Essential Daycare

Essential Daycare

By: Michelle Pruitt

When it comes to daycare, we are essential. We serve the community to offer childcare to parents who are deemed, essential workers. During this crazed time of COVID-19, the doors of Little Steps Learning Center has remained open to help those families and to provide childcare for others in the community who, before, may not have needed assistance.

Somedays, before COVID-19, my staff would dream of nice quiet and slow-paced days without a lot of commotion. Then COVID-19 hit, it was almost surreal walking into Little Steps. We lost a few staff who decided it would be best health-wise for them and their family to stay home during the uncertainty. Day in and day out, we would come to the center with high hopes and pray that we would get to see some of our kiddos. We went about six weeks with only having a few kids in the mornings. Until something like this happens, you do not realize the impact of going from a classroom of 10-15 per day to having only one or two kids per class and what it does to your spirits. It is like walking into an amusement park and expecting to see all the lights, kids smiling faces, and laughter to only a few kids, and nothing is open.

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We are thankful to continue to have the opportunity to work because there were so many people in our community who were not able to keep their jobs during this time. I would personally stay until noon or 1:00 p.m. each day and lock up, which is not something I usually do. Walking through the classrooms, envisioning the children who used to occupy them and their sweet voices made it that much harder. As the months have passed, more and more kids continue to show up weekly. We follow regulations that the state has set for the health and safety of our children, families, and daycare workers. Things are still uncertain in some areas, but we are getting back to a new normal. Our kiddos, ages three and up, wear masks and do a great job of keeping them on. Surprisingly, our three-year-olds do the best!

Our teachers are finally getting back into a routine with their days, and we love seeing more kiddos return. Unfortunately, our summer will look a lot different this year due to not being able to go to the free movies every week, splash pad, or local pool. Thankfully we have some creative teachers coming up with ideas to keep the kiddos entertained. Every class is still having a water day once or twice a week and finding fun hose attachments for the kids to play in.

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We have scheduled our own movie days in the classrooms with popcorn, snacks, and juices. Even though COVID-19 has reshaped our daily activities & routine, we are all doing our best to make sure our kiddos have a great summer!

We continue to do our part with social distancing, wearing masks, washing hands, and sanitizing. During these unpredictable times, we are thankful to be able to continue to serve the Roswell community and its essential workers.