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Egg Carton Shamrock

Cut a cardboard egg carton so that three cups stay together.

Trim the edges so that they are even.

Paint the cups.

Punch a hole in the raised part of the carton.

Cut a pipe cleaner in half.

Lace it through.

Fold it over and twist.

These would be cute for a party with candy inside.

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Four Leaf Clover Hunt

This activity is designed for young children. Spray paint many paper plates green. After they have dried, cut them into clovers as shown. To do that, just cut v’s around the paper plate, then round the corners. Make most of the paper plates be three leafed clovers and only a few be four leafed clovers. To use the clovers, lay them all over the floor. Turn on some “Irish Music” and have the children go on a hunt to find a four leafed clover.

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Baked Oatmeal

Here is another great recipe from KIDZ WORLD . Apparently the kidz at KIDZ WORLD get so excited when they smell it baking and they ask their parents to make it at home too. Can’t wait to give this one a try.

3 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp baking powder
1 cup milk
2 eggs
1/2 cup melted butter
2 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350′

Mix together oats, brown sugar, cinnamon and baking powder. Beat in milk, eggs, melted butter and vanilla. Pour into 9 x 13 baking dish.

Bake for 40 minutes.

Scoop into bowl and pour milk over top!

ENJOY!!!

(optional: can add cranberries, choco chips or raisins to mix before baking)

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Referral Program

Calling all providers. We are excited to announce that we will be adding a referral program for providers. If you refer another provider to the site and they place an ad, let us know and you will receive two months FREE added to your current ad. Keep spreading the word about our fantastic site.

We also want to encourage all of you to keep sending in any craft ideas or recipes you may want to share. Just email us at info@durhamregiondaycare.com . We love hearing from you!

It’s hard to believe that it’s been six months since I bought the site from Carly. I would like to thank all of you for your support and encouragement and look forward to new and exciting things in the New Year.

All the best in 2011!

Tamara

Q: Why aren’t teachers and daycare workers considered “high-priority” for the H1N1 vaccine? Teachers are in daily contact with children (and sick children). Also, many teachers are in their childbearing years and lots of them get pregnant. I don’t understand why teachers aren’t at the front of the line for vaccination.

A: When outbreaks of infectious disease occur, schools and daycare centres are invariably among the places hit first and hardest. Children are virtual microbe-spreading machines and teachers know this well – they tend to get every bug out there. By virtue of being in contact with large groups of children, teachers at relatively high risk of contracting H1N1.

However, the priority groups for vaccination are not those at highest risk of contracting the disease, but those at highest risk of suffering complications and dying if they are infected. This in an important distinction.

The priority groups are:

- People under 65 with chronic health conditions;

- Pregnant women;

- Children aged six months to five years of age;

- People living in remote and isolated communities, particularly First Nations;

- Front-line health workers;

- Care providers to those at high-risk.

As you can see, pregnant women (including teachers) are a high priority for the vaccine. Some jurisdictions, like Quebec, are also urging all pregnant teachers, daycare workers and health professionals to take “preventive early maternity leave” to lessen their risk of contracting H1N1 influenza.

Daycare workers who care for children under the age of six months are a high-priority group and should be vaccinated. Daycare workers and teachers of children aged six months to five years, as well as those care for or teach children with chronic health conditions like cystic fibrosis are also considered a high-priority group in most jurisdictions though there are varying interpretations of what the term “care provider to those at high-risk” means.

So, while not all teachers and daycare workers are at the front of the line for vaccination, some of them should be.

Many have wondered why front-line health-care workers are considered high priority and teachers are not. After all, nurses and doctors are not at higher risk of complications and dying if they are infected. There are two reasons: 1) Front-line health-care workers treat a lot of high-risk patients and could put those patients at grave risk if they passed on the flu bug; 2) They are needed to treat people who are sick with the flu (and other conditions), particularly if there is a pandemic that causes widespread illness. Put crudely, a sick nurse would cause a lot more sickness and social disruption than a sick teacher.