childcare cribs, be sure to check out our wonderful selection of Simmons Kids cribs that will become available in January 2012.

Need to know more about the new Crib Safety Standards and how it will apply to your childcare or daycare center? Visit our information page here.

Need certified daycare cribs now? Visit us online today at www.purefunsupply.com and check out our great selection of Foundations and Angeles daycare cribs.

Spotlight Daycare Crib

 

Daycare Cribs rules have changed. Depending on your state regulations, you will have until December 28th, 2012 to upgrade your cribs to meet the new mandatory Federal Safety Standards. Not sure if the cribs at your daycare or child care are compliant? We have some great resources for you here to determine if you need to upgrade your cribs.

SafetyCraft Clearview Fixed-side Crib: Item #FND1632040

Retail Price: $219.99

Our Price: $189.99

Features:

• Headboards feature mortis and tenon joint construction to provide added strength.
• Fixed-side cribs feature a lower profile, providing easier accessibility to infant while reducing back strain for caregiver.
• Smooth plastic teething rails protect child and crib, while making it easy to sanitize.
• Includes DuraLoft vinyl-covered, phthalate-free 3" high-density foam mattress that meets flammability standard CFR 1633.
• 2" commercial casters (two locking).
• Crib has full 5-year warranty, with lifetime warranty on frame, casters, and hardware.
• Complies with CPSC 16CFR 1220
• Setup Dimensions: L: 39" W: 26" H: 38"

Sale pricing on cribs good through 12/31/2011.

 

We are now offering over 25 styles of cribs! Find the perfect daycare crib today at www.purefunsupply.com. We are the #1 choice for compliant daycare cribs!

Wash Your Hands Properly

Hand Washing

Washing your hands properly is the first line of defense against infections like the flu and common cold. It is very important to teach children how to properly wash their hands at a young age so that they develop good habits as early as possible.

When to wash your hands:
-Before and after meals
-Before and after preparing food
-After using the restroom
-After playing with animals
-After playing outside
-After sneezing, coughing, or blowing your nose
-After changing diapers
-After caring for someone who’s sick
-After handling garbage
-Whenever they look dirty

How to wash your hands:
1) Wet your hands with water
2) Apply a small amount of soap (portion control dispensers work perfectly for this)
3) Rub your hands together for at least twenty seconds. Have kids sing the alphabet through twice. Be sure to get your wrists and the back of your hands.
4) Rinse your hands thoroughly
5) Dry off with a paper towel
6) Use your towel to turn off water and then throw it away, if possible.

How to use hand sanitizers:
1) Apply nickle-size amount of hand sanitizer to hands.
2) Rub hands together, front and back, until dry.

Remember that regular soaps are just as effective as antibacterial ones. Hand sanitizers should be at least 60% alcohol. Children may find sanitizers easier and more enjoyable to use.

Make your own Halloween Lacing Cards

Lacing cards are a great indoor activity for kids as winter comes closer. They are easy to use and offer several educational benefits as well: as children lace, they develop their “pincher grip” which is what they will use later in writing. They also learn concentration on patterns and patience towards finishing projects.

Making lacing cards for holidays can be a fun activity for kids in daycare. Here are simple instructions for a Jack-o-Lantern card:

Materials:
Laces for Lacing
Single hole punch
Paper board (empty cereal boxes work well)
Orange construction paper
Colored pencils, markers, or crayons
Scissors
Glue Sticks

Adult Preparation Directions:
Cut the paperboard into a pumpkin shape of at least six inches across. Cut orange construction paper into the same shape and size. Repeat these two steps for as many children as are in your childcare center (or make a couple extras). You may have the children complete this step if you wish.

Child Decorating Directions:
Have children decorate their Orange construction paper/pumpkins however they wish. You can suggest that they draw Jack-o-Lantern faces and fill them in. Encourage creativity.

Once all the pumpkins are decorated, have children glue their paper to their cardboard. Let glue dry thoroughly.

Adult or Child Finishing Directions:
Punch holes around the perimeter of the pumpkin, about 1-2 inches apart.

Now your Halloween lacing pumpkin is complete and ready for use. Have your children practice lacing it with the laces, and let them take their Jack-o-Lanterns home. These instructions can be easily modified to make other shapes.

Preventing the Flu

Flu season has started and this virus runs rampant through daycares and schools. Children under the age of 2 are at greater risk for complications and even death from the influenza. There are some simple steps you can take to reduce the spread of infection in your childcare center or preschool.

1) Get a flu shot and encourage your center’s children (over 6 months) and parents to be vaccinated as well. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends the flu shot to everyone over 6 months. The vaccine is especially recommended for the following groups of people: pregnant women, children younger than 5, people working with children, people in long-term care facilities, and people with chronic illnesses. The CDC recommends getting the shot as soon as it is available (usually August or September) and before December.

2) Avoid close contact and encourage sick children to stay home. The flu virus spreads through close contact with someone who’s already sick. Tell your school’s parents that sick children should stay home. Make sure they understand that there is no penalty for missing school when sick. If you yourself feel ill, take the day off work to avoid exposing your daycare children to the virus.

3) Cover your cough. Covering your nose and mouth with a tissue when coughing can reduce the spread of infection. Using a tissue prevents the virus from getting stuck on your hands. Unfortunately, kids aren’t so good at remembering this one, but try to teach it anyway.

