It’s loaded with 30 different types of living bacteria like: Coli, Clostridium p., Pseudomonas a., Staphylococcus a., Salmonella, Bacillus c. Faecal Streptococci, and Enterococci. It could even have mold & COVID-19 on it!!! Faecal Streptococci, also known as poo particles, can cause bacterial pneumonia, ear infections and bacterial meningitis. Can you guess what it is?

Your child’s car seat! If not disinfected regularly, is a feeding ground for all kinds of germs

You guessed it! A typical child’s car seat is full of germs. Daily wipe downs and weekly deep cleanings/disinfectants will kill them all when done correctly. But don’t head right for the bleach bottle. It could damage the seat and deteriorate some of the strapping and safety features. Instead make sure you read the cleaning instructions provided by the manufacturer.

How to clean & disinfect your child’s car seat

Daily disinfecting is super simple. We recommend using the disinfectant odoban to spray down the seat, belts and surrounding area. It not only disinfects but it also gets rid of odors. You can find it at Home Depot. We use it every single day at school.

Deep cleaning should be done at least once a week

• First consult the manufacturer’s directions and recommendations.
• Generally you’ll take the entire seat out of the car.
• Remove the cover and toss in the washer. You may be able to dry in dryer but check the label and instructions. Sun or line drying works great too!
• Disinfect the plastic seat and let it sit in the sun to dry. Again, we recommend using the disinfectant odoban.
• The straps, belts etc usually need to be hand washed or simply spray them with disinfectant and spot clean.
• Disinfect the inside of the car. Don’t forget the seat belts, door handles, locks, windows, etc.
• Put it all back together when fully dry.
• Follow the manufacturer’s instruction for reinstallation and your good to go!

Steering Wheels can be even more disgusting than the car seat and you wouldn’t see anything!

Simple fix here too. Just disinfect it regularly. 🙂

At Halsey Schools we disinfect all day long

Our favorite disinfectant is Odoban. It takes 1 minute to kill viruses like COVID-19 and 10 minutes to kill bacterias. It can be wiped off or left to air dry and it smells GREAT too! For a complete list of products we use and details on our disinfecting procedures read our Cleaning, Sanitizing and Disinfecting Procedures here.

The post It has more germs than a public toilet seat & it’s in YOUR car! appeared first on Halsey Schools Preschool & Infant Center.

We all want to get together and celebrate the holidays with the same traditions, food and loved ones. But we all need to sacrifice this year and make some modifications to keep everyone as safe as possible. Here is what we suggest based on the latest advice from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and California Department of Public Health (CDPH).

Have a virtual family gathering

The CDC recommends staying at home and enjoying immediate family activities or scheduling a virtual Thanksgiving gathering with family and friends online.

Don’t travel more the 3 hours away and stay in California and same town

The CDPH encourages Californians to stay home or in their region and avoid non-essential travel to other states or countries. Read more here.

If you feel you MUST get together with others who don’t live with you, limit the number of households to 3, people gathering to 10-12 and time to 2 hours.

The more households and people that get together the more risk everyone is exposed to regardless of social distancing and mask wearing plans. When our families get together it is easy to let our guard down and forget about masks and social distancing. We all want to give and receive that hug. But we have to resist. Read more here.

Practice physical distancing, wear your mask and remind and encourage others to do the same

• Wear your mask except when eating
• Keep family units (everyone who lives with you) at their own physically distant (6ft or more) table
• Don’t share eating or serving utensils
• Wash hands often

Gather outdoors

COVID-19 doesn’t spread as easily outdoors so outdoor celebrations are significantly safer than indoor gatherings. (If staying indoors, open windows and increase circulation.)

Don’t host or attend gatherings if you are sick in any way and tell your sick family members to stay home too.

According to CDPH anyone with any COVID-19-like symptoms (fever, cough, shortness of breath, chills, night sweats, sore throat, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, tiredness, muscle or body aches, headaches, confusion, or loss of sense of taste/smell), must stay home and not come into contact with anyone outside their household. However, unfortunately COVID is spreading mostly from people with no symptoms.

Mandatory Rules from California Department of Public Health

California has issued mandatory rules that are required to be followed. You can read them here.

Follow up after any gatherings

If you had or attended any sort of gathering, stay in contact with your fellow party goers for at least 14 days to make sure no one has any symptoms or confirmed cases. If they do you and your family should quarantine and test.

Enjoy family time and have fun!

Even with these restriction we can still have fun, create memories and share our love for eachother. Before we know it these COVID-19 restrictions will be a distant memory. I hope you have a safe loving Holiday season.

