I do not do " day care" The sun comes up in the East and goes down in the West with no help from me.
Every day here is what your " day care worker" cares for.
- We make sure that the room that greets your family is welcoming, beautiful, and functional.
- We try to look cheerful and welcoming even before our morning Diet Coke kicks in.
- We support you to say good bye, because we know how hard it is to drive off when your child is crying.
- We help your child learn to identify and express their feelings and to understand that their choices have consequences.
- We teach them how to do the vampire cough into their elbow to try and reduce the never ending parade of germs that is an occupational hazard. We don't roll our eyes when you talk about how everyone in your family is sick since your little one started day care, without disclosing how we spent the weekend in bed after caring for a classroom of mildy ill children all day.
- We actually will smell your child's hands to make sure that they used soap when washing their hands.
- We try to care for their heads, and their hearts, while keeping that extra sweater on, and the sun screen slathered.
- We get to know which jacket goes with which child, because our pleas for you to label your child's belongings have gone unheeded.
- We have read "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" so many damn times in our carrer that we probably have some kind of preschool teacher repetitive brain trauma.
- We meet and collaborate with other teachers in stolen moments and in real staff meetings that happen surrounded by sleeping children We plan experiences that consider your child's specific interests and strive to make their ideas visible in our curriculum.
- We strive to be deeply present with the children while planning how to get the diapers done, and the table set for lunch.
- When communal eating we model how veggies are both nutritious and delicious. We talk about how " The first one you touch is the one that you take." We know that cutting an apple can lead children to understand math and fractions. We will pour milk into tiny dairy creamer so your toddler can pour her own milk. We also have small hand prints on our jeans. Sometimes yogurt, sometimes pasta sauce. We facilitate meal times that are a place where community is built and stories told.
- We know that all work is sacred to young children and we sweep and do laundry, and have done more dishes in our carrer then you can imagine.
- We talk about you when you are gone so your child can feel your love for them when you are at work.
- We are not just sitting around playing all day. We are present and trying to cultivate a reflective teaching practice.
- We collect stories for you, and hand them back at the end of the day. We know that when you ask, " How was her day? " that in most cases you are not asking for a blow by blow, but you want to know what you missed. You want to know if I had some meaningful connection with the child that holds your heart. We know that you want allies who share your delight about the utter coolness that belongs to your kid alone. We also know that you want support when your confidence wanes. You want some new thing you can try, or some acknowledgement of how hard you try, in a way that isn't all judgmental and stern.
- We care for you. We ask how you are. We want to get to know you and support you. We know that you are your child's first teacher, and we do our best work when we affirm and nurture that connection.
- We care for pets. We talk about this with your child. For many children, their first experience with death happens at school . We teach that many different people have many different ideas about what happens when we die. We explain what death does take away. ( Movement, breath, seeing, hearing, eating and sleeping) And, what death does not take away. ( Love and memories)
- We understand that every family has their own culture and context. We may not know about your specific family culture, but we do have questions that will help us learn and affirm those values in the classroom.
- During nap time we help your child to snuggle and relax. We will leave no stone unturned to find a lost lovey. We make relaxing nap time cds at home, and feel the satisfaction that only a room full of sleeping children can bring.
- We save everything and find creative uses for things that would be trash to most people. Bubble maker out of strawberry box? Balls out of sand and socks? We teach children that they can have an impact in their world with their creativity. We don't need toys that buzz and move! We want children to bring their ideas to materials not the other way around.
- We always take spiders outside.
- We find ways to take about your child's challenges in a way that holds both our understanding of development, as well as your child's uniqueness.
- We hand back your values to your child when we say things like, " I know in your family, you really care about kindness. I want to remind you that you can find a kinder way to say you are not ready to play".
- We try to patiently explain why those two days every year we close for professional development are necessary, even though they inconvenience you. These precious days really do impact your child directly because it affords the teachers a chance to think, reflect, and collaborate.
- We laugh with you, and cry sometimes too. We share your joy and hold the memories of your first precious days as parents.
- We know that what you get from us will form what you expect in other educators and schools.
So, do us a favor.. Call us teachers, or early childhood educators. Days take care of themselves.
