While the Virginia Early Care and Education Learning Collaborative (ECELC) group was filled with stories of positive changes in healthy eating and active play, one story stood out as particularly heartwarming and a testament to collaboration. Valbona (Val) Bytyqi and Ann Marie Ries met at the very first ECELC session in Alexandria, Virginia. Both are… Continue Reading Valbona’s Family Child Care Success
Mom’s Home Care School Inc., located in Leesburg, Virginia, was thrilled to be part of the National ECE Learning Collaborative in 2016 and continues to practice healthy eating and healthy celebrations to this day. After participating the collaborative, the program changed its policy on celebrations to ensure that all parties serve healthy foods. In addition,… Continue Reading Healthy Festivities at Mom’s Home Care School
Tiffany Gittens, owner of Tiffany’s Lil Bratz in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, participated in the National Early Care and Education Learning Collaborative (ECELC) in Fall 2016. After her participation in ECELC, Tiffany’s Lil Bratz has taken big steps to increase water intake and access. “H2O is the Way to Go” was the theme of her center’s campaign.… Continue Reading H2O is the Way to Go at Tiffany’s Lil Bratz
“Food has always been associated with holiday parties and celebrations in my program but it hasn’t always been healthy,” says Renate Zahn the owner of Renate Zahn Family Child Care Program in St. Louis, Missouri. Zahn discovered that many of the parties in her program included the usual cakes loaded with sugar and topped with… Continue Reading Nutritious Celebrations at Renate Zahn Family Child Care
June 28-July 1, 2018 Chicago, Illinois The National Family Child Care Conference is a special event for family child care providers across the United States to meet, network, and grow together. The conference provides an environment on unity in which many providers and advocates have met and became life-long friends. Providers leave the conference re-energized… Continue Reading 2018 National Family Child Care Conference
Aisha and Shaheed, the owners of Play and Learn Daycare in Virginia have been providing quality child care in their home for more than 30 years. The families often come back and spend time with them as a testament to the welcoming and nurturing environment they provide in their home. Aisha and Shaheed are lifetime… Continue Reading Family Style Dining at Play and Learn Daycare
Donald and Audrey Hopkins’s overall goal was to write and implement written healthy policies that would improve the lifestyles for the toddlers in their child care program. As the owners of Nurture Home Care, their journey of making healthy lifestyle changes started with simple displays of healthy living artwork of the children in their care.… Continue Reading Healthy Policies at Nurture Home Care