It’s been over six years since I wrote my initial post about 8 Reasons to Love Daycare. Crazy to think in that time, I’ve had two children at two different daycares. And in that span of two kids and eight years of childcare, I’ve learned a thing or two, including eight more reasons to love daycare. The first time I wrote about reasons to love daycare, our daughter was at a locally-owned daycare, and we loved our time there!
I was actually always very hesitant to switch daycares because I’d heard some not great stories about turnover of directors at franchises. However, in that time, we’ve switched from a locally-owned daycare to a franchise, and I’m thrilled to say, our time at a franchise child care center has been equally amazing. (Full disclosure: the only reason we switched daycares is due to my husband’s company building an on-site daycare which required no commute time.) And I have to say, I have been blown away by the director, the teachers, and the center itself.
So without further ado, I present eight more reasons to love daycare:
1) Development: Our almost four-year-old son started at his new daycare back in October 2020 in the midst of a pandemic. I know I’m a great mom, but I also know I’m not meant to be a teacher. In less than a year’s time, he’s learned how to read and write his name and learned much if not most of the alphabet, all thanks to his amazing teachers. He has learned and grown so much in less than a year’s time. From everything from occasional morning yoga to participating in STEAM activities, I’m convinced he will be bored when he gets into kindergarten!
2) Celebrations: Our daycare loves to celebrate things, big and small! For starters, 
Mother’s Day and Father’s Day were celebrated with tables full of goodies for the parents to take on their way out the door, not to mention handmade gifts that the teachers helped the kids make for their parents. June was Pride month so the teachers asked for the kids to send in plain white tees so the kids could make colorful tie dye shirts in honor of Pride month and encourage kids to show their true colors. Because the center makes a point to celebrate, I think that’s likely to carry over into their excitement and enthusiasm for every day. Let’s always celebrate the things worth celebrating!
3) Artwork: I’ve always had a collection of daycare art, so this isn’t necessarily anything new. However, in the first couple of months at his new daycare, they sent home a calendar for the new year comprised of artwork made by our son. It was incredible to receive such an amazing gift and compilation of artwork within our first three months at his new daycare. For Mother’s Day, I received a handmade jewelry holder with a necklace inside. The teachers really go above and beyond to not only foster creativity among the children, but to also focus on sentimental pieces of art that I want to display year round. 
4) Communication: As a communications person, this is my heart and soul! His daycare has an app that I can check every day to see photos, videos, what he ate for lunch and snacks, and notes for things they are learning and working on. In addition to getting updates every day, I get a weekly newsletter from the center director with upcoming important dates, staff updates, and general center information (complete with even more photos). There’s also a parent group that gets to be involved with center activities too. Because of this, I get to interact with the teachers and other parents. But most importantly, I love that I have even more records of his growth and development than if it were just me trying to manage it all on my own.
5) Fulfillment: Kellan loves to be at daycare with his friends. If I pick him up before his movement class in the afternoon, he’s disappointed. If given the choice between staying home or going to daycare, he’ll typically choose daycare. Between his teachers, his friends, his creativity and self-expression, his bucket is filled every day at daycare! And that’s not to say he doesn’t get fulfillment at home, but I know he’s never going to get bored at school. I’ve got the notes to prove it!
6) Awareness: True story. One day, I was picking Kellan up before I had to get his sister to gymnastics, and he said to me, “Momma, one day when Evy doesn’t have gymnastics, can we get some trash bags and go outside to take care of the Earth?” Oh my heart! This
sweet little soul wanted to go pick up trash because he cares about the environment. While I’ve certainly done what I can to teach him about picking up his trash, recycling and taking care of the planet, I have absolutely no doubt that much of his awareness came from his teachers at school. I’m so grateful they instill values and continuing awareness!
7) Affirmation: As a parent, you can generally only hope that you are doing your best. Kellan’s teachers see him each and every day but have the pleasure of getting to see him from a different perspective than I do. While I adore my child and see the absolute best (and worst) in him, I gave birth to him, so of course I’m biased. We recently had a parent-teacher conference with his teacher at daycare, and I was blown away by all of the positive things his teacher had to say about his personality, attitude and demeanor. I love having the affirmation of our daycare to feel like I’m shaping my kid alright after all.
8) Teachers: We celebrate teacher appreciation week, but it’s not nearly enough for all they do! Teachers are the absolute BEST part about daycare, for all of the reasons listed above and more. One of the highlights of our daycare experience was this incredible drawing that one of the teachers made for our son of his favorite things. Just look at this masterpiece and tell me your heart wouldn’t melt that a teacher made this for your kid?
