July 2005:
Lots of Tots
Princeton, Maine
What makes the Lots of Tots child care
program special?
The answer to that
question is found in the efforts of owner Penni Theriault and her terrific
“team” who create a child care
program where everyone belongs, and is valued for
his/her strengths and contributions to the community.
In Penni’s licensed family child care
program located in Princeton, Maine,
children of varying ages and with a wide range of abilities are welcomed and
included. Penni currently has 20 children enrolled in part or full-day slots
including an innovative after school program. Children range in age from 6 weeks
to 12 years old. The workday runs from 5:30 am to 5:00 pm year-round. Breakfast,
lunch, and supper are offered, and sometimes AM and PM snacks.
Early on, Penni discovered that parents in her community needed care for
children with special health needs as well as evening and weekend child care
. Penni made this discovery when she experienced the shortage first-hand. After
her own child was diagnosed with a condition requiring specialized attention,
she had trouble locating a child care
program able to meet her child’s needs.
When she was expecting her second child, she decided to open “Lots of Tots.”
Over the years, Penni has cared
for children with serious and complex health
issues, including Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, Autism, speech impairments, children
who are underweight, obese, have asthma, emotional difficulties, are visually or
hearing impaired, or coping with a terminal illness. Penni is an integral part
of each child’s early intervention team. Child Development Services (CDS) comes
to her program every six months to screen the children, and a speech therapist
comes in to work with the children three times a week. Many of these children
wouldn’t be able to receive any services if they were not provided in a way that
is convenient for their family members or guardians.
Lots of Tots has been open for 17 years, and is housed in a brand new addition
to Penni’s home that was designed to provide ample space and lots of natural
light. Penni employs one full time staff person, Maureen James. The rest of
her “team” is made up of teens from within the community, including her own two
children, who have worked after school and summers for many years. The teens
bring great ideas and energy to the afterschool program!
The involvement of teens in the program reflects how Penni approaches her work.
She views everyone as a resource and truly feels everyone has something special
to give. Many of her teen staff start out in volunteer positions, then work into
paid positions.
When the teens arrive to work in the program, they are all business! They know
they are essential members of a team committed to supporting the growth of each
child. Each teen is valued for his or her own gifts and talents, and is
encouraged to take initiative in planning or individualizing the curriculum. For
example, Penni’s son Jason delights children with his version of Chef Combo that
he has dubbed “Chef Jumbo Gumbo”, while Faith Roussel who loves to clean and
organize, makes improvements to the environment.
Teens take part in staff meetings and participate in developing workshop
presentations. When possible, they may job shadow a therapist working onsite
with children, who may give them activity suggestions to extend the impact of
the therapy. Teens want to work in Penni’s program where they can make a
difference in the lives of young children and be a part of the “Lots of Tots”
team.
Don’t think that
it’s ALL serious business however. The teens also have lots of
fun! Penni built a huge three car garage with a big room upstairs that serves as
a teen center where the teens can let loose in safe ways. They are constantly
making plans to do fun things together as a “team”, such as bowling or karaoke.
Since Penni believes that “curriculum is what happens on any given day,” she
views everything as a learning experience. “Our team is always learning.” In
addition to on-the-job learning, many of the staff attend “Maine Roads to
Quality” training sessions, to develop skills and learn how best to support each
and every child in the program.
Penni works hard to create an environment that allows children to explore while
also providing the needed structure for successful learning. For instance, if a
child has difficulty with transitions, Penni might engage that child in an
interesting activity until most of the commotion has passed. The child can then
successfully rejoin the group as all move on together. She also plans ahead so
that when the after school crowd arrives, the entire team knows which group of
children they will be working with and which activities are scheduled. This
minimizes confusion, keeps the team focused, and supports children joining the
group or leaving for the day.
An important support for Penni over the past four years has been her
relationship with Kate Laidman of the University of Maine Center for Community
Inclusion and Disability Studies. “Kate is my Rock. I call her for everything.”
Lots of Tots has many children enrolled with identified special needs. Kate
provides technical assistance and support, funded by the
Child Care Plus ME
program, so that each child can be fully included. Child Care Plus ME (CC+ME) is
a State-University partnership project funded by the Maine Department of Health
and Human Services Office of Child Care and Head Start. Penni’s relationship with
Kate is one of collaborative consultation. Penni and Kate discuss needs as they
arise and together they determine what type of support is most needed. Such
support might include brainstorming effective strategies for working with a
particular child, articles and materials, training for staff, and ideas to share
with families.
For example, as part of a technical assistance (TA) plan, Kate was able to help
Penni secure some financial support for gross motor equipment to help a
particular child be more fully included. Penni then assigned a group of teens
the task of creating a special outdoor curriculum. Kate assisted Penni in
arranging for the teens to talk with a physical therapist to understand what
kind of activities would be beneficial for this child, and others. Penni and
Kate brainstormed how to connect with local resources as part of the TA plan.
Support can also take the form of funding for additional classroom staff or
training to help a child be fully included. With this help Penni was able to
have her daughter Abby focus on helping a child improve his communication skills. Kate
also provided Penni and Abby with information and resources about developmental
approaches to working with all children.
Penni has asked Kate and
CCIDS’ Early Childhood Mental Health Consultant,
Jennifer Maeverde, for advice on how to speak with families when difficult
situations come up, and knows she can turn to them for emotional support, such
as the winter when the Lots of Tots program had to deal with tragic loss when
parents of children in the program died in automobile accidents. Kate helped
Penni find appropriate materials for children and families in coping with death
and Jennifer helped Penni connect with the Center for Grieving Children and
other mental health support services.
When asked about the rewards and challenges of providing an inclusive child care
setting, Penni suggests, “Not a day goes by that we don’t see a child accomplish
something, and feel rewarded.” One example – Penni’s daughter Abby helped a child in the
program make substantial progress overcoming a developmental delay. This led to
the child feeling a new sense of pride and accomplishment, tears from the
mother, and a new career goal for her daughter, currently majoring in early
intervention courses in college.
When asked
what she would like to communicate to others about providing inclusive
child care, Penni replied: “I don’t think people realize how many children there are, right in your own
backyard, with special needs.” She feels providing this kind of care, “rewards
everyone who’s involved. When I go into my house at night and close the day care
door, I feel good about the job I’ve done all day.” Penni feels her work is the
“best of all jobs, getting to work with all age groups, doing a bit of
everything.” She points out that teens and younger children learn from each
other, which brings everyone together, and helps develop a true appreciation for
the diversity in the community.
~Bonnie Blagojevic &
Kate Laidman
