Working in Child Care

Illness

Preventative measures make a difference in keeping preschool classrooms as illness-free

as possible. When the children engage with the sensory tables like sand or water, we must follow

the related protocols to minimize the spread of harmful germs. For the sand table it is advised to

change the sand once a week and the water table must have its water changed after each session.

Along with the main sensory material being freshly changed, the bin or basin holding the

materials and other play tools inside, must be cleaned and disinfected. This is done by cleaning it

with soap and water, and then spraying it with a bleach solution containing one part bleach nine

parts water, letting the solution sit for 10 minutes and then rinsing with water and air drying.

This same procedure for cleaning and disinfecting is also necessary for all the other toys handled

in the childcare centre with the exception of soft toys, where we would place it on a high heat

dryer cycle for disinfection. These disinfection practices keep the toys safe from contaminates

that the children could pass to each other during daily use because it is done at the end of every

day or week, depending on the toy.

Despite our best efforts, sickness can spread in classrooms, but adapting to the

seriousness of an outbreak is very impactful to manage the situation. The sensory tables of sand

and water would be removed until the outbreak is resolved. This protects children from the high

contact areas while there are highly contagious and serious illnesses being passed around. The

disinfection of other handled toys would adapt to be a stronger bleach solution of two parts

bleach and eight parts water and, the soaking process would be extended to 20 minutes instead of

10. The schedule of said disinfection would change from every day or week to every use or the3

end of each day, depending on the toy. This ensures even the toughest germs are effectively

wiped out before any other children use the toys.

Safety

Indoor play environments require several safety features for infants to be sufficiently

protected. Sleep areas are mandatory for children in care for more than six hours and they must

be separate from the play areas. As noted in the Child Care and Early Years Act or CCEYA

(2014), section 17 a, “each licensed infant group has a separate play activity room and a separate

sleeping area that is separated from any play activity area.” For the health and safety of infants in

our care we must have separate areas because infants are on individual schedules and even when

they are aligned with one another there must always be designated space to keep the cribs which

need to be the same number as there are infants in the centre’s care, as is stated in section 19 of

the CCEYA (2014).

Outdoor play environments pose specific risks to infants that are sufficiently addressed

with proper fencing and supervision protocols. As noted in the CCEYA (2014) section 24 b,

“if used by licensed infant, toddler or preschool groups, is fenced to a minimum height of 1.2 metres

and the fence is furnished with one or more gates that are securely closed at all times.” The 

outdoor play space must be fenced because the children need to be kept safely inside and

passersby’s are to be kept away from the children in our care. Also, the age range for infants is 0-

18 months, and during this bracket more confident exploratory movement begins and their sense

of freedom and instinct to explore within the space is important to foster, but they must be safe

and secure when they do. Supervision is another crucial aspect of safety in outdoor play

environments as stated in the CCEYA (2014) section 24 d, “[outdoor play environments are]

designed so that the staff can maintain constant supervision of the children.” A proper physical

set up for RECE’s in the play space, allows for us to give our full attention, observe and respond

to all the children in our care, and it protects their safety outdoors as we continuously scan for

hazards in the environment as they arise.

Nutrition

As a RECE mealtime is the ideal opportunity to model behaviour and inform preschool

age children about the interesting patterns and needs our nutrition fulfills. Starting considerate

and relevant conversations at the eating table while modelling table manners and eating all the

food (that I can) that they are eating are great places to start. A conversation that could arise if it

is the case at a specific centre is: how amazing it is that we grew this cucumber in our

community garden and now it is on our plates. These kinds of conversations can be very

beneficial and empowering and even if it is not a food grown on site, an understanding of where

and how the food got to our table “encourages long-term interest in food sources” (Pimento &

Kernested, 2015, para. Community Action). Modelling table manners sets a clear example of

what is expected of preschoolers at eating times and as noted in the Preschoolers section of the

Pimento & Kernested text (2015), “Preschoolers are capable of understanding what is and isn’t

appropriate behaviour, as well as logical consequences,” so to voice these expectations and

demonstrate them would be very effective. A part of that demonstration is physically eating the

foods I can that we are all sharing to encourage their willingness to eat all that they can too.

However, if they are faced with a new food, they haven’t yet tried I would not force them to try it

after they saw me eat it and decided they don’t want to try it today and manners are encouraged

by positive reinforcement, not excessive demands that they use the polite words.

Safety considerations are also major concerns during mealtimes and ensuring we are

eating with clean hands and manageable bite sizes protect their safety. Having the allotted5

transition activity before meals of washing our hands is helpful on many planes but especially

food safety as we will be handling food with disinfected hands to reduce risk of germs entering

the body. Following a routine for handwashing that has visual aids and a timed song that

highlights all the steps and areas to target while handwashing as well as the time frame of 25 to

30 seconds contributes to the success of this consideration. Simply preparing all of the food

served with choking hazards in mind is a hugely beneficial safety consideration. Spanning from

cutting wieners lengthwise and then into small pieces to grating hard vegetables, we are ensuring

the food is in digestible portions for the children in our care.

The indirectly responsive, inclusive environment speaks wonders and encourages

preschool age children to feel as though they have their own place at the table and can exercise

independence during mealtime. It can be very beneficial for each child to have their own

personalized and laminated placemat, so their preferences and place at the table may feel more

established to them. Also as noted in the Positive Eating Environment Checklist (Pimento &

Kernested, 2015), “children are provided with developmentally appropriate opportunities to be

involved in serving themselves.” Preschoolers specifically are greatly benefitted by the

opportunity to serve themselves as often as possible, and we can set up the table with family

style serving dishes and utensils to allow the environment to speak for itself and encourage this

action.

My experience to promote healthy living and physical activity is a music and movement-

based experience that teaches the essential understanding of healthy foods and balancing the

food groups, all while enhancing cognitive memory or mimicking skills and physical motor

skills. Up to eight children can be effectively supervised by me alone in this activity but if the

whole class is interested in joining in, we can accommodate this because the song is played over6

a speaker, and I instruct the dancing, and the parts where they shout the words in the song. This

activity can be done in any open space for us to move around with ease and the portable

Bluetooth speaker can be heard. A sped up, Kidz Bop version of the Bangles song “Walk like an

Egyptian” would play from the speaker while we all do the dance move I instructed before

hitting play (or another dance move of their choice that uses their arms and walking legs if

applicable, that is mindful of their neighbours). When the hook of the song plays, “walk like

an…” we all shout the first of four healthy foods (one from each food group) and form the

accompanying arm movement, as we “walk like” that healthy food (make the shape of its general

outline with our arms and walk if possible). I hope this will be fun and engaging for the children

to play out as the song continues and we get to “walk like” a healthy food from each of the four

main food groups. It is the intention for them to glean a sense of balance and fun-loving feel of

importance that the presence of each of these foods (and their buddies within their respective

groups) to be a part of their diet. The exercise builds a rapport or a relationship with these

examples of healthy foods by establishing their physical appearance and name. The active living

portion of the experience is a bonus because of the physical moving or dancing woven into the

learning experience. Our activity will conclude with a group conversation, how they felt about

our activity, what they learned and how they can try it at home and show their family,

encouraging healthy food choice conversations at home and continuing enthusiasm for physical

activity.

Sample Weekly Meal Plan