Who do you think you are?

After yesterday's post, I got a few responses for questions, as well as many "who do you think you are" e-mails.  What I mean by this is, many people wanted to know what I thought made me qualified to give this type of information.

Now, last time I checked you didn't need a doctorate for blogging, but I'll humor you :D

I have been working with children since I was very young.  When I was only eight years old I started watching family.  For the next four years, I watched family while their parents were home, but busy (either working from home, or wanting to get some cleaning done without the kids in the way)

Once I was Twelve years old, I started watching not only family, but children outside of the family.  At this age, I was running solo.  I would go to neighbors houses to watch their children.  I started watching my friends little sister, who was 18months at the time.  This grew to more friends, and more neighbors, then on up from there.  I have been a babysitter for many families in this time.

Once I got into highschool, I started taking ECE classes, which stands for Early Childhood Education.  I had every teacher, from kindergarten on up, tell me I would make an amazing teacher.  I went back and fourth between what ages I would want to teach, but usually fell on younger children. 

I started to do Nannying jobs, which consisted not only of watching the kids, but preparing meals, picking up, transportation, etc.  I nannied for a few years on top of some babysitting jobs.  Also, during parent teacher confrences in High School, they would offer daycare for parents with younger children, or children of the teachers.  I would volunteer for the full day of care, the entire time conferences were being held.  Most students would volunteer for the hour required to get extra credit.

Out of highschool, I began attending a local college, continuing my education in ECE.  During this time, I worked at the college.  This lasted the school year, but man did I miss the kids!  That summer, I started a day camp for school aged children.  We had a blast, going on field trips twice a week!  As the summer was coming to an end, I wasn't ready to say goodbye to the kids.  Sadly, they did have to go back to school... but what to do now?  Then, I decided to continue the summer camp, but during the school year I would offer childcare to children under five years.  This started my in-home daycare.  We are known as HIJK Childcare.  I started it with my bestfriend and roommate.  The name was created with our names put together.  I, am Irene King and she, Jennifer Henderson.  The first letter of our names, mixed up a little, form HIJK.

The daycare took off, and eventually we encorporated preschool.  I have never loved a job so much, until I started teaching preschool.  With my love of children, my ECE schooling, and text book references from those classes, we were off!  It is an amazing thing to see children learn, and to know you are the cause of that. 

To watch a child grow and blossom, is a feeling that will always touch my heart.

So there you have it.  That is my past, and my passion.  I started the blog to help not only providers, but parents alike.  I have had many parents in the daycare ask me how I have gotten their child to sleep in their own bed, when at home they are still in a crib.  I have had parents ask me how I have reduced tantrums in the "terrible twos"  I have been asked what to do with potty training, getting a child to eat new foods, and many other questions.  So I thought, why not?  If the parents in my daycare want to know, I'm sure other parents out there could benefit as well.  And what about providers?  And like that, Rug-Rat Handbook was born.