Child-Staff Ratios Under Review in Ontario

Proposed regulatory changes to the Ontario Day Nurseries Act would have fewer staff caring for larger groups of children in early learning and care programs. CCCF affiliate, the Association of Early Childhood Educators of Ontario (AECEO), is voicing their concerns regarding the proposed changes. They suggest that children and families would be better served if legislative and regulatory changes were made after new programs were in place. This would be consistent with the early learning report commissioned by the government. AECEO recommends legislative changes be made two to three years down the road.

Once the consultations are complete, the Ministry will post a summary of the proposed changes on its website www.ontario.ca/child for 30 days for public comment.

For more information on this issue visit www.aeceo.ca/news

• CCCF and AECEQ National Conference is in Montreal May 27-28th
• CCCF is looking for leaders!
• New Occupational Standards for practitioners
• Become a CCCF National Member Today
• Building a Foundation for Numeracy is as easy as 1, 2, 3!
• Coming in the Spring issue of Interaction
  
  Read more

The Canadian Council on Learning

As you may have heard, the Government of Canada has decided to terminate its funding to the Canadian Council on Learning. It's present agreement will expire on March 31, 2010.

In a letter on January 8th from the CCL's President and CEO, Dr. Paul Cappon captures some of what the organization has done for Canadians:

"In 2004, Canada saw that it had some catching up to do. Canadians were falling behind the rest of the world in some crucial areas. Innovation. Creativity. Skills development. Learning.

There was no debate about what we had to do to stop the decline, and begin to improve. We had to figure out what works in education and learning, from early childhood to post-secondary schooling, from job training through adult literacy improvement, and we had to monitor our progress so that we were certain we were always on the right path.

• Our Composite Learning Index, the first of its kind anywhere in the world, measures learning conditions, not only in the country as a whole, but in almost 5,000 individual communities. It shows that when you make learning conditions better, you inevitably make economic and social standards better. Europeans have told us they have been “inspired” by the Index, and are now working to produce a version for themselves...
  
• . . .CCL has been obsessed with making sure our work was based in the real world. We tackled subjects that every Canadian understands and in which we all have a stake. Things like how much homework is enough, but not too much? How many students should there be in a classroom? Does it make sense to allow for periods of free play for children in school? What’s the state of e-learning in Canada? How do different groups of immigrants to Canada learn differently?

Asking the questions was important. Answering them was even more important. And that’s what CCL did. We didn’t just raise problem after problem. We found solutions, offered out-of-the-box thinking, set down guidelines to success. All of it freely available to all Canadians at our website.

We will continue to pursue our vision. Our search for smart, practical, focused ideas that are right for individual learners, families, communities and all of Canada, will not end. It will endure." Read full letter

Head lice are tiny insects that live on the scalp, where they lay their eggs. Head lice do not spread disease. Having head lice does not mean you are not clean.

What do head lice look like?
Lice have 3 stages – the egg (nit), the nymph and the adult.

• Nits are whitish-grey, tan or yellow ovals, approximately the size of a grain of sand. They stick to the hair close to the scalp and can look like dandruff. Nits hatch in 9 to 10 days.
• Nymphs are baby lice. They look like adult lice but are smaller.
• Adult lice are approximately the size of a sesame seed and are hard to see. Adult lice can live for up to 30 days on a person’s head, but they die within 3 days away from the scalp.

How do they spread?
Head lice spread easily, especially where people are in close contact. They are very common among school-aged children or children attending child care.

• Head lice spread through direct hair-to-hair contact or indirectly by sharing things like hats, combs, hairbrushes and headphones.
• Head lice don’t fly or hop, but do crawl very quickly.
• Head lice that live on people can’t live on pets, such as cats or dogs.

How do you know you have head lice?
One of the first signs of head lice is an itchy scalp. But it is possible to have head lice without any symptoms. If you think your child has head lice, check his hair for nits right away, then again after 1 week and after 2 weeks.

How do I check for head lice?
To confirm a case of head lice, you need to find live lice. Children can have a few nits without actually having a case of head lice. Usually children have no more than 10 to 20 live lice.

• Good lighting is important when you are checking.
• Head lice move fast and are hard to see. They are usually found very close to the scalp, at the bottom of the neck and behind the ears.
• To look for nits, part hair in small sections, moving from one side of the head to the other. Check carefully, looking close to the scalp.

How can head lice be treated?
Insecticides are chemicals that kill insects (bugs). In Canada, 3 insecticides are approved to treat head lice:

Read the strategies for treating head lice from the CPS website, Caringforkids.cps.ca.