So as most of you don't know I work at a daycare and I’ve been working there for over three years, and I’ve worked in every program, to the infant room (ages six weeks to eighteen months) to the after school program we offer for grades K-5. Over the last year, I’ve been working in the toddler program (eighteen months - three years old) and it has change my prospective on how I see the world and how I live my day. So here are some things that my toddlers teach me everyday..
ENJOY THE LITTLE THINGS:
So I go into work each morning and I walk in with my kids give me the most amount of love anyone could give, that's when you know when your going to have a good day (unless a child pukes on you and don't worry that doesn't happen often but if it doesn't happen in the classroom setting it could possibly happen when you become a parent). Before we feed our kiddos for lunch, we always read them books on tape. One book they love is “Driving My Tractor’’ by Jan Dobbins when they listen to the book I see that their eyes twinkle and their smiles light up the room knowing they are going to just love what they are about to hear (even though we read the book to them almost everyday but repetition is a MAJOR KEY to any age group you work with), but seeing that everyday enjoying from the toys we take out, to when we go outside and hearing them cheer and express their excitement for everything is a beautiful even the little stuff.
DON'T SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF:
Working with children is not easy, they are un-predictable. What I mean by don't sweat the small stuff is, when one child spills something while eating snack or got snot on you or any bad scenario is that something so little shouldn't even matter. There could be something bigger that could happen into the day that would be a bigger deal, I hope that makes sense!
EVERY CHILD IS DIFFERENT:
In every age group you work with, from the babies to the young adults, you going to have a diverse classroom with different children with different personalities and different ways of learning. From each classroom you impact you will meet different children that need a little extra instruction, you would have to differentiate the way you explain the child what you would want them to do. For example if you are working on an art project with a small group of children and you see one child that isn't understanding the directions, you will have to think to your self “what should I have said to help this child become successful? Could I have explained the directions a little more clearly? Would've it helped if I was next to the child while working on the project? The possibilities are endless. Every child will succeed in your class room, you will just have to accommodate your interaction/instruction to your classroom.
Working with kids isn't easy, whether you work as a full-time stay at home parent, or you provide your child with daycare services. From a caretakers point of view, my kids are my world and I’m so lucky and grateful I get to see them develop everyday into young people that will explore the world in their own fashion and pace. Since starting my job, I’ve gain an extra appreciation for my parents and how hard they worked to support my brother and I and all of the parents out there doing the same thing. Work hard play hard.
THANK YOU TO ALL GUARDIANS FOR ALL THAT YOU DO, XX.
Love a passionate caretaker and daughter.
