Please review the information below for everything you need to know about Little Acorn Daycare:
Admission:
I accept children who are 1 year old and walking through 5 years old.
No child/family will be denied admission on the basis of race, religion, sexual orientation, political preference, or national origin. I do, however, realize that not every child/family will be a good fit. For this reason, every child will have a two week trial basis. During this time period, the parents or I am allowed to give a one day notice of termination of care based on not being a “good match.” After the two week trial period, a two week notice of termination by either party is required.
Tuition Rate and Fees:
I offer only full time child care, no part time. Monthly tuition is $850 for a 5 day (Monday - Friday) week. Payment is due on the 1st of the month. If the 1st of the month falls on a weekend, please pay tuition the previous Friday. There is a $5 fee per day for each day payment is late. I accept checks or cash, no Venmo or Paypal. Please make out checks to Shannon Geddes-Keene or Little Acorn Daycare. There is a $45 fee for a bounced check. Monthly receipts are available by request. I will also send out a yearly receipt for tax purposes.
I do not reimburse families for sick days or days taken off for vacation. I reserve the right to increase my rates every January. You will be given advanced notice of an increase in cost.
Please do not place me in a position to have to ask for payment of tuition or fees. If you are late with a payment or pick-up, please include the amount due in your next payment.
Health Policy:
Little Acorn Daycare shall not admit a child with the following symptoms:
A child who is diagnosed as having or being a carrier of a child care restrictable disease, as defined in Oregon Health Authority administrative rules (Measles, Tuberculosis, Hepatitis A, etc.)
Symptoms of COVID-19 or positive COVID-19 test result
Fever over 100 degrees Fahrenheit, taken under the arm
Diarrhea (more than one abnormally loose, runny, watery or bloody stool)
Vomiting or has vomited in the last 24 hours
Nausea
Severe cough
Unusual yellow color to skin or eyes
Skin or eye lesions or rashes that are severe, weeping or pus-filled
Stiff neck and headache with one or more of the symptoms listed above
Difficulty breathing or abnormal wheezing
Complaints of severe pain
Your child will only be admitted back into my care if they have not had any of the above symptoms for a full 24 hours. If a child is recovering from COVID-19, children will be allowed back to daycare after an isolation period of 5 days as long as their symptoms are improving and they have been fever-free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medications.
If a child, who after coming to daycare, shows signs of an illness, they will be separated from the other children and parents will be notified and asked to pick the child up as soon as possible. If a child has mild cold symptoms that do not impair their normal functioning, the child may remain at daycare and parents will be informed at pick up. Parents will be notified if their child is exposed to an outbreak of a communicable disease. If your child will not be attending daycare due to an illness, please text or call to alert me of what illness your child has.
Vacations and Paid Holidays:
I take three weeks of paid vacation every year. I am closed for a week in March that lines up with my daughters’ spring break from school, a week in the summer (typically July or August), and from December 24th through January 1st each year. I am closed on the following holidays:
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
President’s Day
Memorial Day
Juneteenth
4th of July
Labor Day
Veteran’s Day
Thanksgiving Day
Day after Thanksgiving
Christmas Day
New Year’s Eve
New Year’s Day
If a holiday falls on a weekend, Daycare will be closed the following Monday. You will be notified in my monthly newsletter if there will be closure dates in the following month. I also try to hang a sign as a reminder to parents of the closure dates.
Sick Days and Unscheduled Time Off:
If I am sick and can not give your child quality care or I have an appointment, I will try my best to have a substitute provider, most likely my husband, Tim. Tim is certified in CPR and first aid and will comply with all family child care rules and regulations. If a substitute is unable to cover for me when I am sick, then daycare will be closed for the day. In the case of an emergency, I reserve the right to close the daycare and I will try to give as much advanced notice as possible in that situation.
Guidance and Discipline:
Your child will receive love and respect in my care. This policy is designed to help your child develop self control, self-esteem, and respect for others. Your child will not experience any form of physical, emotional, or mental harm while in my care. I make a point of praising children often for good behaviors (playing nicely with others, sharing, taking turns, using good manners, being a good helper, etc.) It is my responsibility to ensure that the emotional and physical safety of all of the children in my care is protected. In the rare instance that I feel any child in my care has a serious discipline problem, I will request a conference with the parent(s). If an understanding cannot be reached, I reserve the right to terminate our contract with as much notice as possible in order to guarantee the comfort and safety of the other children in my care.
