National Pet Fire Safety Day 2024 is on Monday, July 15, 2024: weekly topics for daycare?

Monday, July 15, 2024 is National Pet Fire Safety Day 2024. National Pet Fire Safety Day is July 15 National Pet Fire Safety Day

I use "themes" in my class as a way to help the children connect skills we work on with their environment and what's going on around them. I would suggest starting with things that are concrete and personally relevant (self-concept related topics like all about me, names, the senses and familiar ideas like family, friends, homes) and gradually working towards more abstract ones. I try to make sure that if a theme is more abstract, it is something that the children are very interested in, like dinosaurs and/or relates to the season or time of year (transportation between Thanksgiving and Christmas when families are doing a lot of travel, pumpkins during fall, just before halloween, polar animals in the winter, construction and building around Father's Day). Children absorb information better and are more interested when it is relevant to them. You need topics that are neither too broad nor too specific. Too specific and it's hard to come up with ideas, too broad and there's too much to fit into one week of learning activities. Here is the schedule I came up with for my class (Keep in mind that the theme we learn about is just one aspect of our curriculum, so there is more than just "coming up with a theme". Math, literacy, motor skills, social skills, etc. are our main focus and are weaved throughout all the activities we do) I've included in parentheses the connection for some of the themes that may be unclear:

September:

Names

All About Me

My Five Senses

Fall Season and Harvest

Apples

October

Fire Safety and Prevention (October is National Fire Prevention Month. During this time we also focus on emergencies, other emergency workers like police and EMTs, 9-1-1, etc.).

Leaves

Pumpkins

Halloween

November

Friends and Friendship

Families

Houses and Homes

Thanksgiving

December

Transportation and Things That Go

Winter Season

Polar Animals

Holiday Celebrations

New Year’s Around the World

January

Bears

Animals in Winter

Kindness and Getting Along With Others (Martin Luther King Day is in January)

Community Helpers

February

Opposites, Light and Shadows (Groundhog Day is February 2nd)

Valentine’s Day

Dental Health (February is National Children's Dental Health Month)

Dinosaurs

March

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss and Celebrating Reading (March is National Reading Month, with March 2nd, Dr. Seuss's birthday being Read Across America Day)

Weather

Spring Season

Health and Nutrition (March is National Nutrition Month)

Baby Animals

April

Flowers, Plants, and Trees

Caterpillars and Butterflies

Our Earth and Taking Care of the Environment (Earth Day is April 22)

Fairy Tales

May

Pets

Down on the Farm

The Zoo

Pond Animals

June

Feelings

Buildings and Construction (Father's Day is the third Sunday in June)

Summer

These topics, I've found, are easy to develop ideas for, but aren't so broad that it's hard to find a focus. Some teachers also include Colors and Shapes as themes. I haven't because colors, shapes, numbers, letters, etc. are things that we incorporate every day, but for very young children (toddlers rather than preschool or pre-k) it might be beneficial to build a whole theme around them as a way to introduce them.

Best of luck!

What should i pack for a survival kit?

Water is an essential element to survival and a necessary item in an emergency supplies kit. Following a disaster, clean drinking water may not be available. Your regular water source could be cut-off or compromised through contamination. Prepare yourself by building a supply of water that will meet your family’s needs during an emergency.

To determine your water needs, take the following into account:

-One gallon of water per person per day, for drinking and sanitation.

-Children, nursing mothers and sick people may need more water.

-A medical emergency might require additional water.

-If you live in a warm weather climate more water may be necessary. In very hot temperatures, water needs can double.

-Keep at least a three-day supply of water per person.

-Food-

Consider the following things when putting together your emergency food supplies:

-Store at least a three-day supply of non-perishable food.

-Choose foods your family will eat.

-Remember any special dietary needs.

-Avoid foods that will make you thirsty.

-Choose salt-free crackers, whole grain cereals and canned foods with high liquid content.

Following a disaster, there may be power outages that could last for several days. Stock canned foods, dry mixes and other staples that do not require refrigeration, cooking, water or special preparation. Be sure to include a manual can opener and eating utensils.

Suggested Emergency Food Supplies

The following items are suggested when selecting emergency food supplies. You may already have many of these on hand.

-Ready-to-eat canned meats, fruits, vegetables and a can opener

-Protein or fruit bars

-Dry cereal or granola

-Peanut butter

-Dried fruit

-Nuts

-Crackers

-Canned juices

-Non-perishable pasteurized milk

-High energy foods

-Vitamins

-Food for infants

-Comfort/stress foods

Food Safety in an Emergency

Flood, fire, national disaster or the loss of power from high winds, snow or ice could jeopardize the safety of your food. Knowing what to do before and after an emergency can help you reduce your risk of illness and minimize the amount of food that may be lost due to spoilage.

