Why we call it school

There are a variety of vernacular identifiers for a Child Development Center such as ours and while the available labels of the place you trust with your child/ren may seem interchangeable, there are distinct differences in what those names convey. Is it daycare or childcare? Is it care or education? Is it preschool?

From the Extension Alliance for Better Child Care comes this explanation:

“ ‘Day care’ is the term many people still use to refer to out-of-home care for children during the day while their parents are at work. Most child care and early education professionals no longer use the term ‘day care’ because it describes only when they work, not the scope of their responsibilities.
The term ‘child care’ is more inclusive. Child care can be provided in a child care center, in a family child care home, or by family, friends, or neighbors. Many parents need child care in the evening, at night, or early in the morning because of variations in their work schedules. The term ‘child care’ includes all of these types of care.”

Quality care of children is, of course, more than babysitting. It is education and care combined, a concept brought to us by early years education innovator, Magda Gerber, and is summed up in the compound word ‘educaring’. That’s what we do. Teachers build a relationship of trust and love with the children in their care so they might best meet the child’s needs and understand their capacities. Then, teachers scaffold learning for the young child, meeting each one where they are and helping them grow in all the developmental learning domains. Teachers care. Teachers educate. At every age, at every stage of child development.

You might wonder where we fall at YBY on which name fits what we do best. We pride ourselves on being a relationship-based program and this is our first priority, whether working with an infant, a toddler, or a preschooler. Relationships are the foundation of everything we do. From that place of knowing each child in a deep and committed way, teachers bring in the education piece of our work and offer investigations, experiences, and learning challenges for each child in their care.

The teachers at our center are held to a high standard of care and education. At YBY we go beyond the state licensing standards to seek individuals who hold natural competencies with children, along with training in early childhood education or related backgrounds to work with us. Once working in our program, teachers participate in professional development both individually, and as a team, to stay up to date on professional trends and developmental research which informs our practice in an ongoing way.

We are very serious about what we do.

So, do we think of ourselves as ‘daycare’? No, we do not.

We understand our expertise and experience gives us the opportunity to be considered professionals in all we do. Childcare resonates with us, yet doesn’t quite cover all that we are. So, we say ‘school’ with the intention that the experience of love, trust, understanding and learning that happen while your child is with us offers them a strong connection to that word. If the word school enters their psyche as a place of love and learning then we’ve set them up with a solid foundation as a lifelong learner. As someone who loves school.

All because their first one was a place where they felt safe, loved, and cared for in their childhood.

Interested in more on this topic? Read this.

Why we don't teach kids to say "I'm sorry"

Life has conflict, even when you’re a toddler.

Sometimes, our interpersonal conflict can get physical and in our deep need (speaking as a toddler here) to possess a coveted toy or object, someone else may get hurt when only one of us rises victorious from a scuffle over something. If you’ve spent much time around YBY, you’ll have noticed that we don’t train kids to “say sorry” to one another in these or any kind of situation. Instead, we practice the art of returning to check on the friend who has been hurt physically or emotionally (accidentally or otherwise).

Teachers model empathy and support a child in asking the injured party, “are you OK?” and “what do you need?” Suggestions are offered and any response is acceptable:

Do you need an ice pack? Would you like a wet paper towel? Do you want a hug? Do you need some space?

When children are able to help solve the problem (even the one they may have been party to creating), we instill in them the seeds of noticing the effects of their own actions and the way actions and consequences work together.

We practice checking on each other as groundwork for developing empathy and sharing genuine concern for our fellow beings.

Understanding the deeper concept of saying sorry and all that it entails will come later in their lives. In the meantime, meaningful development of caring for peers helps children learn how to repair a problem with a friend and strengthen their relationships along the way. In the end, doesn’t the world need a few more active problem-solvers with hearts full of empathy? I ask you.