1. Thank you for having a staff lounge. I know that this seems like its a ‘given’, but the child care I worked for did not have a staff lounge. Reasons being: “it’s not a good use of money to add to the building” and “it creates a space for staff members to gossip”. At Growing Kids, I remember using the staff lounge for many things: baby showers, pot lucks, making a personal call to home when I needed to, just relaxing and eating lunch on a snowy day. I bonded with my fellow co-workers during the times in the staff lounge and it created a ‘team’ throughout the whole building. It was a home away from home and I thank Growing Kids for offering a comforting space for the employees to go on their lunch breaks.
2. Thank you for always acknowledging when it was our work anniversary. When it came time for my one year anniversary at Growing Kids, I knew that I would have a meeting to discuss my yearly review and acknowledged for my hard work. Every year after that, a meeting was scheduled promptly on or very near my anniversary and I could count on a meeting to discuss my work performance. I knew that I wouldn’t automatically receive a raise, but I at least appreciated some feedback.
3. Thank you for having a ‘Main Street’. At my previous place of employment, this was again considered as ‘not a good use of money to add to the building.’ As a teacher, I REALLY appreciated having an indoor area to take my class to play, explore, do group activities and learn. This was especially helpful on days when it was too cold outside, rainy or too hot. The children and the teachers BOTH benefited from Main Street by getting out of the classroom at some time during the day.
4. Thank you for showing appreciation to volunteers. In my years at growing Kids, I volunteered at all or most of the community events such as the Easter egg hunt, holiday show, etc.. In addition, my (now husband) volunteered with me to be the Easter bunny or Santa. We both enjoyed doing this together, because not only was it fun to interact with the children, but we were also shown appreciation in many ways. We would receive a simple thank you card, the teachers got to do an adult egg hunt when the Easter egg hunt was over, etc.. Simple things like this, showed me that Growing Kids really appreciated me spending my extra time to be a part of the many fun events outside of regular hours.
5. Thank you for providing dinner or snacks at all of the staff meetings. Growing Kids understood that many of us were taking time away from our families to be at the staff meetings at night. Because of this, there was always some sort of meal or snack provided. It was simple, but it again showed me how much I was appreciated and thought of as an employee with Growing Kids.
6. Thank you for always giving positive feedback. Whenever someone entered my classroom, I was given some sort of positive feedback. I still remember Julie walking into my room and saying how much she loved our bulletin board and how it brightened the room. There was also constructive criticism given , but there was just as much (if not more) positive feedback about my teaching skills. I was TRUSTED and BELIEVED IN.
So, as we approach Thanksgiving and we think about what we are thankful for, one of my top things I am thankful for is Growing Kids and the time that I got to be an employee there.
Thank you & much Love,
Mrs. Adrienne Moore
Kindergarten Teacher