I strongly believe that early childhood educators should make six figures. At least.
On Tues/Thurs mornings Max attends the Little Red Schoolhouse Nursery school (which just so happens to be little and red). It is a co-op where parents volunteer about 4 times a semester so every day there are 2 teachers and 2 parents present. I got to go with Max a couple weeks ago on field trip day!!! The reminder email came to my inbox and sounded so wonderfully educational and yummy – a field trip to the local bread company via the public bus system!!! I am all about fun field trips and new experiences… but I have my hands full with 2 kids (one of which can’t even walk, or talk, or share his opinion, or have to use the restroom, or wander off towards the street, or – you get the idea) so taking 14 kids was a bold move!
We left the schoolhouse at 9:10 for the 9:30 bus (2 blocks away). Sounds like overkill…. but you would be amazed at the number of interesting things 3 year olds MUST check out on a 2-block walk… and we ended up jogging to catch the bus. Once we got to the bread company we met Baker Bob (tie-dyed shirt in pic below) who walked us through the process of making bread – from wheat kernel to the oven – complete with crushing kernels into flour, adding yeast, honey, salt, and water to a big bucket – kneading the dough directly on the bakery’s cement floor (I am fairly certain this is not standard practice) and throwing it in the oven. Baker Bob was so calm and collected that he wasn’t frazzled by the herd of 14 cats involved in 14 things besides his demonstration. Max stood near me cautiously (you never know when some loud machinery might fire up… see previous post). He loved mixing the dough but was preoccupied with the possibility of getting to taste the bread after (he takes after his mom).
For our (well-earned) snack time we enjoyed bread fresh from the oven.
…Then we rounded up the troops and headed back for the bus stop. Nothing like complex carbohydrates to set the stage for 14 sugar crashes somewhere between the bakery and the bus stop, complete with rag-doll hand holding (please tell me you know what I’m talking about – when you are holding a 3 year olds hand, trying to guide them, and they go limp and hang from your arm… ). It was quite comical and I was amazed at how the teachers handled it in stride – with a smile on and some sort of song to keep the kids moving forward. And now I understand why Max is always ready for a good rest when he gets home from school… and why I am a meteorologist.
