From the Sunshine Garden by Belinda Kenwood

 From the Sunshine Garden

By Miss Belinda

 

Greetings, Dear Families ~

For this parent newsletter, I’d like to introduce myself, or re-introduce myself, as the case may be, and tell you a bit about me.  I am Belinda Kenwood, or Miss Belinda, as I’m known around these parts, and I am the lead caregiver in the Sunshine Garden Suite.  I have worked at LifeWays Milwaukee for a total of 10.5 years thus far and have worked in the early childhood field for over 27-years in several different capacities.  I’ve worked in center- based care (both large and small centers) as well as a Waldorf inspired home care setting.  I’ve served as a preschool teacher, an afterschool care teacher, a preschool summer camp director, and also as a Waldorf kindergarten teacher at Prairie Hill Waldorf School in Pewaukee, where both of my now young adult children attended school from kindergarten through 8^th Grade.  I even took some time away from the early childhood field to work as an executive assistant for 7.5-years.  

Truth be told, it was not my intent to go into the childcare/early childhood education field.  I had graduated from university with a BA in a duo major – Special Education for the Hearing Impaired as well as Elementary Education and had planned on becoming a teacher for the Deaf in an elementary school, hopefully, somewhere in California.  But after experiencing a life altering moment immediately upon graduation, my initial plans had to be put on hold.  Instead of heading out to California as planned, out of necessity, I moved from Michigan to Wisconsin to live with my parents for a while.  I floundered for about a year and eventually took a job as an assistant teacher/caregiver working with 2-year olds in a child care center.  This was purely a temporary measure until I could figure out what I wanted to do next.  Well, as the old adage goes, “Best laid plans,” and all, my temporary stint as a child care assistant turned into a lifelong career. 

Yep - I felt the call to take up this work. And within a year or two, I became a passionate advocate for early childhood caregiving and “education,” and began reading voraciously about child development and taking as many continuing education courses as I could in order to learn more and do right by the children in my care. 

Twenty years later, when enrolled in the LifeWays Early Childhood Training course, a wise director and instructor told us, “God doesn’t call the equipped…He equips the called.”  This was such a validating quote to hear because I had found that caring for and working with very young children is a profoundly different experience than working with elementary school aged children, middle school aged children, high schoolers and college students.  It was kind of like learning a whole new language.

Having worked in traditional/mainstream early childhood settings for the first 13-years of my career and then working in a completely different field for over 7-years, I came upon Waldorf education.  Actually, I came upon it when, as with many decisions and discoveries made after becoming a parent, I was searching for a school for my then 5-year old son.   At the time, he had been attending a private, parochial school since the age of 4-years.  During the first parent/teacher conference at the beginning of his second year of kindergarten, the teacher said something about the curriculum that literally threw me into a panic.  Because of my teaching background and experience, I had a sense of what I wanted and what I did not want in an early childhood experience for my child.  I immediately went home after the conference and began searching for education alternatives.  As a result, we made the decision to change schools after the December holiday break.  And with that, I embarked upon another transformational experience not only for my children but for our family.  It was through our connection with the Waldorf school that I found LifeWays.

I was profoundly inspired by the LifeWays wholistic approach to educating the developing child; Where the focus is on the importance of relationship-based care in a mixed-age, home-like environment where the nurturing arts, social arts, creative arts and practical life skills are practiced on a daily basis.  At LifeWays we emphasize a home-like vs. school-like experience for the young child which is based on knowledge and wisdom regarding child and human development.  We strive to create an extension of home-life based on the archetypal family model until the child is ready to move onto the more formal school experience and expectations.  This extension of home life is a developmentally appropriate practice for young children.  

I love that we have the time to help the children learn how to dress and undress themselves when we ready for the outdoors and come back indoors; that we are able to spend time in the bathroom helping the children learn how to pull their pants up and down when using the toilet, learning how to wipe themselves and flush the potty, learning how to wash and dry hands, as well as spending some one-on-one time with a little one during a diaper change.  We are able to spend time at the meal table eating nourishing meals, sharing stories and jokes, singing our meal blessings, and, yes…learning appropriate table manners. It’s gratifying to have the children help with clearing the table after meals as well as helping wipe down the table and chairs.  It’s such a joy to observe how the older children watch over and care for the younger ones as well as how the younger ones light up when they see their older friends. I also very much enjoy observing the children in their play taking care to allow them the space and time to move about freely and discover things on their own without inserting myself into their play.  It’s magical, really, to see how creative and capable young children can be.  It never ceases to amaze me. When it’s nap time, I love when everyone is tucked into their cozy bed listening intently to the story I’m reading or telling…some falling asleep during the story and others staying awake until I’ve finished with the last word.  I love as the children begin waking up after nap/rest time…some choosing to lounge on their bed, chatting with their friends, while others begin making their bed, asking me a question or two, and another asking to sit on my lap and rock with me on the rocking chair.  I consider it a privilege to be able to take the time needed to soothe little ones who are missing their mommies and daddies after drop off until they are ready to enter into play, because after a hug or a sit on the lap with a quiet song and/or conversation, something always catches their interest.

Long winded, I know. Suffice it to say, these are some of the things we at LifeWays are able to provide that along with our healthy rhythm of the day, week and year and firm loving boundaries help the children feel safe and secure when they are away from home and Mommy and Daddy and will also serve the children well when they are ready to enter the school experience.

I look forward to deepening my relationships with you and your children.