Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Ohio State Requirements for Child Care Centers

Child Care Staff Member: Must be at least 18 years old and have a high school education or have completed a training program approved by the Department of Human Services. Such approved programs include a vocation education home economics course or a Child Care Job Training Porgram for Adults which must include completeing 5 required and 3 elective courses for a total of 160 hours.

Age Range Ratios for Center Based Care in Ohio State
Infants (1:5) and (1:6)
Toddlers (1:7) and (1:8)
Preschool (1:12) and (1:14)
Schoolage (1:18) and (1:20)
Mixed age group ration for youngest child in group
Age Range Ratios for Family Child Carein Ohio State
All ages (1:6) includes providers children under 6 years of age; and no more than 3 may be under 2 years of age.

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Child Care Licensing Agency
Ohio Department of Job & Family Services
Bureau of Child Care and Development
50th W Town Street
Columbus, OH 43215-5222
Phone: (614) 466-3822 or (614) 752-0435
Toll Free: (866) 886-3537 option 4
Fax: (614) 644-1944

Child Care Subsidy Agency
Ohio Department of Job and Family Services
Bureau of Child Care and Development
50th W Town Street
Columbus, OH 43215
Phone: (614) 466-1043
Fax: (614) 728-6803

Head Start - State Collaboration Office
Ohio Department of Education
25 South Front Street
Mail Stop 305
Columbus, OH, 43215
Phone: (614) 466-0224
Fax: (614) 728-2338

Child Care Food Program Agency
Office for Safety, Health and Nutrition
Ohio Department of Education
25 South Front Street, Mail Stop 303
Columbus, Ohio 43215-4183
Phone: (614) 466-9225 or (800) 808-MEAL
Fax: (614) 752-7613

State Child Care Resource & Referral Contact
Ohio Child Care Resource & Referral Association
6660 Doubletree Avenue
Columbus, OH 43229
Phone: (614) 396-5959, dial "0" for assistance
Toll Free: (877) 547-6978
Fax: (614) 396-5960

Office of Child Support Enforcement
Office of Child Support Enforcement
Department of Human Services and Jobs and Family Services
30 East Broad Street, 31st Floor
Columbus, Ohio 43215-3414
Phone: (614) 752-6561
Fax: (614) 752-9760

Child Abuse Reporting Hotline
To report suspected child abuse in Ohio, call the county Children's Services Board or the county Human Services Department. Contact district offices of Human Services Department in Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Canton, or Toledo for appropriate referral.

For national child abuse information, call the Childhelp USA National Child Abuse Hotline (staffed 24 hours daily with professional crisis counselors): 1-800-4-A-CHILD or 1-800-2-A-CHILD (T.D.D)

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Curriculum

A Loving & Fun Learning Environment

Infants
Loving care is given in a daily program to foster skills in language and motor development in the classroom, in the gym, and outside in the playyard.

Toddlers
Emphasis is placed on the development of cognitive, social, emotional and motor skills, with potty training included so children are able to transition to preschool.

Preschool
Our program is recognized for its excellence in kindergarten readiness skills and for fostering good self-esteem in social development. Getting along well with others provides a good foundation to make the most of educational opportunities.

Schoolagers
Transportation is provided to and from the local schools. In the after-school program, computers are available for use, along with homework help, sports play outside in the spacious playgrounds, games and creative art. The summer camp program includes two field trips per week to many different sites in the area along with special art projects, sports including basketball and soccer, and water play outside on the playground.

Special Programs
Various people are invited into the Center to present special programs, such as “The Turtle Lady,” educational magic shows concerning “Care and Share,” “I Love America,” “Just Say ‘No’ to Drugs,” Respect Is a Magic Word,” and "the Magic of Reading" and many others.

Trust Your Child to People Who Really Care!

Low Staff / Child Ratios
Our Centers observe the following staff / child ratios:

Infants (6 weeks to 18 months) - 1:4
Toddlers (18 – 30 months) - 1:6
Toddlers (30 – 36 months) - 1:7
Preschool (3 years) - 1:11
Pre-K (4 – 5 years) - 1:12
Before / after school (Kindergarten – 5th grade) - 1:18

A Professional Staff
Our outstanding teaching staff has been carefully selected and works as a team in each classroom to provide the best possible learning experiences for your child. The year-round curriculum is carried out by Lead Teachers who have Early Childhood Development education and experience together with Team Teachers. Our teachers are very special people!

"Merry Moppet" Means "Happy Child"!

Merry Moppet Early Learning Center’s mission is to provide a safe, warm, nurturing and loving atmosphere that promotes the physical, social, emotional, and cognitive development of young children set in the context of Christian love. Curriculum planning emphasizes learning as an interactive process. Teachers prepare the environment for children to learn through active exploration and interaction with adults, other children, and materials. These activities are designed to develop children’s self-esteem and positive feelings toward learning.

