Daycare vs. Preschool -- What should I look for in my child's care?
Go Sports!:
Jenny: What everyone’s talking about – MLB
Albert Pujols: he’s said this will be his final season, the 42-year-old St. Louis Cardinals designated hitter hit his 700th home run, a mark just three other players have ever reached!
Caitlin: Check out this MLB info from The Gist Newsletter
Aaron Judge: At the time of this recording, the NY Yankees outfielder is just two home runs (HRs) away from breaking the American League (AL) single-season record of 61 dingers, set in 1961 by Roger Maris.
Judge is also a contender for MLB’s Triple Crown — when a player leads their league in batting average, HRs and RBI — which has only been awarded twice in the last 55 years.
Judge’s and Pujols’ feats are made even more celebration-worthy by the fact that they aren’t tainted by the cloud of steroid use.
Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, and Sammy Sosa — who dominated the HR records in the late ’90s and early 2000s — are known to have used steroids. But what's happening in the MLB now with Judge and Pujols means that fans can enjoy their efforts and rest assured the superstars are “clean” -- no asterisks on these numbers.
We can't forget about tennis great Roger Federer – his last match played as doubles w/Rafael Nadal – and they both cried! So amazing to see such great professional rivals -- and now friends -- be open about their relationship and love of the game.
Current Obsessions:
Jenny: Dress code described as "mermaid light" (LOL wut?) Check out the gown she's picked!
Caitlin: The dyslexia font on her Kindle -- making it easier for her to pay attention to what she's reading! Hooray! Also obsessed with her pumpkin puzzle -- or as Ariella described it, "pumpkin-spiced dopamine" for her ADHD brain. (You can get your own here -- Caitlin is not sponsoring this puzzle, she just really likes it!)
Gem of the Week:
Jenny: Family flag football updates!
Kit already knows Coach David (aka "Coach Dave") and does updog pushups in warm-ups
Kit's coach talks cornish game hens
Jenny's dad gets a Packers Bucket Hat, just like Coach Klein in The Water Boy.
Caitlin: Many thanks to Ariella for talking me down from buying a whole puzzle table for my one pumpkin puzzle
Real Talk:
Jenny sat down with Debra and Dani Reece to discuss the ins and outs of professional child care.
Dani is a preschool teacher at a large franchise-style school, while her mom, Debra, has been keeping children in her home for 25 years.
Dani kicks off the conversation by making the distinction between daycare and preschool. The two programs are different and come with different costs. Before making any visits, families need to think about their goals and decide what option is right for them. We don’t dig into this conversation today; perhaps that’s a topic for another episode.
Jenny, Debra, and Dani talk about what to look for in either option (preschool or in-home daycare).
A commercial preschool will feel busy and should be clean, but watch for too many “baby containers” (aka stationary objects).
For an in-home situation, you’re likely looking for a whole-family connection. You’ll seek a clean home and a caretaker who sees Baby as an individual person.
Some benefits of in-home care include multi-age groups, varied home-keeping activities, the ability to provide medication, and flexibility in payment (depending on the provider).
Corporative positives include peer pressure for achieving milestones with classmates, there’s usually more training/licensure, and the office handles administration so the teachers aren’t running the business.
As the chat comes to a close, Dani offers the sage advice of “trust your gut.” And also, "Trampolines are dangerous" - they are “one-kid” toys!
Until the next episode!
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