Why Should You Choose the Muskoka Home Child Care Agency?

As an Agency, we are entrusted to find the right people to join the team. It takes time and commitment to see the process out and an ongoing desire to learn is essential to future success. 

When we approve providers to join our team, we look for people with: 

• a high degree of integrity;
• professionalism;
• a desire to learn; and most importantly,
• people who want to make a positive impact on the children and families they work with.

As an Agency, we implement Ontario’s Pedagogy for the Early Years framework How Does Learning Happen?, which describes the four foundations of learning for children:

1. Well-Being
2. Engagement
3. Expression
4. Belonging

Each foundation is interconnected and essential to the overall development of children. When we see children as curious, competent and capable of complex thinking, we are better equipped to support them in reaching their maximum potential.

This document guides Early Childhood Educator philosophies and principals as we work together as providers, families and children to be co-learners.

We support positive and responsive interactions among the children, parents/guardians, child care Providers and staff, and foster engagement and ongoing communication with parents/guardians about the program and their children.

Our Home Visitors are available to connect parents/guardians in conversations and support a positive experience during every interaction.

Our Providers receive regular announced and unannounced visits and communication with a team of Registered Early Childhood Educators, dedicated to children’s well-being.  

By building relationships, encouraging and supporting continued professional learning, regularly completing home visits, and creating those important connections, we have a team of collaborative, high-quality Educators.

Onboarding a new Provider is more than finding the right personality match. It is also about ensuring all the safety measures have been completed including, but not limited to:

• Criminal Record Check with a Vulnerable Sector Screening;
• First Aid Level C;
• Fire Inspection;
• Home Safety Inspection;
• CAS checks; and
• Rabies vaccines for dogs, cats and ferrets, etc.

Many of these requirements are required for anyone living in the home, or regularly present in the program as well.

Our Policies and Procedures guide our interactions and expectations. They are there for the health, safety and well-being of each child.

Policies include ensuring that: 

• children have adequate rest and hours of play outdoors;
• the environment is free from smoke and cannabis;
• children do not have access to any standing or recreational bodies or water; and
• medical and anaphylactic plans are in place.

Home capacity is a serious issue that must be followed in accordance with the Child Care and Early Years Act guidelines.

No more than six (6) children may be in care at any one time, including the Provider’s own children under the age of four.

After September 1 in a calendar year, any of the Provider’s own children who will turn the age of four in that year do not have to be counted in the total number of children at a premise. 

Of the total number of children in care, including the Provider’s own children, no more than three (3) children may be under the age of two (2).

As of November 1, 2022, the Muskoka Home Child Care Agency has opted in, to implement the Canada Wide Early Learning Child Care (CWELCC) plan, making quality child care more affordable, accessible and inclusive. Please see the District of Muskoka website for more information.

As an Agency family, you are eligible to apply to have a portion or all of your child care fees paid for by the District Municipality of Muskoka through the Child Care Fee Subsidy Program.

Fee Subsidy is based on a few factors including income levels and can be accessed when families are working, attending school or have special family circumstances as identified by a third party agency.

We encourage all families to visit the website to do a quick pre-eligibility calculation using the Child Care Subsidy Calculator.

Many of our families choose Home Child Care because they know that children benefit from a consistent educator from the moment they begin care until they start school.

This allows them to form a secure attachment and build a bond that is meaningful to them. As the family, you also get to know your Provider on a much more intimate level. 

With small group sizes and an atmosphere that mirrors a home, children have the opportunity to explore their worlds with confidence and comfort

Just as we believe that each child is one of a kind, we feel the same about adults.

Although it is true that the quality rich foundation is the same for all our Providers, their individual uniqueness comes out in their program implementation.

For example, a Provider with a passion for art, may offer lots of opportunities for exploration devoted to this subject. A Provider with an enthusiasm for the outdoors, may run much of their programming outside.

Each Provider communicates differently and brings their own unique interest, perspective and cultural beliefs to the program.   

We support all families in finding the best fit for their child and their unique needs and interests.

We strive to see that every child in care has the opportunity to learn and grow based on their own pace and that the child has the best environment to explore and flourish. We have many policies to support special circumstances such as allergies and medical needs and we work with our Providers and families to see to it that your child is safe, well cared for and is engaging successfully in the program.

As an approved Provider with the Agency, each business owner has signed a Service Agreement indicating that they will follow our Policies and Procedures but beyond this, there is flexibility in the operation of their business such as hours of operation, the children, and families they have in their program, what additional policies they choose to implement, etc.

Some of our Provider’s have chosen to open only 4 days a week and some to work shorter hours. We respect these choices.

As independent business owners, our Providers can choose to have Back Up-Providers, Volunteers and Students in their homes. To do so, the person must go through similar screening processes as our Providers and attend basic training. Back-Up Providers can work alongside a Provider helping with day-to-day tasks or independently when the Provider is not in the program. Volunteers and Students are only able to work alongside a Provider. We encourage families to meet all members of the program prior to placement.