A DAY IN DAYCARE

             The importance of being an early childhood educator/childcare professional is more difficult than some may think. Being a childcare provider is a complicated job. A childcare professional must be a  person with elaborate multitask skills and patience. Being able to multitask is among one of the requirements to keep the day running smoothly. Many feel that what I do is just babysitting but the events that occur daily leave me utterly exhausted by mid-day. The day usually starts with a few high energy children with separation anxiety who need to first be changed out of their pajamas and into their clothing during the preparation of breakfast. What a morning routine consists of is coercing picky eaters to have a few more bites of their breakfast, diaper changes or bathroom trips, structured play area activities, and getting older children off to school on time. Parents require my attention too each morning. They need to know how much they owe me, if their child can stay late, switch a day, and if there are diapers left. I receive all kinds of other random thoughts, questions and concerns each morning. After mothers and fathers finally leave I need to construct, demonstrate and aide children in doing a theme related art project. I also perform a 30-45 minute circle time consisting of many games, fun ideas, and songs that help teach my little ones their ABC's and 123's, along with many other concepts. There is plenty of bad singing (on my part) throughout the day and constant creative teaching. I do have a few helping hands who sometimes need more help than they provide. It is occasionally difficult to get the adults to stop chatting or texting and engage the children. I need to constantly monitor what the others are doing to help maintain a safe and healthy learning environment. 

            Lunchtime and nap are action packed moments where we heat up, set out, and get ready all of the individual requirements of each child's meal time and rest time items. Many children have a pacifier, special blanket, or very specific sleep time ritual. I once had to stroll a 3 year old in a stroller back and forth inside until he fell asleep and then transfer that child to the rest mat. Some children go to sleep with bottles and I have to make sure to take them away when they fall asleep, rinse them and send them home. There are lunch bags, back packs, extra clothing, special toys, and so many personal items to keep track of each day. There is also homework to do after school afternoon children.

           In the evening there is usually another art project, have an afternoon snack, some children even have dinner with before leaving to go home. We also spend time outdoors towards the end of the day. We might go on a nature walk or take a trip to the playground. The events of the day are almost always fun, exciting, and interesting. We play pretend, teach, give hugs, and love all children. We sooth the worries of parents, keep children comfortable, and we patch up playground boo-boos. It is not an easy job- but it is a rewarding one.

                                                                         

Words to explore:

1. complicated, (ˈkämpləˌkātid) -  having many parts, something difficult, twisted, interconnecting pieces,tangled, complex. Adjective

2. elaborate, (iˈlab(ə)rit)- complicated, detailed, having complexity, involved, carefully arranged pieces. Adjective

3. utterly (ˈətərlē), - totally or completely, all together, fully, absolutely.

Adverb

4. anxiety (aNGˈzī-itē)- feeling nervous, worry, concern, uneasy, or fearful. Noun

5. coercing (kōˈərs)- trying to convince, to persuade an unwilling person to do something.Verb

6. construct (kənˈstrəkt)- to create, to make, to build. Verb

7. engage (enˈgāj)- to become involved in, occupy, attract,  to speak and communicate with ( with a person), to look at and interact with. Verb

8. monitor (ˈmänətər)- to watch, to look over, to follow and keep track of progress, observe. Verb 

9. specific (spəˈsifik)-  a precise detail or part, something that stands out or alone from a group. One kind. Noun

10. exciting (ikˈsītiNG)- something that creates a positive emotion awaiting something, enthusiasm, to be made eager, feeling greatly or very interested. Adjective

For some fun practice recognizing new words:

                  A  DAY  IN  DAY CARE

W T F T E N E U X N P A Z M M 
T L M C U X K G E N N Y G Y J 
M Z Y U E B C M A X R G Y D H 
T R F R H T E I I G N J P H V 
L O A T B V A E T I N G O T D 
R P F S H V T R C I L E U U I 
M O M N L Y S R O F N S M T A 
N M G O N O E X Q B P G V T S 
L O B C G O X Q Y K A B I E P 
I S P E C I F I C U X L W R U 
T D E T A C I L P M O C E L C 
R O T I N O M B E W E X R Y Q 
G S P H R W Z N X Q R C N V F 
J K I J Z J J W B U F A O T H 
C R H D R Z T A E C V S V K I 

ANXIETY
COERCING
COMPLICATED
CONSTRUCT
ELABORATE
ENGAGE
EXCITING
MONITOR
SPECIFIC
UTTERLY

 Childcare environments can be challenging but childcare professionals can rise to any occasion. Many childcare environments have ESL children in their classrooms. There are resources to help early childhood educators be more prepared and prepare their immigrant students to learn.

Here is a link to find out more and educate others about ESL children in a daycare setting.

http://www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood/article_view.aspx?ArticleId=475 

Grammar point: The paragraph above describes many things so the use of commas are many.Commas are a frequently used punctuation mark. Commas are usually used to demonstrate a pause in the sentence. Commas are used to separate word groups in a set of three or more items. Example: Many children have a pacifier, special blanket, or very specific sleep time ritual.
Commas can be used in many other ways. One other way is to separate two adjectives that are interchangeable.

Exercise: Can you write 5 sentences about your day at work where you use commas appropriately?