| Valley Oak's
March Classes and Workshops
7 Public Info Night
6:30 to 8:30 P.M.
VOCS, Chico
15 Getting Started: The Business of Family Child Care
7:00 to 9:00 P.M.
VOCS, Chico
20 Activity Resource Room
6:00 to 7:00 P.M.
GOFRC, Oroville | | |
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| 2011 Directory |  |
Valley Oak Children's Services Directory of Child Care and Family Related Services has been updated and is now available on our web site. You are welcome to download an Adobe Acrobat PDF file of the directory for your reference. |
| PG&E CARE Program |  | |
The CARE program provides a monthly discount on energy bills for income-qualified households and housing facilities. Qualifications are based on the number of persons living in your home and your total annual household income. Valley Oak Children's Services is a Community Partner and can assist you with your application process.
For more information call 895-3572 or visit our web site.
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 Greetings!
The trees are in bloom, the days are getting longer, and spring has come to Valley Oak. This month's newsletter brings details of the 2012 Child Care and Education Professionals Conference, an update on the advocacy work being done by our local Parent Voices group, and information on the changing needs for child care in the current economy. We also note the birthday of one of our favorite authors of children's books. And with the longer spring days our listing of community events grows longer as well.
We will be hosting a public information night at Valley Oak Wednesday, March 7th from 6:30 to 8:30 P.M. Representatives from several local agencies will have information on topics including child abuse prevention, mandated reporting, poison safety, lowering utility bills and preventing telephone scams. Valley Oak staff will also be on hand with child care information and resources. We hope you can stop by! |
  Children In Balance
The 2012 Child Care and Education Professionals Conference happens Saturday, March 24th, 8:00 A.M. to 4:30 P.M., at the Rolling Hills Casino Event Center in Corning.
This year's main presentations are from Cris Rowan, a pediatric occupational therapist and CEO of Zone'in Programs Inc. discussing Screen Time vs. Green Time - Enhancing child development through balancing technology use with movement and nature, and from Ruth Beaglehole and Ariel Wrye of ECHO Parenting and Education, whose topic is Addressing Challenging Behaviors through Compassion and Connection.
The registration fee is $35 per person and includes admission to conference, continental breakfast, single trip buffet-style lunch, and conference materials. Pre-registration is required for the conference. There will be no on-site registration. Final registration date is March 16, 2012.
The conference brochure has additional details and a registration form.
The 2012 Child Care and Education Professionals Conference is sponsored by:
- Glenn County Office of Education
- Shasta County Office of Education (serving Shasta & Tehama Counties)
- Valley Oak Children's Services
- Glenn County Local Child Care Planning Council
- Butte County Local Child Care Planning Council
- First Five Glenn County
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 Advocating For Child Care
Parent Voices, a grassroots organization advocating for child care funding will be holding their monthly meeting on Tuesday, March 20th at 6:00 P.M. Join them at the Esplanade House, 181 East Shasta Avenue, Chico in their efforts to ensure quality, accessible child care for all families.
Parent Voices has also begun a petition drive urging the governor and legislature drastic cuts to child care services proposed in the upcoming budget. You can download a petition here.
For more information contact Beckie Moralez, 354-0867, or Siobhan O'Neil, 895-3572. |
 Child Care Demand Doesn't Sleep
"Day care is slowly becoming night care in today's economy, as parents work ever longer days, take on second jobs, and accept odd shifts to make ends meet," reports Sabrina Tavernise in a recent New York Times article (January 15, 2012).
"About 40 percent of the American labor force now works some form of nonstandard hours, including evenings, nights, weekends, and early mornings, according to Harriet B. Presser, a professor of sociology at the University of Maryland. That share is expected to grow with the projected expansion of jobs in industries like nursing, retail, and food service, which tend to require after-hours work.
"At the same time, working hours are less predictable than they once were. 'There's a greater variability and irregularity of schedules,' said Lonnie Golden, a professor of economics and labor studies at Pennsylvania State University. 'In surveys, more and more people are no longer able to specify a beginning or end of the workday.' |
 Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!
Reading to children is one of the great joys of parenthood. It's especially
rewarding when books are entertaining for adults, too.
The books of Dr. Seuss have been entertaining children and adults for decades, so with March 2nd being the birthday of Dr. Seuss, we thought it would be a great time to visit the Cat in the Hat and the many other characters again. It's also a great time to visit Seussville!
 Seussville offers not only games and activities for children, but resources for parents and teachers as well.
Developing a love for reading begins at home, and these Tips for Reading with Your Children will help make it fun for both parents and children. So pull up a chair and take a trip to the Jungle of Nool and see if you can hear a Who! |
 Livescan Services
Valley Oak Children's Services is now offering Livescan Services.
Livescan Services are available Monday through Friday, from 9:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. Please call (800) 315-4507 to schedule an appointment, or visit L-1 Identity Solutions to schedule an appointment on-line.
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 Did You Know?
Valley Oak Children's Services has children's bike helmets available for infant/toddler through school age children.
Please call 895-3572 for more information or to schedule a fitting. |
 Search The Web And Support Valley Oak
GoodSearch is a search engine which donates 50 percent of its sponsored search revenue to the charities and schools designated by its users. You use GoodSearch exactly as you would any other search engine. Because it's powered by Yahoo!, you get proven search results. The money GoodSearch donates to your cause comes from its advertisers - the users and the organizations do not spend a dime!