Power outages can occur at any time of the year and it may take from a few hours to several days for electricity to be restored to residential areas. Without electricity or a cold source, food stored in refrigerators and freezers can become unsafe. Bacteria in food grow rapidly at temperatures between 40 and 140 °F, and if these foods are consumed, people can become very sick.

-Survival Kit-

Items for your survival kit should be packed in a waterproof pack that can be easily accessed and found in the event of an emergency. There are many styles of quality survival kits on the market so you’re bound to find one that fits your needs.

A basic emergency supply kit could include the following recommended items:

-Water, one gallon of water per person per day for at least three days, for drinking and sanitation

-Food, at least a three-day supply of non-perishable food

-Battery-powered or hand crank radio and a NOAA Weather Radio with tone alert and extra batteries for both

-Fire Starter

-Flashlight and extra batteries

-First aid kit

-Whistle to signal for help

-Dust mask to help filter contaminated air and plastic sheeting and duct tape to shelter-in-place

-Moist towelettes, garbage bags and plastic ties for personal sanitation

-Wrench or pliers to turn off utilities

-Manual can opener for food

-Local maps

-Cell phone with chargers, inverter or solar charger

Once you have gathered the supplies for a basic emergency kit, you may want to consider adding the following items:

-Prescription medications and glasses

-Infant formula and diapers

-Pet food and extra water for your pet

-Cash or traveler's checks and change

-Important family documents such as copies of insurance policies, identification and bank account records in a waterproof, portable container.

-Emergency reference material such as a first aid book or free information from this web site.

-Sleeping bag or warm blanket for each person. Consider additional bedding if you live in a cold-weather climate.

-Complete change of clothing including a long sleeved shirt, long pants and sturdy shoes. Consider additional clothing if you live in a cold-weather climate.

-Household chlorine bleach and medicine dropper – When diluted, nine parts water to one part bleach, bleach can be used as a disinfectant. Or in an emergency, you can use it to treat water by using 16 drops of regular household liquid bleach per gallon of water. Do not use scented, color safe or bleaches with added cleaners.

-Fire extinguisher

-Matches in a waterproof container

-Feminine supplies and personal hygiene items

-Mess kits, paper cups, plates, paper towels and plastic utensils

-Paper and pencil

-Books, games, puzzles or other activities for children

Eco-friendly home project..?

For the greatest Eco-friendliness, you want to select products that require the least energy and raw material to produce, systems that require the least energy to use and products and materials that preserve the air and water quality of the space.

Re-purposed materials are prime candidates for eco-building materials. For insulation, options include recycled cotton such as Ultra-touch . It is basically shredded blue jeans. Another option that is gaining in popularity is straw bale house construction. Straw bales are set onto wall foundations and are framed. Then the bales are covered with stucco or cement. The result is a structure made of renewable materials that has very good insulating properties. Here's an informational site about straw-bale construction:

For framing and walling, alternatives such as Wheatsheet is an eco-friendly alternative to virgin wood products. Wheatsheet is made of recycled wheat chaff instead of tree wood. It also does not off-gas (produce fumes) like some glued and treated wood construction materials, helping maintain clean indoor air.

For decking, recycled composite products such as ChoiceDek are eco-friendly because they use recycled plastics and wood fiber instead of virgin tree wood and they last longer than most wood products.

For floor-covering, hard surface floors are usually preferred to carpet because they are easier to clean and do not trap allergens and contaminants. Bamboo flooring is an eco-friendly option because bamboo is a fast-growing and renewable wood source. Other options are cork flooring, recycled rubber flooring, natural linoleum and recycled glass tile. If you do decide on carpeting, use carpet made of recycled PET (pop bottles) or wool--they are renewable products and do not off-gas as much as new, conventional carpeting.

There are several alternative adhesives, paints and finishes, including solvent-free Titebond adhesives, Timbertek wood finishes, Osmo Color wood sealer.

Most of this information came from Eco-products. I have a binder of theirs. Although most of the material on their website is about plates and cups, you might be able to find construction-alternatives in their site or register in the "training" section. www.ecoproducts.com.

Also, try to make use of passive solar energy in your design. It is the simplest and least-resource intensive method of building. Strategies include using south-facing windows to heat rooms using the sun, brick or cement walls on the south side to absorb heat during the day and radiate it at night (called a Trombe wall) and properly-placed windows and skylights to provide natural lighting to every room of the house. Planting deciduous (leafy) trees around the house provides shade in the summer to keep the house cool but allows sunshine through in the winter when the leaves fall to help warm the house. The National Renewable Energy Lab has many strategies and suggestions for green building. Their visitors center employs many eco-friendly strategies:

There is so much more to green building but hopefully that's a helpful introduction. Have fun with the project!