[speaker001:] Okay.
[speaker002:] Okay, I, my children as a matter of fact, are all grown now. So, I am
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] assisting them with their children
[speaker001:] Oh, great.
[speaker002:] in their selections, so.
[speaker001:] Great, well my children are grown, but they're teenagers
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] so I have three children, um, fifteen, ages fifteen, seventeen and twenty
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] and, um, about, I guess about when the first, when the youngest one was in kindergarten I started working at a preschool
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] and, uh, you know, doing some work, and then I, I took a couple of years off and then went back as a music teacher in a preschool, so
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] so I am around, not a day care situation, but in the, you know, in the child care environment
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] so, um,
[speaker002:] Well, I, myself, really feel like the structured day care program is more successful in today's environment
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] than the one on one care is. Uh, when my children were growing up, I actually had them, up and until they were in the preschool situation, I had them in a, in a home with a lady who kept two or three kids, and I felt like that home environment was very important to them.
[speaker001:] Yeah.
[speaker002:] It was important to me
[speaker001:] Yes.
[speaker002:] and, uh
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] I feel like that they, they had that one on one that's so necessary at that age.
[speaker001:] Oh, it is.
[speaker002:] However
[speaker001:] Yeah.
[speaker002:] in today's environment
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] it may be more critical to have the ability to interact in large groups, simply because that's the way our young people are, are dealt with.
[speaker001:] Yeah, in other words,
[speaker002:] They're dealt with,
[speaker001:] there're more people,
[speaker002:] in packages.
[speaker001:] Yes, yes. That's, that's an interesting point of view. I, uh, you know, seeing the children in the school the way I do, I, I mean, I see the ones that, we can always tell the ones that have not been around children at all
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] when they come in as three year olds
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] as opposed to the ones that have been in the program, that started at twelve months maybe, and were
[speaker002:] Sure.
[speaker001:] were even in there one day a week
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] which is all our school provides for the, you know
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] for the under three year olds
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] but still they have an op-, an opportunity to be with other children
[speaker002:] Absolutely,
[speaker001:] and it is true, and, uh, I, but I think that would, but as far as looking for a place, you know, I, the criteria, I mean, I think it's very important to have very caring people, you know
[speaker002:] Oh, absolutely
[speaker001:] to take care of
[speaker002:] without a doubt,
[speaker001:] the, in a school
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] if you're going to have the structure and you're going to have the large numbers, you're going to need really,
[speaker002:] I recently stopped by McDonalds, and I was sitting out in their little playground while my granddaughter was playing on the things, and was visiting with another mother who was there with her children, and she was telling me that she was given the opportunity to manage a day care center, and of course, she was, she had just gotten her degree, and she was so enthusiastic, and she was excited about it and she was going to accomplish all of these things
[speaker001:] Yes, yes,
[speaker002:] however, uh, when it came to hiring and staffing people who cared and who were willing to take care of those children and spend that kind of time, the pay is minimal
[speaker001:] Yes, it is.
[speaker002:] and it takes people with total and complete dedication who really don't want to make a living for themselves
[speaker001:] Yes, that's right, that maybe,
[speaker002:] in order to be in that environment,
[speaker001:] Yeah, that maybe have another salary in their family
[speaker002:] Absolutely,
[speaker001:] that, where they can do that, and that's what I had the opportunity of, you know, doing
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] and, and I could concentrate on the creativity, and, and you know, really having a lot of fun with the children and
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] and providing,
[speaker002:] Well, they ask,
[speaker001:] them with a great atmosphere,
[speaker002:] so much of those caretakers for the amount that, that they pay.
[speaker001:] Yeah.
[speaker002:] They are to be there ahead of time, you know, they're there early to receive the kids,
[speaker001:] And they have to be there at sometimes six o'clock in the morning.
[speaker002:] That's right.
[speaker001:] which is, yeah,
[speaker002:] And then, then they have to work until the shop, until the place closes at six P M and then it's their responsibility to clean up and be prepared for the next day
[speaker001:] Yeah.
[speaker002:] because they don't have cleaning crews in most of those.
[speaker001:] Yes, that's true, that's true.
[speaker002:] And, uh, she just had a terrible time keeping sincerely dedicated people simply because they could not live with a kind of hours and the salary.
[speaker001:] Yeah, yeah
[speaker002:] Uh, and she,
[speaker001:] because people can't pay
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] to provide
[speaker002:] Uh-huh
[speaker001:] and, well ours is not, you know, ours is just, is a church, and so we, we don't have the, the expenses of a building, you know
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] we share the expense with the church, but we don't have enough
[speaker002:] Sure.
