BC $10/Day Childcare Plan is Garbage — But Pagans Rock.

So... Just 2.5 months ago, I returned to the $10/day childcare program which I quit back in the spring. The predator that had recently been hired was finally fired (shame on the organization for allowing that to happen for as long as it did) and I brought a new manager back with me. She's fun.

Upon my return, I found that the infant/toddler childcare program I had been spending most of my time in had completely fallen apart... Plummeted. The new manager says to me: "OMG, every time I go in there, the babies are crying. They just cry all day long. You can hear them all the way down the hall. There are no toys. The staff ignore the parents when they drop their kids off in the morning... I'm so scared to bring my child there." She brought her little one (18mos old) only during my shifts so I could intervene on other staff if/when necessary.

So... First things first, babies don't cry in my presence. Period. I don't allow it. It's not that I particularly say anything or make rules about it, it's more of how I carry myself in a space with littles present: in full reciprocity. Gently guiding staff into abandoning damaging top-down behaviours, intervening at all times, speaking up (I so could not do this when I was younger) and ratting staff out, in writing, to the new and very competent manager every single time. They then address such behaviours at staff meetings : )  Also, when fellow staff challenge the need to respect little humans I state our lovely, fluffy (and complete bullshit and never carried out) policies they signed off on and agreed to upon hiring. There are four competent staff out of… 16? Four of us have banded together to clear the crud out of the entire centre but, under BC’s "new spaces for childcare and new daycare staff in the field" initiative, a BC childcare centre will never be a quality childcare centre again... At best, these daycare centres are just childminding.... With unqualified staff.

Anyway, it would be interesting to note that THREE out of 9 toddlers, (all under the age of two) in this program were seeing SPEECH AND LANGUAGE THERAPISTS when I began. Their language wasn't progressing and parents were concerned! Now that the infants and toddlers are no longer crying all day, they are engaging in two-way communication with the adults and each other. The adults are learning to have reciprocal communication with the babies and toddlers. There is a newfound laughter in the room and language is booming. Parents have noticed huge jumps and two families are phasing out speech and language therapy completely! So... Babies not crying anymore = CHECK

Simultaneously, my immediate priority upon returning was to bring back the sensory play. Uneducated/unqualified and the burned out staff who are certified don't bring out things for children to do, or anything to create with. Art makes mess. Sensory (sand/water play) makes mess. I inquired a little bit and learned that not even a crayon could come into the room — "only outside" is what I was told. For a crayon!? I intuitively knew that I needed to create a healthy level of discomfort in the room. I wanted to normalize mess. First I brought out 'mark making' and had the kids colouring with crayons every single day. We had colouring on the floor, walls, furniture -- and on the paper : ) Simultaneously, sand each morning. Then, water. Oh yes. Splish-splash. Everyday for a week. It didn’t take long for another staff to bring in leaves one fall morning AND others started initiating their own messy experiences for the kids. So, now we're used to mess. It's December and these sensory experiences no longer have adult resistance around them. We have things set up for the kiddoes every day. So, sensory activities returned to their day = CHECK

Now, I keep hearing that Christians don't like pagans. I'm trying to understand but I can't. I'm not sure it comes from a good place. I'm not sure that I care but I do feel that I need to say it out loud and create a healthy level of discomfort. So... PAGAN PAGAN PAGAN PAGAN PAGAN PAGAN PAGAN PAGAN  PAGAN PAGAN PAGAN PAGAN PAGAN  PAGAN PAGAN PAGAN PAGAN PAGAN  PAGAN PAGAN PAGAN PAGAN PAGAN  PAGAN PAGAN PAGAN PAGAN PAGAN  PAGAN PAGAN PAGAN PAGAN PAGAN PAGAN PAGAN PAGAN PAGAN PAGAN  PAGAN PAGAN PAGAN PAGAN PAGAN  PAGAN PAGAN PAGAN PAGAN PAGAN PAGAN PAGAN PAGAN PAGAN PAGAN  PAGAN PAGAN PAGAN PAGAN PAGAN  PAGAN PAGAN PAGAN PAGAN PAGAN...