The New Daycare
Seth and JP go to a daycare in Springfield that is about 100% government funded. Every parent there is there by gov't voucher/subsidy. Just like us. Without it I would be paying about $550 per week for them to go there. What this means is that they do the best they can with what they have. This past year the boys have had new teachers about every 4 months with only one staying the whole time. Rhonda. And I love Rhonda. If it weren't for her, I would have taken them out much sooner.
I went on a tour today at StonyBrook Child Center and had my socks knocked off. I think they're somewhere in the third or fourth playground. This daycare is owned by Mt Holyoke College - its right across campus from my office. The infant/young toddler playground is a courtyard that is outside of their classrooms. Yeah, each of the classrooms have a door leading directly out to their play area. The bigger kids (Seth and JP) have two play areas: one big play scape and a blacktop space. The blacktop space is for bouncing balls and... here's the kicker.... riding bikes!!! They have a dozen tricycles, training-wheeled bikes and regular bikes. They also have indoor play areas and a separate play area for the after-school kids.
Each classroom has 3 teachers and students from Mt. Holyoke. The scheduling system means that kids are never corralled into one class until a certain time. One teacher has a 9 hour work day everyday so that she is there when my sons are dropped off and there when I pick them up. She is free during 4:30-5:30 to chat with parents about each of the kids' days and if there are any concerns. She keeps a checklist about everything from potty routine, to what they ate to what they loved about their day.
Also... they have their own woods. They go hiking almost every day. They are outside 1-2 hours every day as long the temp is between 40 - 85. And if it has been raining for few days, they put a huge tent over the main play area and go out and play anyhow. Unbelievable.
My favorite part is this: There weren't any gated off areas. Kids get to play with what they want, when they want. The teachers don't dictate that now its Coloring Time when all they want to do is play legos. You get to play with the lego's as long as you damn want to. And... they don't even own televisions. Computers are in the pre-school and after-school classrooms only.
My grant that I get to help pay for this will transfer to Stony Brook. This means I'll be paying exactly the same amount.
Sometimes things just fall into place don't they? This is a blessing, a complete and total blessing.
Oh... I was worried about going to a place where all the kids are white/WASP-like. There are children here from 10 countries! There are kids who speak Spanish, French, Japanese, Chinese and many others. There are children who come from wealthy families and families who are more like mine (broke-ass working class). There are single mommies, single dads and gay families and traditional married families. Blended families too. It was pretty amazing to see actually.
This is good. This is very good.
I went on a tour today at StonyBrook Child Center and had my socks knocked off. I think they're somewhere in the third or fourth playground. This daycare is owned by Mt Holyoke College - its right across campus from my office. The infant/young toddler playground is a courtyard that is outside of their classrooms. Yeah, each of the classrooms have a door leading directly out to their play area. The bigger kids (Seth and JP) have two play areas: one big play scape and a blacktop space. The blacktop space is for bouncing balls and... here's the kicker.... riding bikes!!! They have a dozen tricycles, training-wheeled bikes and regular bikes. They also have indoor play areas and a separate play area for the after-school kids.
Each classroom has 3 teachers and students from Mt. Holyoke. The scheduling system means that kids are never corralled into one class until a certain time. One teacher has a 9 hour work day everyday so that she is there when my sons are dropped off and there when I pick them up. She is free during 4:30-5:30 to chat with parents about each of the kids' days and if there are any concerns. She keeps a checklist about everything from potty routine, to what they ate to what they loved about their day.
Also... they have their own woods. They go hiking almost every day. They are outside 1-2 hours every day as long the temp is between 40 - 85. And if it has been raining for few days, they put a huge tent over the main play area and go out and play anyhow. Unbelievable.
My favorite part is this: There weren't any gated off areas. Kids get to play with what they want, when they want. The teachers don't dictate that now its Coloring Time when all they want to do is play legos. You get to play with the lego's as long as you damn want to. And... they don't even own televisions. Computers are in the pre-school and after-school classrooms only.
My grant that I get to help pay for this will transfer to Stony Brook. This means I'll be paying exactly the same amount.
Sometimes things just fall into place don't they? This is a blessing, a complete and total blessing.
Oh... I was worried about going to a place where all the kids are white/WASP-like. There are children here from 10 countries! There are kids who speak Spanish, French, Japanese, Chinese and many others. There are children who come from wealthy families and families who are more like mine (broke-ass working class). There are single mommies, single dads and gay families and traditional married families. Blended families too. It was pretty amazing to see actually.
This is good. This is very good.
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