She is Ready

We took A for a tour this morning- a tour of her new day care. Yes, she starts part-time in January. A new year. A new beginning.

This center is the only one close to our house that provides affordable part time care and I couldn't have been more pleased with it. It was a clean, tidy, spacious, well –lit building within the local community college with friendly and personable staff.

When we got there, we were greeted by Kathy, the school administrator and were quickly directed to the two year old room- the room in which A will start. She introduced us to the head teacher, Ms. Debbie who greeted us with the friendliest smile. The kids we met all looked quite happy and comfortable. Some of them were excited to see a new kid in their midst and others, well, no reaction. The play-yard just outside the classroom was a huge expansive yet safe area with play sets, swings and the works.

A took to the center immediately. She first checked out her future friends intently, then all the cubbies, touched every toy she possibly could get her tiny hands on and the minute she saw the play yard, she wanted to just get out there. Which she did, thanks to one other friendly teacher who noticed her eagerly watching some kids playing outside and asked her if she wanted to join them. Out came a ‘yes’ without any hesitation.

Outside, she found a tri-cycle and plunked herself down on it, quite happily while we bombarded Kathy with the standard questions. Her answers satisfied us a great deal. She probably does this so often that she knows what answers parents look for. But nevertheless, she came across as a trusting and sincere person.

Just the place we are looking for. It not only provides reasonable part time care with qualified care givers and teachers but also has a well thought out and well-paced curriculum catering to the individual needs of a child as opposed to treating every kid the same way. I am all for it. Every child has unique needs and a day care that deems that as the most important factor in a child’s development is my kinda center.

The tour lasted for about 30 minutes and it was worth every minute. We were very impressed with what we saw. A too enjoyed the visit, particularly the playground and the tricycle. In fact, she enjoyed it so much that she threw a fit when we picked her up to head back to the car. I guess, that’s a good sign, right? But we will see what happens in January.

As of now, we are thrilled to have found a place where our child can grow, feel safe, cared for and nurtured. A place that hopefully will provide her opportunities to explore, learn, develop and experiment. A place that will carve a path for her to step into the unknown, into the future.

And by what we saw today, I think it will.