March 21, 2020

Dear Parents:

It is with an extremely heavy heart that I have to inform you that in accordance with the “stay home” order issued by the Governor of Illinois that Toddle Towne Learning Centers must cease operations effective 3/21/20  and lasting until the order is lifted.  The following excerpt is from the notification that we received from the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) at 4:52 pm on Friday, March 20, 2020

Guidance for Child Care Centers, Child Care Homes, and Early Education Programs

In response to the unprecedented public health emergency that Illinois is facing as a result of the spread of COVID-19, Governor Pritzker has mandated the following closures for child care centers, child care homes, and early education programs across the state:

• Effective March 21, 2020, all child care centers licensed by the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS)

I am so proud of the way our teachers conducted themselves over the last week, they worked so hard and provided a safe, healthy program for all of the children.  Our teachers ensured that the children felt reassured, secure and protected from the craziness that occurred in our society so that they could relax and have fun.

I am thankful to all of our families that cooperated with new rules and procedures and supported us in a variety of ways.  I encourage you all to strictly follow the “stay home” order, the sooner we are able to interrupt the spread of this virus the sooner we can begin to return to normal.

Please utilize our Toddle Towne Facebook pages (Alton and East Alton) to learn of any information regarding reopening, to share tips and activities and to offer words of support to each other, we can get through this together.

Our entire staff looks forward to the time we are all back together at Toddle Towne Learning Centers where children learn while they play and play while they learn.

Sincerely,

Susan Berry

Executive Director

March 20, 2020

WOW…just wow, what a week it has been!  Whether you are still going to work and dropping your kids off with us each day, working from home, homeschooling, homeschooling while working, whatever your situation is You’ve.Got.This.  We’re here to help however we can.

1. Please remember that social distancing does not mean social isolation. Social distancing means that you avoid crowds and keep at least 6 feet between you and others, this will help keep you safe and healthy.  Social isolation is staying exclusively in your house, totally alone or with only your immediate family; this will lead to feelings of despair and hopelessness.
   1. GO OUTSIDE, go for a walk around your neighborhood, ride a bike, do some yard work, talk to your across the street neighbor (from across the street).
   2. REACH OUT ON SOCIAL MEDIA, start a group chat with friends, go to a virtual yoga class, a virtual gym workout, a virtual music concert, virtually visit a zoo, a museum, a national park.
   3. MAKE A PHONE CALL, sometimes we forget that these handy devices we all use are actually phones, call someone and talk about your stress, your worries or just the weather, use your phone to make a video call on Skype or Facetime so you can talk with someone face to face
   4. PITCH IN, one way to feel less isolated is to find a way to do something for someone else, bake a loaf of bread and leave it on your neighbors porch, call a local service organization and see if there is something you can do to help out, pick up groceries for an older person who is unable to leave the house, order lunch for first responders, medical personnel or other essential workers
2. Remember to utilize your resources, if you’re going a little crazy trying to home school your kids, don’t feel bad. Teachers have education and training that you probably don’t have.  Odds are they would struggle if they were dropped into your job with no training, resources or notice either.  One of the greatest resources you have available to you is the internet.  Whether you are looking for fun activities to do at home, virtual field trips, cultural experiences or physical activity it’s out there.
   1. Go to hellowonderful.co to look through more than 50 easy indoor activities for kids
   2. Go to https://news.yahoo.com/18-totally-free-educational-resources-211633947.html to access free online educational resources from companies like Scholastic and Lakeshore Learning
   3. Visit the world-renown San Diego Zoo at https://zoo.sandiegozoo.org/live-cams
   4. Go on a trip to the Monterey Bay Aquarium at montereybayaquarium.org/animals/live-cams
   5. Head to the Planet Fitness Facebook page for free home workouts daily at 6 pm
   6. Keep an eye on all of the social networking sites for famous musicians, artists, dancers and actors that are live streaming everything from call-in request concerts like Brad Paisley to how to draw with Mo Williams and many actors reading books for storytime.
3. Stop, take a deep cleansing breath, pull your shoulders up and then roll them down and back while slowly releasing your breath. Repeat as needed, we are all in this for the long haul so don’t forget to take care of yourself so that you can take care of the kids.  If you need help reach out, you can find a list of available resources on our webpage at toddletowne.com if you or anyone you know is in need of help.  If you need advice or just someone to talk to give us a call.  We’ve.Got.This. 

