Roa had a visit this morning from his ECSE teacher, Pat. Usually, we see Pat at ECFE class on Wednesdays, but since we are not making it to class lately due to Roa's morning nap schedule, Pat visited us.
Pat is retiring in a few weeks and it is a sad thing. She is an amazing teacher and so good with Roa. Bryan and I have referred to her as "Magic Pat" since our time with her began. As some of you remember... Roa was a CRANKY baby. Reflux, poor sleep, muscle tone issues, all lead to ALOT of fussing and crying ALL DAY LONG!! When we had our scheduled visit with Pat, I always breathed a sigh of relief to know that for that one hour, Roa was going to be mesmerized and completely happy. Pat just has that way about her. Singing songs, reading books, and toting that magical bag of stuff!
Not only does Roa greatly benefit from a good play session with Magic Pat, but I also love watching her pull out the simplest, put-to-gether activities-- Brightly colored containers with crinkly pom pom balls, cute little boxes of pictures to cue favorite songs! I always think, "I gotta get my teacher hat back on today and get creative like Pat!"
In my years of teaching and doing home visits, I visited so many homes where the toddlers just didn't have any toys or activities to stimulate development. Either the parents were to preoccupied spending money on other things to provide appropriate toys or in some cases the families were financially unable to purchase and materials.
The beauty of teachers like Pat is that she shows parents how to make a container with a cat toy EXCITING to a child. Anything around the house can be a learning aid, given a friendly, smiling adult to introduce it!
So, I am off to my arts and crafts cupboard to see what Roa and I can explore today.....
Thanks, Pat for all you do!!!
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