Meals

The menu is posted in our foyer. We provide the following with each meal: milk - 1%, water and or juice. Should your child have milk or food allergies, please provide these items from home. Children should bring in a water bottle from home - filled with water for use during the day, no juice.

• Morning Snack

• Lunch is served at 12:00 noon – (Parents provide, please label all food items.)

• Afternoon Snack

A healthy diet plays a vital role in a child’s growth and development. Limiting foods high in fat, salt and sugar will establish healthy eating habits. We encourage everyone to provide lunches that include fruit, vegetables, dairy, protein, carbohydrates and grains.

Special Occasions – Holidays and Birthday Parties

We welcome your help in making these occasions special for our children. For class parties a sign-up form will be posted. For your child’s birthday you may bring in store purchased; (This is necessary due to food allergies), pizza, cupcakes, fruit or ice cream. Please discuss with your child’s teacher when you would like to provide food item. (Please, no candy)

Outdoor play is very much a part of our daily activities. Playing outdoors is vital for a child’s health, growth and development, gross motor skills, we learn about science, weather, social studies, and just have fun!

Please dress your child for outdoor play according to each season and temperature.

We cannot keep a child inside if you feel they are not healthy to do so. Children who cannot participate if they are not well enough - need to stay home. We are mandated to take children outdoors unless weather conditions are not favorable.

Discipline is learning self-control and to make proper choices. If a child becomes disruptive, a teacher will redirect the child to another area, or give the child alternate choices.

Should a child not be able to control his/her behavior, the child will take “time-out” in his/her cubby or a quiet area in their classroom. (One minute per age of child-never more than five minutes for older children) We owe it to all our children, their families, and our staff to maintain an environment that is safe and displays a positive learning environment.

UNCONTROLLABLE BEHAVIOR that cannot be resolved will result in a call to the parent, and the child may be suspended for the day. Severe behavior problems which cannot be resolved or may cause injury to another child – will result in termination. Fees will not be refunded.

Our Discipline Approach:

• Expectations are limited to what is realistic for the developmental level of the child, and they are clarified for children, so they understand what is expected of them.

• A “yes” environment is created, which enhances and encourages children’s positive behavior.

• Teachers model appropriate behavior.

• Teachers encourage children’s efforts to build feelings of self-worth.

• Children are given alternatives, which enable them to turn destructive situations into constructive ones.

• Natural and logical consequences are used to motivate and empower children to make responsible decisions about their behavior.

• Behaviors such as cooperating, helping, negotiating, and problem solving are encouraged.

The following methods of disciplinary prohibited:

• Corporal punishment, including spanking.

• Shaking, jerking, squeezing, or physically indicating disapproval.

• Shaming, humiliation, or verbal abuse.

• Labeling, such as indicating a child is a “bad” girl or boy, or otherwise implying that he or she, rather than the behavior, is the problem.

• Using bribes, false threats, or false choices.

• Withholding of food or drink, outdoor time, or unrelated activities (e.g., special events) as punishments.

• Retaliating or doing to the child what he or she did to someone else.

• Punishment for soiling, wetting, or not using the toilet.

To get you started on the right track here are a couple of housekeeping items that we like to review with you before the first day!

• Drop Off & Pick Up Procedures

  • When dropping off your child/ren, please sign in and out each day including the arrival and pick up times

• What should your child wear to daycare?

  • Comfortable clothing

  • Clothes that they can get messy in. We do art project and go outside almost daily.

  • Close toed shoes (for safety while playing outside)

• Toys from home

  • For safety reasons we do not allow children to bringing toys from home

• You will need to bring the following items on the first day for your child.

  • Bedding for naptime

    • Provide a bookbag for your child’s sheets.

    • The bedding will remain in your child’s cubby for the week.

    • Please take bedding home to wash every Friday (or the last day your child will attend for the week).

    • We need the following bedding:

      • 1 Crib Sheet

      • 1 Blanket

  • Change of clothes

    • Please include:

      • Shirt

      • Pants

      • Underwear

      • Socks

  • Diapers and wipes

    • Enough diapers for each week

    • I pack of wipes. We will request more as needed

  • Lunch

    • All parts of the lunch must be labeled

    • No containers please. Food can go in baggies and we will transfer to a disposable bowl or container.

  • Tuition payment

    • Check, money order, cash or ACH through Brightwheel

  • Sign up for Brightwheel!

    • Brightwheel will allow us to communicate throughout the day, send photos, send updates about the day, make payments and sign your child in and out of the center.

• Tips for dropping off on the first day.