The post Modified Holiday Plans appeared first on Halsey Schools Preschool & Infant Center.

[quote author_name=”Jenni Rice” author_description=”Director & Owner” author_image=”https://halseyschools.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Jenni-Rice-Owner-Director.jpg” size=”small” style=”solid”]

If you thought June was fun, July will be even better! This month our theme will be ‘Let’s Go Camping!’ We will have lots of fun camping activities, games, projects and MORE! We will be reading Maisy Goes Camping, Toasting Marshmallows, Curious George Goes Camping, Pet the Cat Goes Camping, and Llama Llama Loves Camping. You can cuddle up and read these great books with your child at home too.

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Staff Development Training 6/30 & 7/1:  Being extra expressive under face coverings while helping children identify expressions and feelings through body language, eyes and other cues. | Every month our teachers learn something new, takes a look at something old from a new perspective, reinforces and reinvigorates previous education and training, or just have some hands-on fun through our regular training programs.

Sign Up for July hot lunches: All Natural & Organic Hand- Crafted Locally Sourced Fresh & Healthy Lunches for Toddlers-Preschool. Sign Up here.

Wear it: 7/2 Red, White, & Blue

Closed: July 3 – Friday. Have a super safe weekend. Assume everyone outside of your immediate family you come in contact with is infected. Remember to wear your mask, practice social distancing, be outdoors as much as possible and stay away from crowds and gatherings. COVID-19 spreads when extended families gather and members let their guards down. It’s only natural to be more careful when out and about or at work, than it is when families gather and we want that hug or kiss. Please stay safe.

Camp Halsey Safe Water Play activities start 7/6 and will take place regularly

• Toddlers – Monday & Thursday
• Busy Bees & Dragonflies – Monday
• Pandas & Penguins – Wednesday

Please make sure your child has:

• Bathing suit or swim diapers
• Sunblock SPF 30 or more applied
• Extra Sunblock
• Water shoes
• Water shirt
• Towel
• Hat
• Summer change of clothes & regular shoes

Please remember to label everything.

Reminders

Self Screening at home: Keep up the good work! Parents and teachers have been doing an awesome job of self screening and staying home when any concerns arise. No runny noses. No illnesses. Only healthy teachers and children at school. 🙂 We haven’t had to turn anyone away during arrival screening or send anyone home. Read How we are keeping parents, children and teachers safe for details on self screening and our daily entrance screening.

Wear Sunscreen Everyday: It’s Sunscreen Time! If you’ve stopped applying daily sunscreen, it’s time to get back into the swing of things. Children (10 months+)  should come to school wearing an SPF 30 or more on all exposed areas of the skin. If you would like us to re-apply a medication form must be completed. We also recommend wearing a hat. We will be having a lot of outdoor fun!  (Always consult your child’s physician.)

The post Happy Times July 2020 appeared first on Halsey Schools Preschool & Infant Center.

Our smiles shine right through our masks! We love sharing our smiles! We can see yours too!

Why We Wear Face Covers

We wear face covers to protect others. Face covers help keep droplets from being airborne from people who have no symptoms or signs of illness. Wearing a face covering offers some protection for the wearer and a lot of protection for others we are around.

[quote author_name=”Jenni Rice” author_description=”Director & Owner” author_image=”https://halseyschools.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Jenni-Rice-Owner-Director.jpg” size=”small” style=”solid”] In addition to face coverings, all teachers and all families self check before leaving for school. And are screened before entry into school. Anyone with a fever >100, any symptoms, signs of illness, not feeling well, any cough, trouble breathing… stays home.

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Getting Children Comfortable Wearing & Seeing Face Coverings

It’s pretty easy to get children comfortable with wearing and seeing face coverings by:

• wearing one yourself
• practicing wearing them and taking them off and putting back on appropriately
• putting one on and look in the mirror
• reading stories to your child while wearing your face covering
• talking about wearing them
• putting a face covering on a favorite stuffed animal
• drawing one on their favorite character
• looking at pictures and videos of others wearing them
• being out and about where others are wearing them
• talking about germs with 2+ year olds and why we wear a face covering to protect others from our germs

[quote author_name=”Jenni Rice” author_description=”Director & Owner” author_image=”https://halseyschools.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Jenni-Rice-Owner-Director.jpg” size=”small” style=”solid”] We encourage children 2+ year old to wear a face covering at school. Please teach them at home how to put on and off, wear, and store properly. No children under 2 can wear a mask.  