4) Wash your hands. Washing your hands often will help protect you from germs (not just the flu) that you make pick up on hard surfaces and children’s toys. Hand wipes are great for young children because they’re easier to use than soap and water.

5) Disinfect your daycare center or preschool frequently. Children put their hands everywhere; they also put everything in their mouths. Virus are most often spread to the mucus membranes (eyes, ears, nose, mouth), so disinfect your childcare center’s toys, bathrooms, kitchens, and hard surfaces routinely.

6) Drink plenty of fluids. Fluids flush out the system, removing viruses and other toxins while re-hydrating. PureFun!’s juice is all natural and made especially for young children. Serving this juice at your daycare center is an excellent way to make sure your youngsters get plenty of fluids.

These simple steps will reduce, but not prevent the spread of the flu and other infections through your childcare center. We hope you find these tips useful.

Daycare Crib Fundraiser Ideas

 

The federal government meant well with its new regulations governing crib safety. After all, what could be more important than keeping young children safe? But the expense of complying with the new rules, which fully take effect at the end of 2012, has put many child care providers in a bind.

Some are looking for help from the people they serve, by holding fund-raisers. “You give parents a cause for why you're raising the money, and they tend to be very supportive,” said Denise Myatt, director of the New Beginnings child care center in Hanover, Penn.

A previous fund-raiser allowed the church-based school to purchase a security system with cameras in all the classrooms.

Myatt pointed out that typically, tuition income goes back to the children in the form of food, staff salaries, etc. There’s not a lot left over for items such as new cribs, which cost hundreds of dollars apiece with shipping charges.

Her school did a “Joe Corbi fund-raiser” to help pay for cribs. Maryland-based Joe Corbi’s helps organizations raise money through the sale of pizza kits, cookie dough and other items.

Looking for outside sources to pay for improvements such as new cribs is a must, as Myatt sees it. “The fund-raiser is the only way -- outside of our own pocketbooks.”

A church-based child enrichment center in South Carolina is taking a different approach. To raise money for the 23 cribs it needs to buy, the center will ask the Sunday School classes in The Baptist Church of Beaufort to commit to purchasing one or two or three cribs. Then a small plaque with the name of the donating class will be affixed to each crib.

Director Debbie Marcil said the preschool has not really gone to the church for financial help in the past, except occasionally to meet the needs of a struggling family. She noted a potential benefit from the new approach. “We thought maybe it would help give them some ownership in the preschool.”

As in many churches, the child care center has been a means of evangelism in the community. “We just had two families join in the past month,” Marcil said.

Whether by cookie dough or donations or other creative means, an enterprising child care center can get help navigating the cribs funding challenge.

Stickers, Stickers and more Stickers – Oh, my!

 

I love stickers and children love them even more! At home I use them on chore charts, greeting cards, wrapping paper, calendars, vegetable canning, and the list goes on. At my school, I use them as rewards and as a motivator. I put them on test papers and homework papers.

I use them on bulletin boards, borders, pictures and in crafts. In the preschool area, I use them to help teach colors and animals and shapes. I even let the children put them on their hands and shirts.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a better selection than what I found at www.purefunsupply.com.

Multilingual Learning Tools for Children

I’ve always said I would love to learn another language, but have yet to become fluent in a second language – I wish I were young again! Multilingual Flash Cards help young kids learn different languages quickly. Children find other languages fascinating and intriguing and are eager learners. Kids can learn and absorb a new language much easier than adults. Also, our multilingual books and materials are the easiest way to teach kids another language.

Buy your wholesale Multilingual Flash Cards and learning tools from the leader in childcare, daycare, and school supply.

TimeMist Air Fresheners & TimeMist Dispensers

 

What is one of the first things Potential Parents notice when they walk into your school or daycare? They may notice the front desk receptionist and their demeanor or the decor of your childcare center, but one of the main things a potential parent will notice is the smell of your childcare center.

When you have a center that appeals to ALL the senses, you will have more business. A parent wants to feel comfortable leaving their precious little one in a place that is clean. Using a Air Freshener like TimeMist is a great way to improve the overall smell and feeling of your daycare. We offer over 11 scents in Time Mist air fresheners.

A great advantage to using TimeMist Air fresheners is their programable dispensers. This Metered Aerosol Dispenser has an Advanced system with Command Performance, that allows you to customize the daily usage. Some great features of the Time Mist PLUS dispenser is that you can set start/stop time, plus spray level (light, medium, heavy). Or, set switch ON for automatic spraying every 15 minutes, 24 hours a day, for 30 days. Visual (LED) and audible (beeps) refill and battery replacement indicators.

For more great ways to freshen the air at your center view all of our great childcare and daycare supplies at www.purefunsupply.com

Certified Angeles Daycare Cribs

 

 

Purefunsupply.com is now offering even more options for your daycare or childcare center! We have just begun selling Angeles Cribs! Angeles is a name you can trust for Quality, Innovation and Value.

They are now offering the Safe-T-Side crib. This technology offers an easier way to reach the child in the crib and it is a safe alternative to the traditional drop side crib that has now been banned.  Angeles daycare cribs meet all the 2010 Federal Safety standards and are compliant under all ASTM and CPSC rules.

Find the perfect crib for your daycare today. With over 25 certified cribs we are your #1 source for all compliant cribs.

View all the cribs offered at www.purefunsupply.com today!