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Sunday, March 19, 2006

Classroom Wishlist

Classroom Wishlist

What an awesome idea. I cannot begin to tell you how much money I've spent over the years on things for the classroom because it wasn't in the budget or because a director or whoever deemed it unnecessary. I should own stock in the contact paper company. Seriously. And how many times did I run out of boxes of tissues before the year was over? And really, I cannot name a single time that there was enough colored tissue paper for a single project I've done.

And I'm not a wasteful teacher, either. I save every little scrap of tissue and construction paper. I get newspapers to donate the ends of their rolls of paper for art projects. I use the backs of company letterheads that would be tossed out every time someone goes through "rebranding." I am the queen of wallpaper and carpet scraps. I melt crayons down into multi-colored sticks. I make my own paints, pastes and glues wherever possible. Every container for manipulatives and art supplies used to be a container for something else -- oatmeal, chocolate milk mix, baby wipes... I could go on forever here.

Now, you can sign up here, add items to your wishlist and send a brochure to your parents. If they want to donate items, they can do so and it's tax deductible.

Give it a try. If you're already using this system, feel free to leave a comment and let readers know how it's working for you.

Can I Charge More for a Special Needs Child?

L.C. asks:

"I have a question and am seeking input from several people.

I run a small in-home daycare, and have an opening for one child. I am interviewing today to fill the position. The child with the interview is a 6-year-old child with special needs. He has the size/ability of a 2-year-old child. He is diabetic and has down syndrome. I know that is child would require extra care -- would it be wrong to increase my weekly rate for this child?"




Most centers can charge fees related to care above and beyond what another child without special needs would receive, but it's iffy and the costs have to be directly related to services that you provide that fall outside "reasonable accommodations." Because even home child care providers are often required to follow title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act, it would be best to familiarize yourself with these regulations and do an individualized assessment of your program and how it would handle this child.

The government has a very comprehensive FAQ on this topic here:


http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/childq&a.htm


And this can answer many of your questions.