Corey’s Child Care will be marching in the 26^th annual Teddy Bear Parade in Historic Downtown Gresham on Saturday, September 27^th at 10:00 a.m.  The parade will begin at East Hill Church, 401 N Main Ave, and will wind through downtown Gresham, then back to East Hill Church.  Groups marching in the parade will be holding, displaying, and even dressed as teddy bears.  Hundreds of the furry bears are expected to attend.  The Soroptimist holds this parade every year as a fund raiser for women’s education and homeless shelters. 

Corey’s Child Care will also be collecting non-perishable food items for the local Church of Christ Pantry, so please bring something to donate to their mission to keep Gresham families from being hungry this year.  Contact Corey’s Child Care at 503-348-1419 for donation locations.

Directly after the parade, the Gresham Downtown Development Association will be holding its annual Bike Safety Fair.  This free event begins at noon, and ends at 2 p.m., and will be held in the grassy area near East Hill Church.  There will be games, prizes, booths, and free bike helmets for the first 600 kids.  For more information on this event call (503)665-3827.

Daycare is expensive, and many families in today’s economy can’t afford to work.  There is help.  By applying for daycare assistance with DHS, or the Department of Human Services, families can be evaluated by a case manager to see if they qualify for any assistance in paying for the daycare needed for their children.

Where do you start?  The DHS website is an excellent starting point.  There, you can learn the steps you need to follow in order to be considered for daycare assistance.

Families can qualify if the total household income falls below 185% of the Federal Poverty Level.  Eligibility also depends on total income of a family, the amount of family members, the area the family lives in, and whether or not it is necessary for the children to remain in care in order for the parents to stay employed.  A downloadable application for daycare assistance can be found on the Child Care Subsidy Page.

Most families who qualify will have to pay a co-pay to the daycare provider of their choice.  For example, if you have a $100 co-pay, it must be paid to your provider each month before DHS will cover the rest of your benefits.  Another thing you will need to know is that if your benefits and co-pay aren’t enough to cover your monthly daycare bill, you will be responsible for the rest.  There is a common misconception here.  If your daycare provider bills $500 for the month, and your co-pay is $100, but you only qualify for $200 in daycare assistance, that leaves a balance of $200 owed to your daycare provider to cover the month.  That balance is your responsibility to cover.

Daycare assistance isn’t designed to give you free daycare, it’s designed to assist you in the burden of paying for it.  Daycare is expensive, and every penny counts when you live under the Federal Poverty Line.  DHS also allows you to choose your own Daycare Provider as long as they’re 18 years of age or older, and have passed a criminal background check.  Registered Providers and Daycare Centers are also allowed, although not all Providers or Centers accept DHS subsidy.

For more information, contact your local DHS office.

Fall is just around the corner.  We can see it in the leaves, feel it in the wind, hear it in the trees, smell it in the air, and taste it in the food that’s in season.  How can we start to incorporate how our senses can tell the changing of the season into our Daycare Program?  Start by going for a nature walk. 

Sight:

Have the children look at the trees blowing in the wind, and explain how the wind comes in the fall to help the trees shed their leaves.  Talk about how the trees and leaves blow in the wind.  Are they moving fast or slow?

Touch:

Have children pick up a leaf that has fallen from a tree.  Explain how the trees are starting to “go to sleep” for the winter.  Ask them to explain how the wind feels on their faces.  Is it hot?  Is it Cold?  Is it warm?  Is it blowing hard or soft?  Is the leaf they picked up dry or soft?  How long do they think it’s been on the ground?

Sound:

Ask if they can hear it wind in the leaves.  Have them close their eyes and listen.  See if they can make the sound of the wind.

Smell:

Ask the children to smell the leaves and explain what kind of smell it is.  Does it smell like dirt?  Does it have a smell?  Does the air smell different than normal?  When you get back from your walk, serve a fresh apple and explain that apples are picked in the fall.  Have them smell it, and explain that apples are a fall smell. 

Taste:  Talk about the flavors of fall foods.  Ask them to explain how the apple tastes.  Different kinds of apples can be served as well, so you can have the sweet taste of a Red Delicious and the sour taste of a Granny Smith.  Cut an apple in half and show them the seeds, and explain how the apples fall to the ground in the fall, then they are carried by animals, and dropped in the soil to grow new trees.

PROJECT: 

Cut an apple in half.  Have the children dip one half in tempera paint and stamp it on a piece of paper.  For more advanced little ones, they can turn their stamp into a drawing after the paint is dry, or use their fingertips to stamp fingerprint arms, legs, and heads on their apple stamp, using it as a body.