Meet Our Childtime Staff – Ms. Loretta, Toddler Teacher

Ms. Loretta is the Lead Toddler Teacher at Childtime in Naperville, IL. She has been at this location for two years and has six years of experience in the field, in addition to her associate’s degree in early childhood. Read our Q&A to learn more about this wonderful todds teacher!

Why did you choose to become an early childhood educator?

Ever since I was a little girl, I wanted to be a teacher, and then I sort of turned towards the path of management at the beg of my career. I started as an assistant teacher at a different location and then I emerged into also becoming an assistant director for that location. Then shortly after becoming the assistant director, I became a full-time director at the location. I really enjoyed that because I got to learn about all of my kids and their families and the different things going on in their lives.

You’re back in the classroom now – how is that rewarding for you?

I wanted to go back to being a teacher and I really do love it. You get to interact on a one-to-one basis with the children versus having all the paperwork added to it as the director. I get to see them from the age of 15 months to when they turn two and I see their progress and how much they learned. That’s the most rewarding part: being able to see them grow.

How do you ensure strong and positive communication with your students’ families?

We do use the brightwheel mobile app for communication, but I do go above and beyond that. I try to keep that communication line open, I let them know they can contact me at any point of the day, and we send pictures throughout the day, as well. Every month I do a newsletter at the beginning of the month and I let them know what we’re trying to accomplish, what I need support with, and also include a list of birthdays.

What are some of your hobbies when you’re not teaching at Childtime?

I love taking pictures – I’m a big photographer. Another big thing is we do movie nights a lot at my house. We’re big movie fans in the family.

If your students could describe you in one word, what do you think it would be?

Silly! I’m just all over the place. I don’t care how I look, I don’t care what I sound like, I will sing in the classroom, I’ll be on the floor with them making noises.

How does early education help prepare children for their futures?

It helps them socially. It helps them to be able to engage whether it’s with one other child or two children. They are able to extend those learnings as they get older and they see it’s easier and easier to engage with different people. It also helps them developmentally. If there’s an area they’re struggling in and the parents don’t know how to adapt to it, we’re able to give them pointers to help them gradually improve on those developmental milestones.