Hang in there,

Susan Berry

Executive Director

March 19, 2020

Over the next few days, our teachers will be meeting, in small groups, of course, to review all of our sanitation procedures and discuss any changes we need to make after a week’s experience in this strange new world we find ourselves in.

We really appreciate all of the cooperation we have received from our families. We realize the new procedures slow you down a little but they help us keep everyone safe and healthy.  Just remember:

1. When you arrive you and your child should get a temperature scan, anyone with a temperature will not be able to stay
2. When you arrive in the morning you and your child should immediately wash your hands with soap for a full 20 seconds. Bringing your child in involves a lot of touching items like coat hooks, sign in books, pens, counters which makes the handwashing a necessity even if you are only here a minute.
3. When you leave in the evening both you and your child should wash hands with soap for a full 20 seconds. This is so that you and your child leave without carrying anything “extra” with you.

When you have your sanitizing spray out here are items you might not even think of:

• Light switches
• Doorknobs both sides
• Keys
• Phones
• Earbuds/headphones
• Appliance handles and knobs
• Small kitchen appliances
• Faucets
• Toilet handle
• Makeup brushes and bottles
• Computer screens, keyboards & mice
• TV remotes
• Car door handles, steering wheel, dashboard controls, air vents, gearshift and review mirrors

March 18, 2020

Dear Parents;

I was reading an article today and one line really stood out to me, “when the going gets tough, the loyal stay loyal”.   This simple sentence exemplifies our Toddle Towne teachers and families.  As we begin another day in this strange, new world I feel like I need to take a minute and express my gratitude both personally and professionally to our Toddle Towne community.

Our teachers are showing up every day with a deep breath, a smile and a determination to make it through at least one more day of high stress, increased anxiety, harder work, and a longer task list. They have done all of this while worrying about their own families, health and lives.  They have gone above and beyond to make sure that Toddle Towne remains a safe haven where our children and their parents can feel safe and reassured.

Please make sure to take just a moment each day as you come and go, perhaps while you are washing your hands, to just say thanks and let them know how much you appreciate them.

Our teachers aren’t the only ones who stepped up; our families have stepped up in a big way!  We have received many heartfelt expressions of thanks as well as donations of supplies, gift cards to buy lunch for the teachers and compliance with all of the new policies, even when they make your life a little more hectic.  Our families have been careful to use only the resources they need to make sure we can care for the ones who need it most.

Even the larger community has been there for us with past Toddle Towne parents sending information to add to our resource list and friends of friends offering to donate supplies even though they have no direct connection to Toddle Towne.  In addition, we have received a number of messages of encouragement from people who have seen our messages on our website and Facebook pages thanking us for all we are doing and calls from other local preschools and agencies that we work with just to provide support and encouragement to each other.

I am even more proud than usual to be part of the Toddle Towne community; working together we will get through this day by day or hour by hour if we need to.

Susan Berry
Executive Director

Wow — what a strange week!!  I want to take a minute to thank all of our families for following all of the new procedures and going out of their way to help out.  Please make sure that you take time to express gratitude to all of our teachers who are managing this crisis with hard work, dedication, and cheerful attitudes.  The governor of Illinois has stated his belief that licensed daycares are essential services during this crisis and so it is important that we all do our part by working towards our two stated goals

1. To continue to provide a safe, healthy environment for our children and teachers
2. To continue operating for as long as possible without compromising the health and safety of our students, families, and teachers

One important tool in meeting both of our goals is Social Distancing; this is very challenging in a daycare setting.  It is important to remember that even though there are limits to how consistently we can enforce this with young children there are important and effective steps we are taking.  We will:

• only have out chairs for the actual number of children in the room
• space chairs evenly throughout the room and spaced as far apart as possible
• work to ensure that the children do not move the chairs
• work to ensure that the children play individually and not together
• serve a snack to 1-4 children at a time rather than to the whole group
• limit lunchtimes to only one group at a time
• place cots as far from each other as possible
• stand away from parents and teachers when interacting with them
• limit touching to essential care
• space high chairs and cribs as far apart as possible

I understand that the current crisis is stressful and we appreciate your cooperation and support during this challenging time.

Susan Berry

#flattenthecurve