December 2023 Newsletter

Fun December Dates

Dec. 3 – International Day of Persons with Disabilities & First Sunday of Advent 
Dec. 4 – National Cookie Day
Dec. 5 – International Volunteer Day
Dec. 6 – St. Nicholas Day 
Dec. 7 – Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day  
Dec. 7 – Hanukkah
Dec. 9 – PlayDate Holiday Party
Dec. 10 – Human Rights Day 
Dec. 12 – Gingerbread House Day
Dec. 16 – National Wreaths Across America Day
Dec. 21 – Winter Solstice
Dec. 24 – Christmas Eve & Center Closed
Dec. 25 – Christmas Day & Center Closed
Dec. 26 – Kwanzaa
Dec. 31 – New Year’s Eve & Center Closed 

Monthly Celebrations

Universal Human Rights Month
Learn a Foreign Language Month

December Spirit Days

Dec. 8 – Pajama Day

Dec. 13 – Whoville Day (dress like you live in Whoville)

Dec. 15 – Pajama Day

Dec. 20 – North Pole Day (dress like you live in the North Pole)

Dec. 22 – Pajama Day

Dec. 27 – Winter Wonderland (dress like you live in a winter wonderland)

Dec. 29 – Pajama Day 

December Anniversaries

No anniversary bells ringing this month, but we’ve got something even better! This is a chance to give our fantastic PlayDate crew a massive shout-out for their dedication! Thanks, team, for all the amazing work you do! Here’s to a year jam-packed with more anniversaries and celebrations!

Holiday Closures

This is a friendly reminder that we will be closed on December 24-25, 2023, December 31, 2023, January 1, 2024, and January 13, 2024.

Sick Child Policy

The majority of parents are quite careful about children’s health matters, following policies that are more likely to ensure their health, and having therapy only when the child is well. This policy provides specific guidelines so that everyone, including therapists, can be sure of when to cancel/reschedule therapy and so you can be confident in your child’s limited exposure to other sick individuals. 

In the event that your child is diagnosed with a communicable disease, please notify your Senior Therapist or Consultant so that we may provide warnings to other families and report to the Department of Public Health as appropriate. Your child’s confidentiality will be safeguarded.
Our policies are based on our commitment to helping families and employees stay well so that children can attend and derive the most benefit from therapy. It is equally important for us to protect other children and our employees, whose good health is directly related to their ability to maintain their therapy appointments.

Please read the information and keep these guidelines for your reference:

Children may only participate in services (in-home or center) if they have NOT had a fever WITHIN THE 24 HOURS PREVIOUS TO THE APPOINTMENT. 

This means that even if a fever breaks, services must be canceled until 24 hours have elapsed since the fever broke. This is standard medical policy and parents may verify this with their medical advisor. Since energy levels or fevers alone are not always accurate indicators of illness, our employees may advise you that your child appears to be getting sick even in the absence of a fever. A child can be very contagious and quite sick before a fever appears. Because our employees are careful, they know they are required by law to be aware of each child’s individual health “picture”, to watch children they suspect of illness, and then to advise parents of their judgment.

If, in the judgment of the therapist, a child is deemed ill, a parent must pick up the child within a reasonable amount of time. A therapist may also end a session early if the child appears too sick to actively participate. This is important, to safeguard the ill child and to safeguard other children and employees from being exposed to an illness unnecessarily. This also ensures that service time is used when the child can receive the most benefit.
Cancel services for one (1) calendar day if your child:

Is being treated with AUGMENTIN – as this drug creates explosive diarrhea symptoms
Is being treated with antibiotics
Has vomited and/or has diarrhea
Has persistent cough or nasal drainage
Has a greenish discharge from the nose – as this is an indication of an active infection in the child’s respiratory system

Holiday Party Sponsorship

We are preparing for our 16th annual PlayDate Holiday Party! This event is always a success due to the support of our wonderful community!  There are many ways to get involved:
Present DonationVolunteeringMonetary DonationsCraft DonationsFood DonationsSponsorship (at a variety of levels)
If you are interested or would like to know more, please contact us at [email protected] or 719-465 3989. 
Thank you!

Parent Therapist Association 

We are excited to announce our Parent Therapist Association (PTA)! Our PTA is a collaborative group between our PlayDate community, including guardians, family members, staff, and all that are interested.  

If you are interested in joining the PTA, please email [email protected]