Daycare Providers Resources

In addition to providing childcare while parents are at work, daycare is an important service provided by trained and licensed providers that can stimulate a child's growth and development. It has been shown that children who go to daycare are often exposed to more educational software and programs at an earlier age than kids who stay home with a babysitter or their parents. Children in daycare learn manners, social skills, conflict resolution, and interaction with their peers in an interactive environment. The structured environment of daycare can offer stability, activities, and a place where children can grow physically, mentally and emotionally.

Activity Ideas

• NNCC Play Activities for Children Birth to Nine Years – Provided by the National Network for childcare, this site outlines guidelines and various activities for childcare providers to utilize when caring for children from birth through nine years of age.

• USDA Games and Activities for childcare Providers – This website sponsored by the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) offers activities for childcare providers to do with young and school-age children regarding food safety. Games and activities are included.

• ABCTeach- This website for teachers and daycare providers offers fun learning activities, including printable and craft ideas. Games, crafts, projects, and word searches are just a few of the activities offered.

• Daycare School Activities – This website provides circle time activities, songs, story and book ideas for daycare providers. Crafts and games are also featured.

• Activity Idea Place – Featuring activities for those who care for early childhood-aged children, this web site offers seasonal activities, holiday-related crafts and games, animal activities, and more. Most have been provided by early childhood education professionals.

• Free Printable Student Achievement Awards- This website features free color awards that childcare providers, teachers, and even parents can print to reward a child for any achievement.

Provider Info

• Childcare Bureau Fit Source – Provided by the National childcare Information and Technical Assistance Center, this web site offers physical education and nutritional information specifically for childcare providers. Menus, funding strategies, and activities are a few of the many topics covered.

• National Resource Center State Regulations for Childcare Centers – This helpful site sponsored by the National Resource Center for Health and Safety in childcare and Early Education offers childcare licensing information and regulations for all 50 states.

• Resources for Child Caring – Sponsored by the Minnesota childcare Resource and Referral Network, this website offers business resources for childcare providers. Areas covered include record keeping, taxes, contracts, insurance, and more, some of which are state-specific but many which are helpful despite the state in which your business is located.

• National Childcare Information and Technical Assistance Center – Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, this site provides all sorts of childcare resources and technical assistance for providers. State and local information, federal information, research and statistics are also offered.

Parent Info

• Sittercity – This website provides a searchable database for parents to use to find babysitters, nannies and childcare providers, all of whom have been pre-screened. It also allows childcare providers to register with the service for free and access national sitter jobs.

• Family Childcare Directory – This website offers a way for parents to search for childcare providers in their area. It also has an area in which childcare providers can advertise their services.

• Childcare Seekers – This interactive database allows childcare providers to advertise their services. It also offers parents the chance to search for qualified childcare providers based on location, cost, and transportation.

• Parent Resource Center – Sponsored by SchoolHouseDoor, this site features activities, books on parenting, books for kids, and more information targeted specifically to parents.

• KinderStart – This website provides links to all kinds of necessary information for parents. Topics include education, childcare, development, food and nutrition, legal and financial, and pregnancy and birth.

• ChildCare Aware – Sponsored by the National Association of childcare Resource & Referral Agencies, this website offers information to help parents choose the right childcare provider. Topics covered include licensing, accreditation, and using a resource and referral agency.

• Child and Family Web Guide – This site presented by Tufts University offers resources for parents on topics from early childhood through adolescence. Some of these include education and childcare, self-esteem, drugs and alcohol, and adoption.

• Healthy Kids, Healthy Care – This website presents information on health and safety issues in childcare settings for parents. Topics covered include state licensing regulations, health and safety checklists, emotional health, cleanliness, and healthy habits.

Special Needs

• Commonly Asked Questions about childcare and the ADA- Sponsored by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), this website by the U.S. Department of Justice answers questions childcare providers and parents might have regarding the business of childcare for special needs children.

• Dyslexia Teachers – This website is targeted mainly at childcare providers who care for children with dyslexia. It provides educational information, teaching methods, and offers signs and symptoms and treatment information for kids with dyslexia.

• Art for Children and Adults with Disabilities – The KinderArt website provides art activities and lesson plans for children and adults with disabilities. Most of the resources are totally free.

• Special Education Lesson Plans – This website features teacher-submitted lesson plans for children with special education. Included are lesson plans for the blind, activities to do with the deaf, and resources for childcare providers to use to teach children with all kinds of disabilities.

