Successful childcare providers have to “think small.” That is the philosophy applied by Pat Flanagan as she cares for six youngsters who make their way to her home ~ Monday through Friday ~ and find a place where they can thrive. Her well-equipped learning center is located in the basement of her raised ranch in Fall River’s North End. Pat is the pride of Citizens for Citizens Family Day Care Program. She is the first CFC childcare provider to earn certification by the nationally-acclaimed Child Development Association. She hopes to earn certification from the National Early Childhood Association and is taking steps to earn a degree in education. Being certified meant taking courses, attending workshops and staying on top of the rules and regulations that provide for safe environment to the children of working parents. With figures of Pinocchio, Dumbo, Charlie Brown and other popular children’s characters looking down from a shelf, Pat gets down on her knees during art time and she helps four boys, ages 2 to four, sitting in small chairs pulled up to a low table. “I want red,” shouts Bruce, 3. “I want brown,” Nathan calls out. “You have to love working with children to do this job right,” the mother of three says as she hands out tubes of paint to four boys protected by plastic red and blue smocks. The children begin dabbing paint onto leaf-shaped pieces of paper.
The youngsters enrolled in the program, many of whom stay with her for up to two years, become a part of Pat’s family. Her husband, John, a senior computer technician for Hasbro, often uses vacation days to take the group on field trips. Their children, Cassie, 14, Courtney, 12, and Sean, 9, enjoy the company of their “siblings.” Cassie was only two when the first Family Day Care child entered their home and the other two were not yet born when Pat began her career a dozen years ago. Pat greets her first child about 7 a.m. and the last to leave heads out around 5 p.m. In between are lots of structured activities involving numbers, science, colors, and stories. There is breakfast, snacks, lunch, plus some free time for creativity and a nap or two. There are two computers in the basement divided into various learning areas. “Some of these kids jump on the computer and are amazing,” she says. When it comes to learning, the lessons are age-appropriate and made to be fun. “I want the children to be excited about discovering something on their own and not to realize that they are, in fact, being taught.” Since 1988, Pat has been taking pictures of the children. Several albums are on a shelf and as she flipped through the pages she smiled and told little stories about those youngsters who worked their way into her heart. She has an impressive collection of “thank you” cards from parents. They tell of how a child learned to speak properly, how another’s attitude improved, how they developed educationally. One mother wrote: “I had a lot of doubts about her (Erica) going to a home-based day care. You have shown there was no reason for concern. You have done a terrific job with Erica and I know she will miss you terribly.” As two of the boys gleefully shout that they are going to build a pirate ship and scatter building blocks on the floor, Pat Flanagan declares, “This is what I always wanted to do and seeing these children happy and healthy and learning something new every day is exciting and rewarding.” Linda Wheelock, CFC Family Day Care program coordinator, says that CFC is recruiting responsible individuals to meet the childcare need that exists in the community. For more information about how to become a family day care provider, or details on enrolling children in the program, contact Ms. Wheelock at 675-7517 Ext. 125.
Tags: familychildcare by amello
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