Not A Child, But YOUR Child
This summer after a trip to urgent care with my mom, I was initially furious and then totally disheartened to read in her discharge papers, “Lower your salt intake.” These were the instructions given to a senior woman with a long history of sodium levels so low that it required hospitalizations. Was her sodium suddenly high that day? No. It was low, as always. Like every previous visit. The instructions to lower her salt intake were due to slightly elevated blood pressure that particular day. My mom was treated as just any senior, with her individuality and history totally overlooked. She isn’t just any senior. She’s my mom.
How does my mom’s trip to the doctor relate to your child? Once my outrage subsided, my first thought was, “Thank goodness our teachers never treat our students like generic preschoolers.”
All Seasons teachers have many qualities and practices of which to be proud but seeing each child as an individual comes in at the top of that list. They nail this every year.
A question we have asked since we opened the preschool in 2009 is, “Under what conditions do young children thrive?” The list is endless, but how we approach that list varies every year and with every child:
• We know being outdoors is good for all children. But how we approach climbing a tree or sledding down a big hill will vary depending on your child’s tolerance for accepting physical challenges. The amount of time spent outdoors on a rainy day depends on the individuals in that group.
• We know that being surrounded by adoring grandmas and grandpas is good for all children. Learning how to behave in a group of physically frail, older adults is also good for all children. How explicitly the teachers help each child learn to interact with seniors will differ depending on that child’s experience and comfort level when meeting new people.
• Spending long, uninterrupted time in self-directed play is good for all children. But which materials teachers make available in the classroom and how those materials are introduced will depend upon the interests and developmental skills of the individual children in that room.
• We know that art is a natural outlet of expression but fully expect one child to be up to their elbows in finger paint and another to hesitate to dip in a finger.
Our teachers know that the child who is apprehensive of many things will try most everything given the proper support and that the child who dives into new experiences headfirst will not need much coaching. They will incorporate a child’s unique passion for dinosaurs or dump trucks into their classroom environment with books, materials, or that child’s story journal. They know that growth and change will occur, but where that growth happens for your child will be in a different area and come at a different rate than their classmates. Our teachers know young children. They will know their class as a group. Most importantly, our teachers will know your child.
