We're not just on different pages. We're not even reading the same book.

I had some internal conflict several years ago about working in a day care setting.

I believe if at all possible, kids should be with their families. If not with Mom or Dad, then a grandparent or an aunt, cousin... someone who loves that child.

I know it's not always going to work out that way, though. After they're born, you have to do things like feed them. Buy them clothes. Take them to the doctor and the dentist. Procure some sort of transportation. And a place for them to live. You know... raise them. Try to keep them healthy and warm and safe and provide for them.

I don't fault people for going to work and placing their child with someone else.

The only person I'm qualified to pass judgement on is myself, and often I don't even have enough of the facts to do that. :)

Daycare is often not a choice at all, it's a necessity.
Children are going to be in daycare. And I sincerely believe, with all my heart, that if a child is going to be in day care, they should actually be with someone who cares.

I do.
I care very much about every child who's placed in my care.
I enjoy their humor and their ideas. They're special individuals. Every single one is someone's baby. I try to never lose sight of that.
I know I've mentioned it before, but I was a daycare kid. When I was very small, my mom left me with the lady who had been HER babysitter when she was a small child. Later she left me with the widow across the street from our little apartment. That probably wasn't the best situation.

But no matter where I was, I still remember how slowly the time passed for me. The time spent in daycare was endless. Okay. For me to get to the point of the past few posts (and yes, I do actually have a point) I need to tell you about my own site.

When I walked into my current site for the first time, I was incredibly disappointed.
It was dismal. There were very few things for the kids to do on their own. The room was dingy and dusty, crowded with way too many tables, and there was nothing with visual impact. I really wish I'd taken some photos before and after.

I left a ton of things behind at my old school, but I brought many things with me, too. I was able to get things going in the right direction before school started that fall. With help from Lyssa and a determination to bring in that wow factor, the place looked really good on the first day of school.

I have accumulated some things since then, too. Way too many for the small portable program I'm running now, but I'm thinking ahead to next year when we're in our new school. My intention has always been to grow the program and turn it into a destination.

The way I do things isn't complicated, but it requires a lot of forethought and a ton of 'extras' not necessarily provided by the company.

The children spend their school days being told what to do, how long to spend doing it, what's good enough, what's important (and what isn't) and being unable to make the most basic choices for themselves. When to eat, when to rest, when to play, when to pee.
So it's important for them to be free to manage their own time when they're with me.

But they need a ton of toys and things to be creative with.

I want to provide as many choices as I can for the kids, but they all need to be good choices.
So I have an entire cart devoted to art. The company provides paper, markers, pencils, colored pencils, crayons, watercolors, and some tape. They will provide the things I ask for too, but the problem is that I don't always know what I'm going to need until I see it. If I see something at Goodwill or the craft store that's relatively cheap and looks promising, I buy it.

The art cart has stencils. Tracing paper. Copier paper. Watercolor paper. Cardstock. Coloring sheets. Watercolors and paper edger scissors. A ton of different colors of construction paper. We have coloring books. Books about Zentangle. A bunch of Ed Emberley titles, here are two... Ed Emberley's Fingerprint Drawing Book, Ed Emberley's Make A World... follow those links to Amazon and buy the books if you have kids, work with kids or know some kids who'd like this stuff. Pens. Rubbing plates.

I was in Goodwill just before Christmas and found two more stencils to add to the ones we already have.

I put things on the art cart and then I leave them. The kids get to decide if they want to make something. I give them as much help as they ask for, usually with stapling something or cutting something tiny. Otherwise, they're on their own.

And they love it. It's usually the place to be during program time. They sit at the plastic covered table and never have to worry about spilling paint or getting markers on it. They chat and laugh and contribute creative input to each other. They paint pictures, make comic books, construct gauntlets and other superhero things from colored papers. They're free to imagine and make things happen.

I do offer projects, too. There must be a million different craft ideas out there. I have supplies for just about anything you could imagine.

We also have model magic and sculpting tools, which are out about three times a month or more, depending on what they want to do.

Fuse beads.
Sequins and buttons and tacky glue and little mosaic squares. Potsicle sticks.
Little wooden shapes to glue together. Add paint and googly eyes and make all kinds of creatures.
OMG.. pipe cleaners. Feathers. Acrylic paint. Tempera paint. Paintbrushes large and small and middle sized. Stamp pads.

On the book cart (only because there isn't room on the art cart) are many different drawing books. Some are complicated, some not. Different drawing styles with step by step illustrations and instructions. Books on paper quilling. Books about sculpting. Books about Zentangle.

I've provided much, much more for 'my' kids than the company. It isn't that the company is cheap, either. The last company I worked for wanted to make a lot of money but they weren't willing to invest in their programs. The reason some of our programs were doing so well was our own desire to provide a good experience for the kids.

Now I get anything I ask for to run my program.. well, except for the carts I requested when we moved, but I am working on that one.
It's a breakdown in communication, mostly.
They don't know what I'm doing.

There is a big difference between all their other programs and the one I'm running.

The company provides a loosely structured curriculum and supplies.
It's not bad. I've been able to utilize quite a few of the projects. With my own additions and willingness to spend a ton of time surfing the internet for more ideas, we are not lacking in art and craft projects.
We read, we create, we discuss. One of the basic principals of our organization is character development, and so much of our normal discussion in program time really boils down to things like kindness, respect, empathy and trying to do the right thing. It's an ongoing dialog, not a lesson.
Unfortunately with a small group, most of the gym games are beyond us.
This year, we don't have a gym anyway. It was torn down at the end of the school year along with our designated space.
We did have what used to be the library for the first part of the school year, but it's the music room now. All the instruments and things are out all over the room and we aren't able to use the space now. So if the weather's shitty (and this time of year, it really is) we have to stay indoors. In the cafeteria.

But I've had communication issues... they don't understand the difference between what I'm offering the kids and the general programs they're offering.

So when I asked for carts for my stuff, they didn't understand why I'd need them. Since they don't really provide carts full of things and separated activity areas. The programs they're running don't look anything like mine. The people working with the kids are using the curriculum, doing the projects and the kids are running around like maniacs if they're not interested in what's happening.

So the difference is that I'm providing another layer. A bunch of choices, all of them good/interesting/safe for the kids. And if they don't want to do a project that we're doing or they just want to come and do their own thing, well, I have that covered.

Part of the problem is that I'm out there running a program without anyone checking on me. Not that they need to, but it would be nice if they knew what was going on, or you'd think...

::sigh::

So I went out to the office on Friday to pick up my paperwork for the upcoming week. Two more children will be joining me on Wednesday, our first full day back.

I've doubled the size of the program in a year.
So I guess I'm doing something right.