Elam Hearts and Hands

at Elam United Methodist Church
1073 Smithbridge Rd

Glen Mills, PA 19342

Phone: 610-459-2911

Fax:  610-459-3588

Kelly Forwood, Director

Elam Hearts and Hands

director@elamheartsandhands.com

Learn about Elam

United Methodist Church

Registration

In Progress

for the

2021-2022

school year

(September-May)

Call or email for further information 

A fun way to spend time, do crafts and play with friends at Hearts and Hands.

 Summer Camp runs from 9:30 am - 1:30 pm.

Monday - Friday

3 year olds (must be potty-trained) through 6 year olds

Several themes are available across different weeks in the summer.



2021 Kids Camp Schedule:

June 7 - June 11 - Storybook Lane: Curious George (Enjoy favorite books)

June 21 - June 25 - Storybook Lane: Curious George (Enjoy favorite books)   

August 16 - August 20 - Shark Week! (Explore different sharks and their habitats)

Daily Schedule:

9:30am      Arrival and Play Time

10:00am      Outside Activities

Monday, Tuesday & Wedneday: playtime with balls, hula hoops, EzyRollers, hop scotch, balance rectangels, painting easels, and more.

Thursday & Friday: bike/scooter (from home) in gym and playground time.

10:45am Snack Time 

11:00am  Free Choice

Children choose from activities thoroughout the classroom and work on

projects in small groups based on the theme of that particular week. 

Every day there are toys available for free play.

Activitity tables are set up each day for crafts and coloring.

Special Table (magnets, shaving cream, stamps, watercolor,

and stencils are set up on a rotating basis; one activity a day

12:30pm   Lunch Time

1:00pm    Practice Songs/Gym Time

1:25pm Circle Time/Devotion

1:30pm   Dismissal

Elam Hearts and Hands - 2021 Summer Kids Camp 

COVID-19 Health and Safety Plan 

Our priority is for the health and safety of our children, families and staff members. We have developed this plan to address additional procedures that will be taken during this pandemic. We have based these procedures on the guidelines issued by the CDC, PA Department of Health, and OCDEL (Office of Child Development and Early Learning). Since this still remains a fluid situation, we will continue to monitor and make additional modifications as necessary.

Drop-off/Pick-up Times: We will unlock the gym door by the playground at 9:30am for drop off and 1:30pm for pick up. Please follow the Kids Camp signs once you enter the building. You will walk through the gym, up the steps, and through the hall to the classroom. Then exit down the steps and out the door. 

Security: The gym entrance doors will be locked 15 minutes after each drop-off/pick-up time. If you should come at a time when the doors are locked you can enter through the main church office and sign in to receive a visitor pass.  

Propped Doors: All school entrance doors will be propped open during drop-off and pick-up times to avoid contact. Please make sure you are holding your child’s hand as you enter and exit the building to maintain safety.  

Sanitizing Stations: There are stations at the entrance to the gym with hand sanitizing pumps available. Please sanitize your hands and your child’s as you enter the building.

Social Distancing: Maintain social distancing between other families and adults as best possible as you enter, walk through, and exit the school building. 

Socializing: We are asking that no one remains in the building once children have been dropped off.

Washing Hands: Hand washing will be done inside the classroom. Children will wash their hands before and after eating, and after toileting, sneezing, or coughing. 

Daily Home Screening: Parents will be asked to sign a commitment, agreeing to take their child’s temperature and evaluate their child’s health and exposure to COVID-19, before bringing him/her to camp each day. Please keep your child home if he/she is sick. In light of COVID-19, watch particularly for symptoms related to this virus: fever (100.4F or higher), chills, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle/body aches, headache, new loss of taste or smell, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, nausea or vomiting, and diarrhea. Refer to the Kids Camp Parent Handbook under Health Policy for typical health related policies. See the attached paper at the end of this document to reference the Daily Health Screening. A copy of this will need to be printed, filled out, signed, and returned to be put in your child’s school file.  

Non-Contact Thermometers: Thermometers are available if needed. We will not be doing daily temperature checks upon entering the building, as this will be done by the parents, prior to bringing a child to school. With the number of children entering the building at one time, and our desire to maintain social distancing for the adults as best possible, we feel it is important to keep the flow of people moving in and out of the building.

Daily Health Checks/Temperature Checks: The teachers will do a visual health assessment of each child upon entering the classroom. If there are health concerns, parents will be notified immediately. We will utilize the non-contact thermometer if there is a question regarding a child’s temperature at any point throughout the school day. If a child has a temperature of 100.4F or higher the child will be taken to a designated isolation room and will stay with a staff member until a parent comes to pick up the child. 

COVID-19 Cases: Any suspected or confirmed COVID-19 cases within our building will be handled as per the Chester County Health Department guidance, in reference to reporting, remediation, quarantine, directive for temporary closure, and cleaning and sanitation requirements. 

Teacher Health Check: The teachers will do a daily home screening before arriving at school. Any staff member with a temperature of 100.4F or higher and/or experiencing COVID-19 related symptoms will be asked to leave the building. 