  • Your child’s first day of daycare should NOT be a surprise to them. Explain to your child/re what will happen in the days leading up to day one. Better yet, get them excited about it! Talk to your child about all the fun things they’ll get to do at daycare: playing with toys, playing outside, meeting new friends, and singing songs. Describe daycare in an honest way that will be appealing to them so that they’re excited to attend.

  • Don’t linger during drop off. You’ve arrived at the center for the first day of daycare, given their pack of stuff to the center’s staff and completed your goodbye routine. Now it’s time to leave. You’ll probably be tempted to comfort your child if they cry. But please try not to. This will only make it harder for your son/daughter to accept the situation and make the best of the day. Our staff is wonderful about comforting your children when upset and engaging them in fun activities.

• Keeping the lines of communication open.

  • We believe that through a strong partnership with families we can set a strong academic foundation that will lead to a bright future where the “sky is the limit!”

  • We provide many opportunities to keep lines of communication open.

    • Email – michelle@WesleyDayCareCenter.com

    • Phone – 410-766-4107

  • Message us on Brightwheel (COMING SOON)

Health Policy MSDE, CDC, Health Department regulations and our policy is to maintain the health of all children and staff member by excluding anyone with a fever or communicable illness. If a child or staff member exhibits any of the following signs and symptoms, they must be excluded from our childcare center:

Fever 100 degree or higher, rash and/or oozing skin, vomiting/stomachache/diarrhea, blood or mucus in stools not explained by dietary changes, yellow or green mucous or nasal discharge, conjunctivitis-pink eye, lice, impetigo, strep throat, staph infection, unusual lethargy, irritability, uncontrolled coughing, or any other contagious or infectious disease.

Please see symptoms and quarantine guidance on CDC chart for COVID-19. Your child must be symptom free for 24 hours or have a doctor’s note before he/she may return. If your child is out for 3 or more days, a doctor’s note is required. Your child must be able to participate in all activities, including going outdoors.

If your child shows illness symptoms during the day… We will call you immediately! Since your child will not be able to participate in any activities, and to eliminate the spread of any illness, we ask that you or a designated adult pick your child up within 30 minutes. Allergies and Asthma A child with allergies or asthma must have an Allergy/Asthma Action Plan completed by a physician. We will follow the Action Plan as ordered and signed by all.

Please advise us of any food allergies your child has prior to care.

In the event we need to close our center due to weather or an emergency, we will send a message via Brightwheel as soon as possible, or prior to 6:00AM. We will also put a message on our FACEBOOK page – Wesley Day Care, Inc./Facebook.

Pick up after 5:30 PM will result in a fee of $1.00 per minute thereafter. These fees are due with your next tuition payment.

We accepts cash, check, and money order payments. You can also make an ACH payment via the Brightwheel mobile application.

Yes. Please visit https://earlychildhood.marylandpublicschools.org/child-care-providers/child-care-scholarship-program for more information about the program including how to apply.

Our center has partnered with Brightwheel, the leading early education technology, to help us deliver

an enriching childcare experience to our students and families!

What you can expect from Brightwheel:

• More, real-time visibility into your child’s day with photos, videos, and updates

• An easier way to stay connected to your child’s learning and development

• A safer environment for our students and staff through contactless check-in/check-out, entry screens, and health checks

• Easy online tuition payments

• A single app for you to stay connected to all aspects of our center

What's next

Be on the lookout for an invitation to join our center on Brightwheel! The invitation will include a link for you to set up your account.

Holidays – a Holiday List is distributed at the beginning of each year and upon enrollment:

• New Year’s Day

• President’s Day

• Good Friday

• Memorial Day

• Independence Day

• Labor Day

• Thanksgiving and day after, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day

• New Year’s Eve

We do not require two-year old children to be potty trained. We will work with your child in potty training and require children to be in diapers until this is accomplished.

Children will be changed every two hours, or as needed. Our teachers wear disposable gloves when changing or assisting with toileting. Teachers will remind children to go to the bathroom, assist and change if needed.

Toileting accidents will be treated as that, accidents! There will be no shaming or making a child feel bad. Young children need encouragement not belittling if this process is to be mastered. We will assist your child in changing the soiled clothing, and the clothes will be place in a sealed plastic bag and placed on your child’s cubby to be laundered at home. Please replace these items with clean new clothes the next day. We are not permitted to wash out soiled clothes. MSDE mandate.

Please understand we want your child to be completely toilet trained as much as you do – however, pushing a child beyond their cognitive and physical ability, only draws out the process.