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Talk to Your Children Over 2 About Germs

Parents should explain that germs are special to our own body and we need to make sure they stay within our body.  Sometimes when people get our germs it can make them sick. Face coverings or masks help keep our germs to ourselves. ‘Isn’t it nice to protect others? It sure makes me feel good!’

Who Should Wear Face Coverings?

Children 2 and older should wear face coverings when they are taught properly at home how to put on, wear and take off and store appropriately.

Who Shouldn’t Wear Face Coverings?

• Children under 2
• If the child has difficulty breathing with one on
• If a child is too fearful to wear one
• If children spend too much time fussing with the face coverings, touching their faces…

What Kind of Face Covering Do We Need?

• Just about any cloth face covering will do as long as it covers the nose, mouth and chin and fits securely around the head or ears.
• Some bandanas, bluffs, spare cloths, makeup masks and other cloth masks will provide some protection in a pinch. But it’s best to use face coverings made specifically for keeping particles to ourselves
• Disposable masks, gardening masks, painting masks work too
• Masks shouldn’t have any venting or plastic parts
• N95 respirator masks should not be worn by anyone other than professionals

The Right Way to Wear a Mask

• Masks should securely cover the nose, mouth and chin and stretch to ears
• Masks should not be touched when on
• Masks should be removed from ears or back of head not at the nose or mouth
• Hands should be washed before and after mask is removed
• Masks should not be shared or exchanged with anyone unless washed and dried first
• Masks should be cleaned at least daily. They just need some water and soap by hand or in a washing machine. A hot dryer may be beneficial.
• Masks should be stored in a sealed plastic bag
• Everyone should have extra masks ready to go

[quote author_name=”Jenni Rice” author_description=”Director & Owner” author_image=”https://halseyschools.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Jenni-Rice-Owner-Director.jpg” size=”small” style=”solid”] Face Coverings do not replace the need for social distancing, handwashing, staying home when ill or disinfecting, but they do help us keep others safe. Please wear yours at drop off and pickup times and when out in public. Please encourage your 2+ year old to wear one too.

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Learn More

• CDC – How to Safely Wear and Take Off a Cloth Face Covering
• CDC – Important Information About Your Cloth Face Coverings

The post Face Coverings – Getting Children Comfortable with the Latest Fashion Trend appeared first on Halsey Schools Preschool & Infant Center.

Establish a Social Distancing Routine

Children LOVE routines. Routines provide order and consistency. Children are happier when they know what to expect. And it’s easier on you.

With all the changes going on lately our routines have disappeared. It’s time to establish new ones as best we can within our new parameters.

First and foremost stay home. Don’t meet up at the park. Don’t schedule playdates. Don’t have friends or family over. Don’t visit grandparents in person etc. Just stay home. But staying home doesn’t mean you can’t go outside!

If there is a slide or swing within view children can’t resist. Heck, neither can I! So for the time being, it is best to stay away from public slides, swings, climbing structures, etc. Enjoy family walks, hikes, rides and backyard play. But stay away from parks. And always keep 6 feet away from others.

Your new routine just needs to be consistent. I’d recommend following the same wake up and bedtime routine you were following before and will be following when we all get back to normal.

In between can be just about anything you want with scheduled breaks for snacks, lunch, naps, bathroom etc. Limit screen time. Lots of play and other hands on activities are always better.

Disinfecting Routine

People will often use sanitizing and disinfecting interchangeably. However they are different. Sanitization frees surfaces from dirt and reduces viruses. But disinfection destroys & kills viruses and helps prevent their growth.

It is important to disinfect using disinfection products according to their instructions. Some disinfectants have to sit on surfaces for 10 minutes before being wiped away. Other are quicker. So READ your label.

Walk around your house and see what people touch, sneeze and cough on. All those surfaces and things should be disinfected regularly. Things like door knobs, phones, ipads, remotes, countertops and of course everything in the bathroom.

Don’t forget about your car. Steering wheels, handles, children’s car seats, your keys, all need regular disinfecting.

Hand Washing Routine

Yes hands should be washed regularly even at home. When you wake up. After you use the bathroom. Before you cook or eat. After touching others. After wiping your nose or coughing or helping your children do the same. Hand washing is our best defense against viruses. You don’t need hand sanitizers. You just needs soap and water and 20 seconds. The water doesn’t even have to be hot.

If we stay home, establish new routines in between our old wake up and bedtime routines, disinfect and wash hands often, and keep smiling, we will get through this.

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