Face Coverings: At Hearts and Hands, we recognize the health benefits and importance of wearing a face covering, especially with the challenge of social distancing in the early learning setting. Due to the PA mandate, we require that adults and children 2 years and older wear a face covering. We have adopted the theme of being a Hearts and Hands Superhero. We have posters throughout the building and in the classrooms with a picture of children in capes and masks with the words: Hearts and Hands Superheros. Wear Your Mask To Fight The Germs. We will talk about how wearing our masks gives us superpowers to keep our hands away from our nose and mouth and how we can fight the germs and stay healthy by wearing our masks. A child may have a mask break (one child sitting at a specific desk with a barrier, away from the other children) whenever needed, which we are calling “Mask Recharging Stations”. There will also be whole class mask breaks during snack time and lunch time where the children are distanced from each other. We have seen that the children in this age group have done a fantastic job wearing their masks and it has just become a part of their daily routine. The teachers will be positively encouraging, supporting, and working with the children through this process. 

Staff Face Coverings: Both the Hearts and Hands staff members as well as the Elam Church staff members will be wearing face coverings throughout the day.  

Outdoor Play Time: Due to health and safety guidelines, we are unable to have water and sand play and therefore no wading pools, sprinklers or slip-and-slide. We will go outside everyday. Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays we will play in the back parking lot and grass area with: balls, hula hoops, EzyRollers, hop scotch, balance rectangles, painting easels, and more. Thursdays and Fridays children may bring a riding toy/scooter, with a helmet, to use in the gym. The children will also have the opportunity to play on the playground on Thursdays and Fridays. 

Due to the current PA mandate, the children will need to wear their masks outside as well, since social distancing of six feet just doesn’t happen with preschoolers. We are asking that an additional mask be brought to school in case it should get too sweaty from outdoor activities.

If any mandates change prior to our summer camp or during the course of the summer, we will adjust our procedures accordingly. 

Gym/Outdoor Equipment: Any items used during this time will be cleaned and disinfected each day. Bikes or scooters and a helmet are brought to camp from home on Thursdays and Fridays. Only the child who brings the bike to school will be allowed to use that particular bike. We will wash hands or disinfect hands before and after gym/outdoor playtime.  

Playground use: High-touch surfaces will be cleaned and disinfected on a regular basis. 

Snack Time/Lunch Time: Hands will be washed before and after eating. Snacks and lunches will be eaten at tables where children are appropriately distanced from one another. Snacks provided by the school will be distributed by the teachers along with a cup and napkin. If a snack is brought from home to share with the class, it must be an individually wrapped store-bought snack, or an unopened bag of snacks to be distributed by the classroom teachers. No homemade snacks at this time. 

Items From Home: Please do not allow your child to bring any items from home to school, such as toys or stuffed animals. 

Cleaning and Disinfecting: Daily cleaning and disinfecting with an EPA approved product will be done on the tables, chairs, floors, bathrooms, sinks, railings, toys, and specific touch points within the classrooms and throughout the building in areas where the children participate. 

Wash Me Bins: Any toy put in a child’s mouth, sneezed or coughed upon, will be put in a bin to be cleaned and disinfected at the end of the day. 

Porous Toys: Any toys that cannot be appropriately disinfected will be removed from the classroom until further notice. These items would include dress ups, stuffed animals, puppets, foam blocks, and any toys made out of fabric.  

Guests: No visitors or volunteers will be permitted into the building to participate within the classrooms during school hours. 

Craft Supplies: We will provide individual items for the children to use and they will be disinfected at the end of each day so they are ready for the next day’s use. 

Friday Show and Social: Typically parents come back a half hour early on Fridays to watch the children share a few songs with them based on the theme of the week. Depending on the mandate for large gatherings at the time of summer camp, we may not be able to have parents and family members gather together for this end of the week show. If not, we will run Fridays like the other weekdays and end the day at 1:30pm.  

Modifications: Some aspects of the Camp Activities described in the Kids Camp information booklet and the Kids Camp handbook, which would typically happen as a part of Kids Camp, have been modified based on PA mandates and our safety protocols due to the pandemic. 

Daily Home Screening

I commit to doing a daily home screening of my child, _____________________________ each morning before he/she attends school.  I will keep my child home if he/she is sick.

________________________________                    _______________________

                                      Parent’s Signature                                         Date

SECTION 1: Symptoms

If your child has any of the following symptoms, that indicates a possible illness that may decrease the student’s ability to learn and also put them at risk for spreading illness to others. Please check your child for these symptoms:

___Temperature 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit or higher when taken by mouth

       ___Sore throat

• ___New uncontrolled cough that causes difficulty breathing (for students with chronic allergic/asthmatic cough, a change in their cough from baseline)

•  

• ___Diarrhea, vomiting, or abdominal pain

•  

• ___New onset of severe headache, especially with a fever

•  

SECTION 2: Close Contact/Potential Exposure

•  

• ___Had close contact (within 6 feet of an infected person for at least 15 minutes) with a person with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 case.

• ___Traveled to or lived in an area where the local, Tribal, territorial, or state health department is reporting large numbers of COVID-19 cases. 

• ___Live in areas of high community transmission while the school remains open.

If you answer YES to any question in Section 1 and NO to any question in Section 2, your child will be excused from school in accordance with our Health Policy (see Parent Handbook) . Your child must be symptom-free and fever-free (without fever-reducing medication) for 24 hours, in order to return to school. 

If you answer YES to any question in Section 1 and YES to any question in Section 2, your child will be excused from school and must be referred for evaluation by his/her health care provider to determine if COVID-19 testing is necessary. Please notify us if your child is in this consultation process with the healthcare provider.

If the healthcare provider determines that a COVID-19 test is necessary, your child must await the results of the test before returning to school. Whether your child has a negative test result or a positive test result, once your child has followed the directed health protocols, we must receive written documentation from your child’s healthcare provider, stating that your child can safely return to school.