Every time you search the Internet at GoodSearch.com, your charity or school earns money and the more you search, the more they make. Add up the money generated from all your searches and those done by other people who we hope will use GoodSearch, and we can make a real difference to the people and causes that need funds most.
Please consider using Goodsearch as your Internet search engine, and choosing Valley Oak Children's Services as one of your charities. |
 Community Resources And EventsValley Oak is hosting a public information night Wednesday, March 7th from 6:30 to 8:30 P.M. Representatives from several local agencies will have information on topics including child abuse prevention, mandated reporting, poison safety, lowering utility bills and preventing telephone scams. Valley Oak staff will also be on hand with child care information and resources.
Valley Oak Children's Services Mobile Toy and Resource Van is coming to the Butte County Library's Story Times. Come visit the van and find commuity resources and check out educational toys and children's play equipment for a one month period. The March schedule is:
- Paradise Library, 5922 Clark Road, Friday, March 9th, 9:30 A.M. - 11:30 P.M.
- Oroville Library, 1820 Mitchell Avenue, Wednesday, March 14th, 10:30 A.M. - 12:30 P.M.
- Gridley Library, 299 Spruce Street, Friday, March 16th, 9:30 - 11:30 A.M.
Please contact Siobhan O'Neil, VOCS Toy Librarian, at 899-4902 for additional information.
The Butte College Foster/Kinship Care Education Program is offering the workshop Grief: Healing From Loss, Saturday, March 10th, from 9:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. This workshop is to help individuals and caregivers become more familiar with issues surrounding loss and grief and provide helpful ways of coping with loss. Please call (530) 897-6235 to register.
Rowell Family Empowerment Center of Northern California hosts a Chico Parent Meet-up at their Chico office on Tuesday, March 20th at 5:30 P.M. Meet and network with parents raising children with disabilities. Food and beverages provided. For additional information call 899-8801.
The 2012 Child Care and Education Professionals Conference, Children in Balance, happens Saturday, March 24th, 8:00 A.M. to 4:30 P.M., at the Rolling Hills Casino Event Center in Corning. Please see above for details.
Rowell Family Empowerment Center of Northern California is also presenting Get Fit...Get Healthy...the Fun Way!, a series of classes offering food demonstrations, appetizing low-cost recipes, including tips for feeding children with special needs, weight management, portion control, exercise and more. Classes are every Thursday night from April 5th through May 24th, 6:00 - 8:00 P.M. Call (530) 538-7201 for more details.
 Children in third grade and younger are invited to celebrate Easter and meet the Easter Bunny at the Annual Spring Jamboree! We will be hunting for colored eggs, jumping in a bounce house and taking pictures with real bunnies! This event is co-sponsored by The 20/30 Club, Girl Scouts, CA Conservation Corp. and the P.V. Key Club. Event is free to all and takes place Saturday, April 7th at Caper Acres - Bidwell Park One-mile. Times:
10:00 AM Pre-School (5 yrs and younger w/parent)
10:45 AM Kindergarten - 1st grade
11:30 AM 2nd-3rd Grade
The annual Children's Faire takes place Saturday, April 28th, from 10:00 A.M. to 2:00 P.M. in downtown Chico's City Plaza.
The California Inclusion and Behavioral Consultation Network (CIBC) is a professional development project designed to respond to requests for technical assistance from administrators and teachers in early care and education programs.
A network of experienced, local consultants provides on-site consultation to build the capacity of the programs and providers to respond effectively to children with special needs or challenging behaviors. Consultants have knowledge of relationship-based practices and community resources and are skilled in problem-solving issues around inclusion and challenging behaviors. Consultants meet with staff, observe the environment, facilitate the development of action plans and support site implementation of those plans.
The priority recipients of technical assistance are CDE-CDD contracted early care and education programs throughout California. There is no cost to the site for this consultation.
Site administrators, preschool teachers and child care providers may submit their requests for technical assistance online, and CIBC staff will contact them to discuss their needs.
The Northern Valley Talk-line is a "warm line" available for all Butte County residents. It is a consumer and family member run, non-emergency, non-crisis mental health support line for individuals in need of an empathetic listener, peer support, or referral to support services. The Talk-line is available toll free 7 days a week, 4:30-9:30 PM at 1-855-582-5554 (1-855-5-talk-line).
Enloe's Mother & Baby Education Center wants to help you and your family prepare for a new baby. They offer a range of classes for before and after the baby is born that promote healthy living for babies and families. Many of the classes are free. For more information and class schedules click here.
Chico Library Preschool Story Time. Tuesdays, 10:30 to 11:00 A.M. at Butte County Library, Chico branch. For ages 2-8. Stories, songs.
Durham Library Story Time is Thursdays at 10:00 A.M. Stories, songs and art activities. |
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 We hope you find our newsletter helpful and informative. Please feel free to forward it to others who may find it useful and feel free to stop by our Chico office, located at 287 Rio Lindo Avenue, to meet our friendly staff and discover all the programs and resources VOCS has to offer. As always, you may e-mail your comments to us.
Sincerely,
Valley Oak Children's Services |
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