School is out and summer is here. The next few months are an important time for families to find ways for children to continue learning throughout the summer. For many parents, you fear the words, “I’m bored.”
Building Brain Activities 
Children learn and practice important executive function skills through games and playful activities. For babies and toddlers, play can start to build brain architecture and the foundation to lifelong learning and healthy development. Use the tools in the 4C for Children quality practices library to support the following skills:
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4C for Children delivers nearly 750 gifts on National Provider Appreciation DayIn-home child care providers often care for children whose parents work non-traditional hours like third shift and weekends. This type of care allows adults to go to work and provide for their families.
“This is a day to honor child care professionals who run in-home businesses to provide care for infants, toddlers, and children in our community,” 4C for Children President and CEO, Vanessa Freytag said. “It’s important that 4C for Children and others recognize their hard work and dedication.”
Take a look inside the special delivery in this video.
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Child care staffing continues to impact programs, familiesA recent 4C for Children survey showed due to the lack of teachers, there’s more than 4,000 children unable to be placed in child care programs in the Cincinnati and Miami Valley regions.
“The big problem is that we have a huge teacher shortage,” Vanessa said. “The survey results showed us that in this (Cincinnati) region alone, we’re missing more than 300 teachers. And of those teachers, each would serve six to 15 children, depending on what ages there are.”
Read More about A ‘State of Crisis’ for Parents in Ohio »
High-quality care for a developing child makes all the difference. It supports and nurtures the growth of early learning and emotional development and strengthens the relationships children make with other children and adults.
4C for Children lead specialist Tracy Schnirring recently coached a child care program that went the extra mile and increased their Step Up To Quality (SUTQ) rating to ensure that children in their care are receiving enhanced learning opportunities.
Tracy shares the impressive journey Creative Beginning Learning Center and their staff have completed.
Read More about The Power of Quality Care at Fairfield Child Care Center »
When you are at work, school or other events, child care providers are there for your children, providing quality care and critical early education. Without their hard work and dedication, our lives would look very different.
Celebrate and thank the early childhood educator in your life every day, but especially on the day set aside especially for them: National Provider Appreciation Day on May 12.
Here are a few quick and easy ways you can show your gratitude:
The data collected from a February 2023 4C for Children survey of local child care program administrators shows little change in the local child care landscape from similar data collected by 4C in 2021. Classrooms are still shuttered and a staffing shortage continues. These outages are resulting in more than 4,000 infant, toddler, preschool and school-age children in Southwest Ohio and the Miami Valley combined who can’t access quality early learning.
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The U.S. Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey reported in August 2022 that nearly 870,000 women have left jobs to care for one or more child under 5.
In a recent blog post featured on the Workforce Innovation Center, 4C for Children president/CEO Vanessa Freytag shares current child care trends like this and how these trends are impacting local businesses.
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Children dig it! Earth Day, tabbed this year on April 22, is an opportunity to celebrate our planet and learn about ways to protect it. You and your family can celebrate Earth Day by diving into nature, learning about the Earth’s importance and discovering ways to conserve it.
Here are some simple tips to help protect our natural world:
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Finding an open child care seat is a struggle for local families. And finding qualified staff for child care programs in order to expand capacity is a struggle for local child care providers. When combined, these struggles have created a child care crisis in this region. 4C for Children in taking action by launching the unique Child Care Careers Program.
Recently, Local 12 News highlighted 4C for Children’s new program to rebuild the workforce in the community. In doing so, families and parents like first-time mother Roxana Holland will find it easier to find child care for children.
Read More about Supporting Families, Recruiting Child Care Providers »