Anyway, I’ve been mentioning for months about some exciting things going on at work for me. Back in February I was promoted to the infant center director, but since then other things have happened. I will start with the “beginning of the end.”
In June of 2006, something terrible came to the surface at the job I was working at for 2 years (a Christian daycare); although at the time I was out on an extended maternity leave. Anyway, one of the male employees was arrested for molesting 6 children during naptime. It shocked and devastated us all. And it made me sick to my stomach because I was friends with his wife (now ex-wife) and I would have trusted him around Alyssa.
Surprisingly with this news, the center did not shut down but the threat was always there. When I had to return to work at the end of August, we were walking on eggshells. Any wrong decisions or bad choices could have stripped us of our license on the spot closing the doors to 200+ children and 30+ employees. Fortunately the church who owned the center decided it would be best to sell and started looking for buyers. By this past June, the news that we were going to be taken over by the IU reached us all and we started to say goodbye to life as we knew it as a Christian daycare.
Sadly, not everyone was guaranteed a job nor were we guaranteed the positions we already held. I knew I would no longer be the director of the infant center since the IU does not take children under the age of 13 months. But I did qualify to be a teacher~ 1 of 3 people who did. In August, I was offered my job of teacher of the toddler rooms (younger toddlers ages 13-24 months; and older toddlers ages 24-36 months). I accepted.
The beginning of September, I started my new role as teacher. I have been busy making up lesson plans, writing letters and newsletters, putting up bulletin boards, and so on. I am primarily in the younger toddler room which means I am Alyssa’s teacher. That can be a good and a bad thing! She tends to throw tantrums if she cannot be with me at all times. She doesn’t like to take a nap and she thinks she can play by her owns rules. And she is definitely a little bully! I had to put her in “time-out” (yes my own child) for beating up one of the little boys! But all in all, I love my job especially the fact that I get to be with Alyssa.
Before pictures of my room...
(as you can tell by the pictures, I had a lot of work to do! And when you look at the after pictures, you will notice that some boards are still not complete... also I forgot to take some pictures of other boards in the room as well)
After...
(my favorite!)
(in the hallway)
I love watching all these little ones learn! They are picking up on so much… including how to be sneaky. Now I know where Alyssa learns some of the things she does. They all feed off of one another. When one is misbehaving and you redirect him/her, another one goes and does the same thing. It can get tiring but at the same time it can be very refreshing. I am always learning new things and new approaches with this age group. I love the kids!
Now, on to Alyssa… oh that little girl is so full of life! She definitely keeps me on my toes. Mi-mi (my mom) calls her aunary because she thinks she needs to get her own way all the time and when she doesn’t, she will always let you know that she isn’t happy about it. She has quite the little attitude on her. It makes me laugh because she reminds me of what I was probably like at her age.
(about ready to throw a tantrum)
(throwing a tantrum)
(helping herself to the buffet table)
One of my concerns about her though is her lack of vocabulary. She says very little and yet I look at her younger classmates who are putting together small sentences. She knows how to say words like “mommy”, “ow-ee”, “Derick”, “Mi-Mi”, “Dee-Dee (Danielle)”, “Ay Bay Bay” (one of the kids at daycare taught her this), “Baby”, “Thank you”, and some others that I’m sure I am forgetting. But while she is not talking very much, she does know a lot. If I say we’re leaving, she will go turn off the TV. She hid my keys one time and when I asked her where they were she pointed to them. Of course, I thought she was pointing at my tea and when I realized five minutes later that she was pointing at my keys, I was already late for work! She knows what I mean when I tell her it’s bedtime or bath time. When she wants something to drink, she takes her sippy cup to the kitchen and stands in front of the fridge.
And she is still my little “clean-freak.” She hates having her hands messy. She likes to eat off a clean tray (not one with food all over). She still throws EVERYTHING away. I think her favorite “toy” is the adult-size broom in the kitchen because she always has it out and tries to use it. And she loves cleaning products… though after our last incident, they are locked up and out of reach, she does still try to go after them when I have them out!
I am also beginning to think that she is about ready to start potty training because she knows when her diaper needs to be changed. She will go in the drawer where I keep her diapers, grab one and her wipes, then go lay down on the floor and pull her legs up to signal to me that she wants me to change her diaper.
She is a smart cookie and she definitely understands so much! I am so excited about how much she is learning and how smart she is (even if she doesn’t talk as much as I’d like her to). She is absolutely amazing. I love that little girl!
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