Inappropriate behavior includes hitting, biting, kicking, pushing, hair pulling, throwing objects, unwanted and inappropriate touching of another child, climbing on inappropriate things, standing on chairs, willful destruction of the daycare’s property, etc.
Children will be allowed to make acceptable choices and experience the natural consequences (not dangerous) of those choices. Toddlers will be disciplined by distracting or redirecting away from an activity or inappropriate behavior that is not desired. Toys may be placed in “time-out” if children are fighting over a toy and an agreement can not be made to share. Preschool age children will be disciplined in the following manner:
Inappropriate behavior will be identified and explained to the child.
I will make suggestions and allow the child to decide their course of action in order to learn problem solving.
Children will be allowed to solve their own disagreements if no one is in danger.
Time-out will be utilized if the child will not stop the inappropriate behavior, usually after three opportunities to correct their behavior, unless the offense was harmful to another child, which is an instant time-out. The reason for time-out will be explained. The child will be removed from the rest of the children, but still within my eyesight for a period not to exceed 1 minute per year of age. At the end of time-out, the child will be asked if they understand why they shouldn’t do that behavior, then asked if they are ready to play nicely again. Time-out is often for only a few seconds, simply to remove the child from the situation and establish the knowledge that the behavior is inappropriate and will result in a consequence if the child continues to pursue that course of action.
I will encourage children to apologize to the other child(ren) involved, when developmentally appropriate, in order to stop offending behavior and teach consequences, responsibility, and empathy in a positive manner.
These are the rules that children in my care must strive to follow:
Nice touch [no hitting, kicking, biting, pushing]
Hands to ourselves [respecting another’s personal space]
Walk inside [no running inside the house unless part of a game]
Down [no climbing on furniture, tables or counters, no standing on chairs]
Only food goes in mouth [no toys, bugs, dirt, etc.]
No throwing inside the house, roll only [Children are not allowed to throw toys or balls while inside the house. Outside balls can be thrown to other children while playing a game, but not allowed to be thrown at another]
Alcohol and Smoking:
There will be no consumption of alcohol on the premises during daycare hours. We are a non-smoking household and there will be no smoking on the premises, in our yard, or in the driveway.
Transportation:
I will not transport any children at any time in a vehicle. Your child will stay in my home, in the front of the house, or in the backyard, under my supervision at all times. Stafford Park is located behind my house. We occasionally go into the park through the gate in the backyard to play games or have a picnic.
Emergency Evacuation Plan:
In case of an emergency situation where the daycare is no longer a safe location, the children will need to be evacuated from the house. I will have all emergency contact information with me as well as an emergency backpack which contains a first aid kit, bottled water, snacks, diapers, emergency blankets, any needed medications, and a few quiet activities. Head counts will be taken often to make sure children are all safe and I will stay with them at all times, they will never be alone. We practice fire drills each month and do monthly testing of smoke and carbon monoxide alarms.
Emergency Evacuation/Relocation Plan:
If it becomes necessary to move away from the building due to excessive heat, inclement weather, fire department activities, or any other reason, all children will be moved to 1 of 3 location sites: the end of my driveway, Stafford Park, or Grocery Outlet. Children will not be released to anyone other than their parents or other designated emergency contact as outlined on the child’s registration form.
Primary Route:
I will blow emergency whistle, grab the emergency backpack and instruct children to form a line at the front door. Once outside, children will quickly put on shoes and coats if weather is cold. All children will hold on to the walking rope with me taking the lead and walk together to the end of the driveway. If needed, I will carry a child if they cannot walk. While there, I will notify parents via phone call and/or group text and wait for parents to arrive. If that is not a safe and suitable location, we will walk up to Grocery Outlet (878 Molalla Ave) and I will call and/or text parents from there once the children are safe and wait for parents to arrive.
Secondary Route:
I will blow emergency whistle, grab the emergency backpack and instruct children to form a line at the gate to the living room to go out the rear sliding door to the outdoor play area or laundry room door leading to the garage. If possible, I will quickly grab children’s shoes and coats from front porch.
