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This is what a flock of swallows ought to look like. By way of The Biomes Blog.
On another front, I slept right through the night without being awakened by burning pain in my arm, hand and neck. The difference? I did the trigger point massage right before I went to bed.
Today I worked in the infant room and I am sore all over, but in a good way.
One of the infant staff is Indian, and she calms babies in a neat way I've never seen before: she claps and makes kissing noises in elaborate rhythms. They love it. It cuts through ambient noise without being loud, too. Sometimes she sings to them in her native language (I haven't worked up to asking her whether it is Hindi or Urdu or something else). The Mexican staff sometimes sing to them in Spanish, too. This is a good thing.
A few years back -- at least ten, now, I think -- there were some people saying that tiny babies must be handled by caregivers of their own culture. I thought it was stupid. It was presented as a reason why we should be getting more caregivers of color and whatnot through the credentialling process, which is a good goal oin its own, but it was a dumb and dangerous reason to use. Preverbal babies are not harmed by being spoken to in multiple languages. At the worst an occasional kid's going to be mystified once in a while by some of the sounds they hear, but being a little mystified is not terrible for a kid. At best, given consistent exposure to two (or more) languages and reasons to practice, they'll be bilingual. Mosgt of the time, they'll pick up a little something here and there. And if their first exposure to people of different colors, languages, and cultures is loving and caring, what does that teach them? You see where I'm going with this.
The twin girls got picked up by two mommies. They were really cute. They were both tall, rangy, camp-counselor types (you know, clear-eyed, athletic, businesslike). More cuteness: the moms were dressed like they sound, and the kids were dressed in pink shirts and embroidered jeans (not matching, just kind of coordinating):actually quite practical little baby clothes, but also just a touch frilly.
I could love this job if it were only different. Also? I really know this job. I had to get the feel back, and I didn't know the formulas, but I really know what babies and toddlers need in the group setting. Alas, it's still the place it is.
On another front, I slept right through the night without being awakened by burning pain in my arm, hand and neck. The difference? I did the trigger point massage right before I went to bed.
Today I worked in the infant room and I am sore all over, but in a good way.
One of the infant staff is Indian, and she calms babies in a neat way I've never seen before: she claps and makes kissing noises in elaborate rhythms. They love it. It cuts through ambient noise without being loud, too. Sometimes she sings to them in her native language (I haven't worked up to asking her whether it is Hindi or Urdu or something else). The Mexican staff sometimes sing to them in Spanish, too. This is a good thing.
A few years back -- at least ten, now, I think -- there were some people saying that tiny babies must be handled by caregivers of their own culture. I thought it was stupid. It was presented as a reason why we should be getting more caregivers of color and whatnot through the credentialling process, which is a good goal oin its own, but it was a dumb and dangerous reason to use. Preverbal babies are not harmed by being spoken to in multiple languages. At the worst an occasional kid's going to be mystified once in a while by some of the sounds they hear, but being a little mystified is not terrible for a kid. At best, given consistent exposure to two (or more) languages and reasons to practice, they'll be bilingual. Mosgt of the time, they'll pick up a little something here and there. And if their first exposure to people of different colors, languages, and cultures is loving and caring, what does that teach them? You see where I'm going with this.
The twin girls got picked up by two mommies. They were really cute. They were both tall, rangy, camp-counselor types (you know, clear-eyed, athletic, businesslike). More cuteness: the moms were dressed like they sound, and the kids were dressed in pink shirts and embroidered jeans (not matching, just kind of coordinating):actually quite practical little baby clothes, but also just a touch frilly.
I could love this job if it were only different. Also? I really know this job. I had to get the feel back, and I didn't know the formulas, but I really know what babies and toddlers need in the group setting. Alas, it's still the place it is.
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