[speaker001:] you know, taking care of a whole building
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] and that responsibility. So, uh, it is, it is a lot different.
[speaker002:] Well, I know that when my youngsters were small, now my older son was adopted so he went into child care at two weeks
[speaker001:] Oh, my goodness.
[speaker002:] and, uh, my younger son went into child care at six weeks.
[speaker001:] Yeah, yeah,
[speaker002:] So, they were in that environment actually, up until they became, uh, seven and nine.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] And at that point I said, Look they have been given the custodial care that they need, and the after hours care has been as good a quality as I can provide for them. However, they're going out into the school environment now, they're under a lot of other influences. I need to be here for them. I need to be involved in their school, because I want to be the one
[speaker001:] Yes,
[speaker002:] who influences the way they develop. So I quit working
[speaker001:] Oh, you did?
[speaker002:] after my kids started to school
[speaker001:] Um.
[speaker002:] and got involved in volunteer work in their private school so that I could help direct their, their learning experiences and their development.
[speaker001:] Yeah, yeah.
[speaker002:] I, I felt like that anybody who cared and loved the kids could change their diapers and feed them and bathe them
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] and hold them.
[speaker001:] Yes, yes,
[speaker002:] But when time came to direct their ability to make choices
[speaker001:] Uh-huh, uh-huh.
[speaker002:] to develop the kinds of things that, that they're going to need to interact with other people, I felt like I needed some strong influence there.
[speaker001:] Yeah.
[speaker002:] So, I di-,
[speaker001:] Well, that's different than most people do it. I mean
[speaker002:] I know.
[speaker001:] a lot of people do it really the reverse
[speaker002:] That's right, once they get up in sch-,
[speaker001:] and go to work after the children
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] are in school, you know.
[speaker002:] Uh-huh, uh-huh.
[speaker001:] But, uh.
[speaker002:] Well, I just felt very strongly about that, and I, I did not work as a matter of fact, my son was in the second grade, and when he started, uh, at Skyline High School, I asked him, Son, when, uh, you know, where do I go to sign up for the P T A? And he said, Mom, don't do that to me,
[speaker001:] [LAUGHTER].
[speaker002:] please don't do that to me. So I knew it was time to go back to work.
[speaker001:] [LAUGHTER].
[speaker002:] But I feel very
[speaker001:] Yeah.
[speaker002:] good about spending those years with my boys.
[speaker001:] Yes, that's true.
[speaker002:] Uh, and I was just really grateful I only had one bad child care experience. It was in a home. Uh, the care taker that they had had since they were infants just could not do it. She was from, um, uh, uh, Argentina
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] and she was going back home, and I couldn't just, you know, wait for eight, three or four months and then bring them back to her
[speaker001:] Yeah.
[speaker002:] so I had to find a new place
[speaker001:] Yeah.
[speaker002:] and I put them in this home, the kids cried when I took them, the kids cried wh-, I could hear the kids crying when I went to pick them up
[speaker001:] Oh, dear,
[speaker002:] they were always cranky and irritable
[speaker001:] Oh, dear,
[speaker002:] so I just took off and went there one day, and, uh, the children were left unattended in a room, you know, they, they were not well cared for
[speaker001:] Oh, how awful,
[speaker002:] and, uh
[speaker001:] Yeah,
[speaker002:] so it didn't take me long to take them out of that place
[speaker001:] Yeah.
[speaker002:] but, that's the only bad experience I had, the rest of the time they stayed in La Petite Academy
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] and I was very pleased with their development and their progress.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] They learned a lot of things in those public environments that you just as soon they didn't learn, but they're going to learn it sometime, so
[speaker001:] Yeah, yeah.
[speaker002:] but for the most part, they did have good care, and it did appear to me that the people who cared for them had a good concern for them, and in one particular case they had a summer program where they were to be taken to the Y and taught to swim
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] which just pleased me to death
[speaker001:] Oh, yes,
[speaker002:] because I've always been, ha-, you know, been afraid of the water
[speaker001:] Oh.
[speaker002:] however, my older son came home and he said, Mom, I don't like that man, said, he took me by the head and dunked my head under the water
[speaker001:] Oh, gosh,
[speaker002:] and told me I had to get my face wet or I'd never swim
[speaker001:] Oh, dear.
[speaker002:] boy, it didn't take me very long to hot foot it over to the school
[speaker001:] Yes.
[speaker002:] and relay that to them, and she said, Well, she said, you know, kids do exaggerate, but she said, let's go ahead and send him another day, or two days, and I promise you faithfully, I will watch the instructor every minute
[speaker001:] Oh, good,
[speaker002:] and see exactly what's happening.
[speaker001:] Yes,