If exiting through the rear sliding door, all children will hold on to the walking rope with me taking the lead and walk together. If needed, I will carry a child if they cannot walk. We will go through the back gate into Stafford Park. I will call and/or group text parents from there and wait for parents to arrive.
If exiting through the laundry room and through the garage, we will exit through the garage side door or large garage door. All children will hold on to the walking rope with me taking the lead and walk together to the end of the driveway. If needed, I will carry a child if they cannot walk. When there, I will notify parents via phone call and/or group text and wait for parents to arrive. If that is not a safe and suitable location, we will walk up to Grocery Outlet (878 Molalla Ave) and I will call and/or group text parents from there once the children are safe and wait for parents to arrive.
Continuing Operations During or After a Disaster :
During or after a disaster, operations will only continue if I feel the house is safe and I am able to comply with all child care licensing rules. Children will have access to quiet activities and snacks from the emergency backpack during both shelter-in-place emergencies and at the relocation site for emergencies requiring evacuation.
Fire Emergencies:
Immediately upon discovery of any kind of fire in the home, or upon hearing the fire alarm/smoke detector I will quickly blow the emergency whistle, grab the emergency backpack and instruct children to line up at one of the three exits as outlined in the Emergency Evacuation/Relocation Plan section. After a quick headcount we will exit the house and proceed to the relocation area. I will then call emergency services and notify parents via phone call and/or group text and wait for parents to arrive.
Earthquake Emergencies:
Indoors: At the first sign of shaking, I will blow the emergency whistle and instruct children to drop to the ground, take cover by getting under a table and holding onto a table leg or kneel with their heads close to their knees next to an interior wall but away from windows and any risk of falling objects. We will stay under cover until the shaking stops (at least one minute), with our faces away from the windows. If possible, I will ask children to cover their eyes with their hands. After shaking has stopped, I will instruct the children to stay where they are while I determine if there are possible hazards and if the house is safe or if we should evacuate and relocate. I will check each child for injuries and give first aid if necessary before evacuating.
Outside: I will instruct the children to move into the open, away from any buildings, fences, trees, tall playground equipment, utility wires, and street lights and wait there until the shaking stops. Once the shaking has stopped, I will look around for possible hazards to determine if it is safe to move. Once I know that we are out of danger, I will determine if the house is a safe place or if we should relocate to 1 of the 3 evacuate/relocate locations. I will check each child for injuries and give first aid if necessary before relocating.
If cell phones do not work and relocation is necessary, I will place a note on the front door alerting parents which location we have gone to.
Shelter-In-Place Emergencies and Intruder or Active Shooter:
I will shut and lock all doors and windows, if necessary. I will grab the emergency backpack and any medications and instruct children to relocate to the master bedroom at the rear of the house. I will make sure the children stay away from all windows and I will lock the door. If needed, children will be carried or helped to walk to the bedroom. I will make sure everyone is safe and unhurt and notify local authorities if there is a physical threat inside the home or if someone is injured. I will reassure the children and keep them calm and quiet until the emergency has passed. I will call and/or send a group text to families notifying them of the emergency and plans for pick-up or relocation if necessary.
Serious Accident or Injuries:I will immediately call 911 and report the emergency and remain with the sick or
injured child and administer emergency first aid as necessary. I will reassure the child and keep them calm and quiet until emergency medical personnel can take over the child’s care.
Power Outage:
Immediately upon discovery of a power outage, I will attempt to determine why the power is out, check the circuit breaker, and contact the local power company, if necessary. If compliance with the licensing rules cannot be maintained, such as temperature or visibility of children, I will contact parents letting them know that they must pick children up within the hour via a phone call and/or group text.
Water Main Break:
If there is a water main break in or near the home, or total loss of water for any reason, the facility must close because compliance with the licensing rules cannot be maintained, such as running water, flushable toilets, etc. I will contact parents letting them know that they must pick children up. If the home still has water available, I will contact the water company or local authorities to see if the facility needs to be evacuated or if the children can remain in the home until parents can arrive to pick up their children.
Gas Leak:
If there is a gas leak detected in or very near the home, I will immediately evacuate according to the Evacuation/Relocation Plan. If the gas leak is in the vicinity of the home, I will contact the gas company to determine if there is a need to go to the relocation site.