Just don’t call us “Day Care!”
Grace Geller on June 9th, 2010
Well the dust has settled, camp is up and running and I finally have time to reflect on the wonderful year we spent together. It seems like just yesterday I would spend my days reassuring families that their two- year-old would: Stop crying or biting or hitting…and then all of a sudden those same two year olds are singing in five languages, able to read, tie their shoes and are graduating from Pre-K! What happened to the time in between?
All those days linking the beginning to the end was the middle work… all the hard work:
Early to bed
Arriving on time
Allowing your child to take responsibility for him / her selves
Doing the right thing
Successful endings are preceded by hard work. The hard work of the Two year old teachers helped prepare the children for the Three year old program; and the hard work of the Four year old teachers, prepared the children for Pre-K. The hard work of the parents prepared the children to grow and be ready to receive direction.
When I look at our competent Pre-Kindergarteners performing at graduation I see them with the knowledge that everyone plays a small part in the development of a child. It is the sum of all these small parts that leads to a competent, confident child. The more people who positively participate in the development of a child, the closer that child can come to reaching his / her full potential.
That is why I cringe when I hear the term “day care.” We do not take care of days! We care for children. We care about who they will become. We take pride in helping to shape the future. What we do here in the Early Childhood setting is very different from elementary school setting. Here we have the luxury of time to know the whole child and their families. We create a plan to help children eradicate undesirable behaviors, overcome deficits and gain competencies in life and academics.
Here we become part of a child’s family and they become part of ours. Children share stories, tokens from their family vacations and foods and customs from their home countries. We trade recipes and advice. Teachers relay funny anecdotes or concerns for the children in their charge. They share these with directors, teachers and their families. And tiny parts of your child’s life merge with ours and we begin to form a community.
During graduation, it is with great pride that I look out over the audience and see the parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, best friends as well as the Two year old, Three year old, Four year old teachers and their families. Everyone is in attendance watching the children as they prepare for the transition from preschooler to grade school student. This is the message we tried to teach and hope will serve them well in the future.
A message to the children;
10 suggestions for a healthy future:
- Listen to your heart; it will help you know the truth when you hear it.
- Plant your dreams on solid ground.
- Start something new.
- Be bold, smart and fair.
- Do the right thing.
- Try something different.
- Hold on to who you are.
- Keep your body and mind healthy.
- Know what matters most.
- When you fall down, pick yourself up and move on.
And as the hall empties and the stage lights dim, I am a little sad to see them go but then I remember….tomorrow a new group of two year olds start. God, I love this job!
Peace & Light,
Grace
