Meet Our Childtime Staff – Ms. Jessica, Lead Infant Teacher

Meet Ms. Jessica, the Lead Infant Teacher at Childtime in Penfield, NY! She has worked at Childtime for four years and has years of experience as a nanny, as well as an education in childhood education. Read on to learn more about this fabulous member of our Childtime team!

What’s special about teaching your school’s youngest students?

Just watching them learn new things and grow. And it’s fun to watch them laugh – I love making them laugh. I’m in the older infant classroom, with infants aged seven to 18 months, so I get to see them progress from my room into the toddler room right next door.

How do you explain to parents that we implement a full curriculum in our infant program?

I just show them all the activities we usually do, show them the art projects I do with them. I sometimes go through the curriculum with them just to show them that there is learning going on.

Can you share an example of a fun activity you’ve done with your students recently?

Yesterday we played with musical instruments which they enjoy. Usually, we only have a couple instruments in the classroom. I added a bunch of new ones and they enjoyed seeing what kind of sounds they could make with them. They love making noise!

What is rewarding about teaching infants?

Probably just seeing how the kids enjoy spending time with me. A lot of the kids here have become really attached to me and it’s nice to know that they know that I care for them.

What was your favorite subject when you were in school?

Art, because I like being creative and doing all kinds of projects.

What is the overall dynamic like at your center?

We’re very family oriented. It feels like one big family here. Everybody helps everybody else. If someone needs help with a project or needs materials from another classroom, everyone’s always really willing to help or stay late.

Overall, what has kept you around for the past four years?

Just the bonds you make with the kids and their parents. It gets hard to leave them knowing that you’ve spent so much time with them – you want to keep wanting to watch them grow.