• Getting to Know Your Classmates with Special Needs – Produced by Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute, this site offers a plan for childcare providers and teachers to use to help their special education students mainstream and integrate with their regular education students. Lesson plans, materials, and a reading list are provided.

Medical Information

• CPR, First Aid and AED – Presented by the American Red Cross, this website offers a way for providers, parents and anyone interested to search for local Red Cross courses in CPR, First Aid, and AED (Automated External Defibrillator).

• Kid Safe Directory – This website features resources for parents, childcare providers and anyone else on children's health and fitness. Topics include immunizations, safety, dental needs, and diseases and conditions.

• Medical Home Portal – This site provides valuable medical information for parents and childcare providers of children with special needs. Included is transition information, caring for children with chronic illnesses, and learning about diagnoses.

• The ABC's of Raising Safe and Healthy Kids – Produced by the Centers for Disease Control, this website offers a compendium of health and safety information from A (Alcohol-Free Pregnancy) to Z (ZZZZs) that is appropriate for parents and childcare providers.

• National Resource Center for Health and Safety in childcare and Early Education – This site features information for providers, parents and consultants on health and safety items of concern. These include choking, dental care and when to keep a sick child home from daycare.

Daycare Organizations

• National Association for Family childcare – This non-profit organization exists to strengthen state and local associations, provide professional accreditation for childcare providers, promote diversity in childcare, and represent the needs of childcare providers.

• National Association for the Education of Young Children – This organization focuses on helping childcare providers to offer quality educational and development services for kids from birth through the age of eight.

• The SOHO Center – This national resource organization offers media resources, support services, literacy programs, health information, and more. It is designed for childcare providers and parents across the United States.

• Association of American Educators – This non-union professional teachers' association provides professional development opportunities, resources, publications and more for those in the education profession.

• Children's Defense Fund – This organization focuses on providing resources for children from birth all through the educational years, no matter what their socioeconomic background is. Child advocacy resources, data, publications and ways to get involved are offered on the website.

Preschool and Elementary Software and Websites

• Owl and Mouse Free Educational Phonics Software – This site provides free software for preschoolers to help them learn letter sounds and beginning reading skills. It also provides a U.S. map puzzle for free download.

• Kidspiration – This software directed at early learners and elementary school students to grade 5 helps kids understand words, numbers and concepts in a visual way. Site licenses are available for childcare providers, which helps bring down the cost of the software.

• The Eco Zoo – This website gives childcare providers and parents a fun, interactive way to teach kids about animals, our environment, and ecology.

• Math Playground – This website targeted at elementary and middle-school students math games, word problems, videos about math, math workshops, and ideas to help kids solve math problems.

• Earobics Game Goo – Run by educational publisher Houghton Mifflin, this website features phonics and spelling games for elementary school students. Levels from beginner to advanced are provided on this site utilized by many public school systems.

• The Art Zone – This website sponsored by the National Gallery of Art allows children to create their own interactive art. Settings include faces and places, landscapes, still life, and photography. Shockwave is required for the site to run properly.

• Zoom: Kitchen Chemistry – This website run by PBS Kids provides kids with an interactive virtual kitchen. Targeted at children in grades four through six, the site offers games, puzzles, experiments, and real-life recipes to do off-line.

• KidsHealth- Sponsored by children's health care provider Nemours, this website offers nutritious recipes kids can make themselves. It also answers children's questions about diseases and medicine, and provides fun movies, games, and quizzes.

Business Resources for Daycare Providers

• Early Childhood CDA Help – This website helps providers prepare to earn their CDA (Child Development Credential) which is required in most states in order to become a licensed childcare provider. It discusses education and experience necessary in order to earn one's CDA.

• How to Start a Quality childcare Business – Provided by the U.S. Small Business Administration, this site features information on how to start your own childcare business. Topics covered include license requirements, finding a location, tax laws, and insurance.

• Sources of Grants – This website offers information on finding grants to help start a childcare business. Loan programs and grant resources for non-profit childcare services across Canada and the United States are offered.

• childcare Businesses For Sale – This website lists childcare businesses that are being offered for sale. Established childcare and daycare centers across the United States are listed.

• Start a daycare – Daily Operations – This site features basic day-to-day happenings in a daycare center. Topics covered include safety, daily necessities, compensation for staff, menus, and dealing with late payments.