Classrooms
Each group occupies its own bright, beautiful classroom in an age-appropriate developmental program that fosters staff / child interaction and communication, promoting a family atmosphere.

Merry Moppet Early Learning Center’s Owner
Our Centers are privately owned by the Estep family, Gary and Myrtle. Mrs. Estep was the founding Director of the Hard Road and Britton Road Centers for seven years each, and now serves as Mentor and Coordinator for all the Centers. Prior to this time, Mrs. Estep was a Preschool Director and Teacher, and she has also served in a local Church as Director of Christian Education for all age groups. Mrs. Estep is a graduate of the University of Dayton, Dayton, Ohio, and the Central Baptist Seminary in Kansas City, Kansas, with Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees, respectively.

Gary and Myrtle have two children-- Angie and her husband Dave who live in Oregon, and Randy and his wife, Stella, who are active in the administration of Merry Moppet. Gary and Myrtle have two grandchildren.


Moppet Development Company’s administrative office is located at:

5935 Wilcox Place, Suite F
Dublin, Ohio 43016
614 764-8950
FAX: 614 764-4626
Website: http://www.merrymoppet.com

Be sure and call any of our three centers for a tour today, and you will see the difference for yourself!!

Thursday, August 27, 2009

"Exceptional Learning in the Next Best Place to Home"

CHILD CARE WITH A DIFFERENCE!!


Serving Northwest Columbus including Hilliard, Dublin/Worthington, and Powell


Here are six life-changing questions for you and your child:

o Do you want your child to be in a loving atmosphere so that your child feels safe, cared for, and happy and grows in self-confidence and self-esteem?

o Do you want your child to have fun while enjoying “top of the class” learning opportunities in literacy, math, and scientific reasoning skills to investigate the world of nature and have quality preschool, Pre-K readiness, and Kindergarten Enrichment?

o Do you want your child to learn values and how to treat others with respect and to get along with others?

o Do you want your child to have the opportunity to be in a program with a Christian emphasis while promoting diversity and welcoming all children?

o Do you want your child to have the opportunity to participate in gymnastics, tap and ballet, Spanish, sign language, and computer lessons?

o Do you want your schoolage child to enjoy after school fun with sports, help with homework, and summer camp with field trips?



ABSOLUTELY—YOU WOULD!!!
If your answer is “yes” to any of the above questions, then welcome to Merry Moppet Early Learning Center "the next best place to home”,a premier, private, family operated preschool/child care center, with a Christian emphasis, serving the community since 1989. We offer part-time and full-time care for children, regardless of race, nationality, religion, or socioeconomic background. We welcome all children!

Call for a tour today and come see the difference in an exceptional child care center! Your child can enjoy all of the above opportunities at Merry Moppet. Your child will benefit in the development to his/her fullest potential in body, mind, and spirit.

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Merry Moppet has an excellent track record for a fun experience, a caring and loving staff, and "top of the class" learning opportunities for your child.

Our purpose in everything that we do at our Center is to help in the development of the body, mind and spirit of each child.


In the development of the body with large muscle skills, we want all children to have fun being physically active on the spacious playgrounds and inside the gym so that they will have good hand-eye coordination, teamwork skills, and good sportsmanship. Physical competence in using children’s large muscle skills also promotes confidence and good self-esteem. The gymnastic classes and tap and ballet lessons are also fun!

In the development of small muscle skills, we encourage children to use their muscles as they play with equipment such as Lego bricks and blocks, create art using many media with pencils, crayons, markers and paint, playing with creative building manipulatives, and through sensory play with sand, water and other materials.

In the development of the mind, we encourage math skills through play as children count, measure, sort, categorize and compare. Children enjoy learning through scientific reasoning skills as they investigate the natural world. We also help develop the mind through literacy and language skills with stories, music, the “word wall,” and by expanding vocabulary with story or journal writing and participation in discussions. Spanish, sign language, and computer lessons also help with cognitive learning skills.

In the development of the spirit, we help children, through the daily Bible story and music to know that they are people whom God loves, that they are special people in God’s world, and that Jesus is their friend.

SPECIAL FEATURES OF THE PROGRAM
o Full & Part-Time
o 6 Weeks to 11 Years
o Transportation to & from School
o Gymnastics, Tap & Ballet
o Spanish & Sign Language
o Pre-School, Pre-K Readiness, and Kindergarten Enrichment
o Schoolager Summer Camp with Field Trips
o Computer Lessons
o Gym & Spacious Playgrounds
o Hot Lunches and AM & PM Snacks
o Degreed Teachers on Staff — State Licensed
o Family Owned and Operated
o Security Entrance & Video Monitoring
o Christian Emphasis
o Low Staff/Child Ratios


Want more information?
Visit our homepage at http://www.merrymoppet.com