OPS CLASS

Last week we studied birds and we did lots of fun activities. We make bird nests out of chaw mein noodles and chocolate. They were yummy!

OPS CLASS

The Older Preschoolers, were having fun making bird feeders. They hung them on the little tree by our classroom.

Painting

Toddlers art project.

Sunny days

Babies and toddlers love to be outside.

Especially having fun with water.

Blue day!

Babies love sensory. They are working on gross motor skills.

Mother's Day Gift Store

We hope you all enjoyed your Mother's Day gifts! The kids had fun shopping and picking out something special. Please know that you are appreciated and we know that being a mom is really a hard job! Keep up the great work!

Mom and Me

Best friends forever mom and
me

picking flowers and climbing trees.

a shoulder to cry on, secrets to share

Warm hearts and hands that really care.

No Alarm Fire Alarm

We had an exciting day yesterday. The fire department was called as we had a strange smell in the kitchen! Not to worry. We practice fire alarms regularly and all the children were taken out safely just like we practiced. The smell was coming from a faulty light in our kitchen and electricians will be on site today to fix it. But that is why there are no lights in the kitchen. Please see Janine if you have any questions. Thanks.

Dear Parents:

As many of you have learned from news reports, a few probable cases of "Swine" Influenza A (H1N1) have now been reported in our state, including in King County. So far, it appears as if people who become ill with this strain of influenza are recovering. Our current focus at this time is on-going prevention practices for the health and well-being of our kids and staff.

As always, prevention practices are emphasized daily at Children's Village through hand washing with soap and warm water and respiratory etiquette (coughing into sleeve, elbow; coughing, sneezing, or expectorating into paper tissues and immediately discarding them).

Swine flu in people is characterized by fever, sore throat, cough, body aches, headaches, chills and fatigue. The illness may last up to seven days, but people are considered to be contagious as long as symptoms persist. If you or your child have mild flu-like symptoms, monitor your condition and telephone your health care provider to consult if necessary. A diagnosis is confirmed by your health care provider by a positive nasal swab culture.

What You Can Do To Prevent the Spread of Illness:
· Practice healthful habits such as eating nutritious food, getting plenty of sleep, drinking plenty of fluids, being physically active, and reducing stress.
· Teach your child to avoid touching their eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread that way.
· Sneeze or cough into a tissue, elbow or sleeve - not your hand! Throw the tissue in the trash after use. Refrain from spitting on the ground.
· Wash hands often with soap and water, especially after coughing or sneezing, contact with other people, or with door handles, keyboards, telephones, and shared writing implements. Alcohol-based hand cleaners are also effective although not used at Children’s Village.

We encourage you to keep your child at home if they begin to experience any flu-like symptoms (cough, sore throat, and fever) and contact your health care provider if they experience a persistent high fever (greater than 101 degrees F) chest pain, difficulty breathing, dehydration, or other worrisome symptoms.

Vision House and Children’s Village staff is closely monitoring the situation. At this time, there is no need to cancel regularly scheduled activities such as classes and other events. We will keep you informed if there are any changes to normal operations.

How serious is swine flu infection? Like seasonal flu, swine flu in humans can vary in severity from mild to severe. However, swine flu infection can be serious.

How do you catch swine flu? Spread of swine flu can occur in two ways:
Through contact with infected pigs or environments contaminated with swine flu viruses.
Through contact with a person with swine flu. Influenza is thought to spread mainly person-to-person through coughing or sneezing of infected people.
You cannot get swine influenza from eating pork or pork products.

Are there medicines to treat swine flu?Antiviral treatment for confirmed or suspected ill cases of swine influenza virus infection may include either oseltamivir or zanamavir. Recommendations for use of antivirals may change as data on antiviral susceptibilities become available.

Resources to learn more include:
King County Health Department at 206-296-4949 or http://www.kingcounty.gov/healthservices/health.aspx
Center for Disease Control, http://www.cdc.gov/
Factsheet on HINI (CDC): http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/pdf/keyfacts.pdf
Current Status and General Information about HINI (CDC): http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/
Travel advisories, warnings and recommendations (CDC): http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/contentSwineFluMexico.aspx
World Health Organization: http://www.who.int/en/
Managing your anxiety about swine flu: http://www.uhs.berkeley.edu/home/news/managinganxiety_swineflu.shtml
Guidance for child care providers: http://www.ucsfchildcarehealth.org/pdfs/SF/Child_Care_Guidance_2.pdf

Be well!

Susan Camerer
Executive Director, Vision House