From the Heart of a Childcare Provider

I'm actually writing this while my daycare kids are sleeping. Because I'm waiting for them to wake up. Because I'm bored without them.

I started volunteering at this childcare center the summer that I was 14. All of my friends had jobs because they were older than I was, but with my summer birthday, I could only volunteer. My parents made the gentle suggestion that I find something to do with myself - so I went in expecting to volunteer two mornings a week, 8-noon, and find some other sort of work the following summer when I was old enough... and here I am, six summers later, and I'm still here. (I'm licensed and actually get a paycheck now though, so that's good)

My first day at TDC (probably first several days) I had to have help changing diapers and my coworkers had to instruct me how to make bottles (yeah, like the kind where you just mix powdered formula and water. Difficult, I know.) As the years went on, I worked every day after school my junior and senior years of high school, 3-close. I got into a routine of coming after school each day, tossing in a load of laundry, switching the laundry at 4:45, putting my kids down for their last cat nap of the day a little before five, and doing their dishes from snack before I went home. It was my 'break' between a full day of school and a full evening of homework.

As the weeks went on, I got better at multi-tasking, 'reading' what a child really needed, and overall, really just winging it, because in childcare, that's what you spend 99% of your time doing. All of the training in the world can't necessarily prepare you for your first bloody nose, or a kid who falls off of the top of the slide on the playground, or how to get ranch dressing out of a two year old's ear. (All of those are real life)  In all honesty, some of my favorite memories are the time I fed two very excited 11 month olds jello at the same time, or the time I had to carry two kids by the back of their overalls because the kid in my other hand was bleeding, or playing tag on the capitol grounds during our summer picnics. I love watching them play Duck Duck Goose when they clearly don't get the game so we spend 80% of our time just running in a circle and screaming.

During the summer of 2012 those kids helped me more than I could ever even fully realize - starting with one particular child who allowed me to keep her on my lap and snuggle her for two solid hours when I got the phone call that one of my friends had gone missing, but we weren't in a legal ratio for me to leave. Over the next few weeks as I began to navigate through grief for the first time, there was nothing in the world more healing than snuggling with those kids, or being able to fix the things that ailed them throughout the day. In light of fixing their problems, I may have been the teacher who had to be reminded of things I typically would have known like the back of my hand, and that yes, the kids had to nap in their own beds, they could not sleep on my lap for three hours, no, I could not share my Wendy's frosty with them.

There are a lot of days where I leave work thinking "Wow, I could never do this for the rest of my life." But there's more mornings when I get to work and feel like 12 hours was a really long time to not see them. This morning was my first time at work in over six months, there is absolutely no substitute in the world for hearing "Emmy!" and the pitter patter of feet when someone comes running, or any substitute for "Miss Emily, where have you been? I missed you!" Each time I leave I tell them that there is no growing, milestones, or learning new skills while I'm gone, and each time, they never listen.

Now, seven years after I learned how to change a diaper, I'm pretty confident in my ability to handle blood, ranch dressing in places it shouldn't be, and bodily fluids of all sorts. I also have no problem letting them put paint wherever they want, play with any kind of crafting supplies, and climb on all things that can be climbed on. Sometimes I think that I create more work for myself, but then I see kids I had as tiny babies come to visit and they're in first or second grade, and I remember that it's probably okay to get paint underneath their toenails, or accidentally get glitter and contact paper stuck to the wall.

I don't think I've ever been more thankful for seven years of changing diapers, wiping noses, and icing some bruises here and there - because with that has come seven years of belly laughs, seeing lots of 'milestones', and many children falling asleep on my lap. (Which I would argue, is possibly the best feeling in the world.) I'm thankful for parents who entrust their children with me day in and day out, knowing that I might accidentally teach them how to clothesline when I teach them an innocent game of Red Rover, knowing that their toenails might be green for the next two weeks, but hopefully, knowing that their child is making my day ten times more than I'm making theirs.

A Gap in Understanding

A few days ago, this article popped up on my timeline. Bill Nye was someone that was idolized by my generation in grade school and we watched countless times in science class on movie days, so instead of scrolling past, I clicked on it. You could read it, but just reading the URL may familiarize you enough. If you wish you read the whole article, though, please do so.

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/12/bill-nye-children-taught-creationism-will-not-be-able-to-participate-in-the-future/

Let me start all of this by saying two things...
1. Science has always been, and will always be, my worst subject in school.
2. More importantly, I love Jesus with all my heart and accept Him as my Savior.

Moving right along.. towards the end of the article, Nye makes his point very clear that "they're not raising dumb kids. they're just raising kids who are unable, or uncomfortable with using the scientific method... Who's going to come up with the next innovation that's going to keep the United States competitive ... if you raise a generation of kids who can't do physics or chemistry?"

This statement right here irked me for a few reasons.


1. The way you learn about this world is by hearing the different viewpoints inside of it and making your own decisions.
I learned about evolution in school, too. Don't let this shock you - but I believe it. But - I believe in something bigger than evolution - that is the key. It is not an either-or debate for me. I believe that creationism answers the questions that I still have about evolution. Just because I believe in God does not mean I reject evolution - evolution consistently backs up creationism.

2. I am extremely capable of using the scientific method - and so are many of my brothers and sisters.
The scientific method was certainly one of those things that was probably on every single science test I ever took in elementary school and middle school. Could I tell you a single one of those steps now? Nope. However, I am smart enough to do things like make observations and interpretations, try new things, formulate hypotheses, and draw conclusions in the order that I see fit for my area of sparked interest. Just because I am a believer does not mean I go about my day without struggles, hard decisions, or mistakes. It means that I have someone bigger to look to when I screw up.

3. God does not do my homework for me.
I found it interesting that his narrow-mindedness was so evident in his last comment. It was apparent to me that he truly believes that those of us who know creationism are incapable of doing 'smart' things to help our society. As though I am incapable of thinking for myself, doing my own exploration, and holding passion. Later, he goes on to say that we are raising a generation of kids who are 'discouraged from thinking'. One of my biggest goals in life for the past six years has been to be an pediatric therapist in a children's hospital. As said previously, science is not my best subject - but to achieve this goal, I have to take some science courses. And they suck. However - God does not get me the GPA that I have earned so far in college (and that I'm rather proud of.) It is by His grace that I've found the focus to study, and the people to study with, but by my own free will I am making the choice and 'encouraging my own thinking.' - Nowhere along the way did I find a magic report card in my bible to send to my graduate school applications. Please do not assume that simply because I accept a more wide range of answers for where I came from means I am incapable of thinking and solving problems.

Last night I was babysitting and the oldest boy kept coming out of his room after I put him to bed complaining he was hungry, thirsty, had to go potty, wasn't tired, and an array of other complaints. I eventually gave in, and had been watching Tangled, so I let him come watch the last twenty minutes of the movie with me. He curled up on my lap and as we watched the last scene where Rapunzel's hair glows, he began to rattle on about why it does that - a mixture of his own questions and interpretations. Eventually, we came down to the idea that it was just 'magic'. He looked up at me, his eyes wide, and said "It's just like Santa!" and immediately launched into his explanation of how Santa would come to their house, and how he would get into the fireplace, and he eventually realized that all of these things were quite impossible. Finally, he said "I don't know, I guess that's magic, too." And without a hesitation, he turned back to the movie - no doubt in his mind about everything he had just told me.

So, while I could spend the rest of my life researching, learning, and exploring the idea of evolution but finding more questions than answers, I think I'll take a lesson from Braden - and be content with my confidence that there is something bigger than anything I could ever learn.