Okay, here is the blog post about my experience with the Virginia Annual Health and Safety Update Training:
Alright, folks, let’s talk about this Virginia Annual Health and Safety Update Training thing. I got an email about it the other day from some lady named Edwina Williams at the Virginia Department of Education. Said I had to do it since I work with kids, and I do as a volunteer at Common Ground Child Care in Reston. Something about staying “in compliance,” whatever that means.
So, I started the thing online. It’s through the Virginia Department of Education and a couple of other places called Better Kid Care and The Community College Workforce Alliance. Honestly, it was a bit of a drag, but I got through it. Took me a couple of hours, pausing here and there.
Here’s what I learned from it:
- First off, they’re really serious about keeping things clean. You gotta know the difference between cleaning, sanitizing, and disinfecting. Like, cleaning is just wiping stuff down, sanitizing kills some germs, and disinfecting is like the nuke option, it kills almost everything. They showed us all the steps on how to do it right.
- Handwashing, handwashing, handwashing. I swear they spent half the time on this. There’s a whole song and dance about how to wash your hands the right way. Wet, soap, scrub for 20 seconds, rinse, dry with a clean towel. It’s like they think we’re all five years old, but hey, better safe than sorry, I guess.
- They talked about other stuff too, like how to handle food safely, what to do if a kid gets sick, and how to prevent injuries. A lot of it was common sense, but there were a few things I hadn’t thought of before, I must admit.
I had to do this training because I help out at a childcare place, and it’s required for people who work with kids. I don’t do it full-time, just a few hours a week when I can, but they still want us to know all this stuff. It’s important, I get it. Kids get into everything and they spread germs like crazy, so we gotta be careful.
Honestly, I think this training is a good idea. Even if you think you know how to keep things clean and safe, it’s good to have a refresher. And it’s not just about the kids, it’s about keeping ourselves healthy too. I don’t want to get sick any more than they do.
At the end of the training, I had to take a little quiz to make sure I was paying attention. It wasn’t too hard, mostly just multiple-choice questions. I passed it no problem, and then they gave me a certificate. Now I can prove I completed this thing. It’s like a little gold star for being a responsible adult.
So, that’s my experience with the Virginia Annual Health and Safety Update Training. It wasn’t the most exciting thing in the world, but I learned a few things, and now I’m officially “in compliance.”
If you work with kids, you might have to do this training too.
It’s not that bad, and it’s probably worth it to make sure we’re all doing our part to keep those little ones healthy and safe. Plus, you get a fancy certificate at the end. Who doesn’t love a certificate?
