Meet child care provider Vernessa Easley…
One of the Hidden Gems in Our Communities!
There’s something about Child Care Provider Vernessa Easley that makes you want to go and have some children just so you can put them in her care. She’s reassuring, loving, insightful, and strong. When she smiles, it’s like the smile of every favorite teacher and your grandmother combined. And the creativity she brings into her home brightens the kids’ eyes.
For example, April is “Celebration Month” at Little Tikes Day Care. All month, the children learn about each other’s cultures, the kinds of food they eat, and what their family traditions are. Then finally there’s a big extended family pot-luck where each child’s brothers and sisters, parents, grandparents—everyone!—share family recipes, wear fun traditional clothing, and entertain each other with dance and music.
Vernessa and her husband Earl know how important it is to keep kids learning over the summer. Together, they’ve developed “Tikes Academy,” a summer program that not only helps children retain what they’ve learned, but actually starts familiarizing them with concepts they’ll cover in their upcoming grade level.
They got the idea years ago when they first decided to give their youngest son his next grade’s school books over the summer. They saw how much it helped and decided to apply the same idea to the school-age children they care for over the summer. Throughout the year, they make sure that they see all the kids’ report cards and review the teachers’ comments.
“We see what areas need attention for each child and we focus on that during the summer months,” explains Vernessa. “Reading comprehension seems to be a common weak area. And math skills. So we use textbooks for the grade they’ll be entering in the fall. The kids get a little intimidated sometimes, but we keep reminding them that when they start the next school year, it will be like a review and they’ll be able to help their classmates.”
But it’s not all reading and math at Easley Family Child Care. There’s plenty of fun, too.
“The best field trip we ever went on was to a local farm that has a kids’ enrichment program,” says Vernessa. “After a hay ride, the children learned how to pick their own vegetables without hurting the plant. Then the next day they helped make soup with the vegetables they picked. They loved the soup and ate every bite! I realized that they loved the vegetables because they were involved in the preparation. I always include the children in meal preparation now.”
Vernessa is one of SEIU Local 99’s members fighting for a voice in her industry.
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For more information, or for an opportunity to meet and interview child care providers, please contact Terry Carter at (213) 700-5617.
