Kiki The Eco Elf entertains students
Image Credit: contributed
March 30, 2020 - 8:00 AM
Children are often considered little miracles. Teachers are often credited with working little miracles.
Tamara Kayle and her staff are doing their part at the aptly named Little Miracles Pre-School in downtown Vernon, which also doubles as a daycare and services more than 65 families.
“I believe the development of socialization and interaction with others are essential for them to move forward and be confident so that they can learn. If they have those skills, it will be easier for them,” Kayle, the owner and manager of Little Miracles, said of her philosophy in preparing children for the school system.
Fall registration is already underway, with Kayle noting “there is still space for both full time as well as just pre-school part time. The parents are able to pick any combination of days that they want — anywhere from two to five days a week.”
Full time incorporates pre-school in the morning from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., followed by childcare from 12:30 to 5:30 p.m. Part time is limited to the pre-school portion.
As with most businesses — and all schools — there could be coronavirus implications going forward, but Kayle says “right now... everything is closed, and... we are just opening the daycare. But that could change with whatever the government says. I’m waiting to hear what happens next.”
When Little Miracles is up and running, they have seven employees counting Kayle — all certified early childhood educators and assistants (ECE and ECEAs) — with anywhere from 35 to 50 children attending pre-school on a daily basis and 20-plus sticking around for daycare.
“Depending on the day — every day is a little different,” Kayle said. “It’s the same families, so whoever comes to the pre-school portion, they get that four-hour pre-school part of it, then they transition into the childcare part of it. The numbers do go down a little bit (for the childcare).”
That is one of many unique selling feature for Little Miracles, with pre-school and daycare typically being separate programs at different facilities.
Mrs. Tamara Kayle with pre-school students.
Image Credit: contributed
“It’s not really common — usually it’s just pre-school and then they go home. And then there is just daycare, which would be an all-day thing, but our children also get that four-hour pre-school part of it,” Kayle said. “We are a little bit different from everybody else, just in the way we run our program.”
At Little Miracles, there is an emphasis on life skills, which extends beyond their walls.
“We don’t have an outdoor playground, so we actually take the children to nearby parks every single day, twice a day. So just learning those life skills of needing to wait at the crosswalk … that is something we have that not everybody else has,” Kayle said. “That makes the children more aware of what is going on around them.”
Within the walls, that applies to little things like washing their hands — now of the utmost importance amid coronavirus concerns.
“Everyday life skills broken down so that it is simple but they understand why it is important,” Kayle said. “Structure and routine is huge, we’re really big advocates of that. So they know what is happening next and there is no anxiety about that. It eases them.
“It is more like a second home for them, basically, once they become comfortable with the routine and structure of it.”
Of course, fun remains a key factor for any school environment and Little Miracles is no exception. When not helping battle the COVID-19 pandemic, the downtown location, with its proximity to parks as well as the library, museum and science centre, allows for all kinds of fun.
“We have the opportunity to go visit places that we normally wouldn’t get to, if we weren’t in the area that we are,” Kayle said of their frequent trips to those attractions, among others.
Another place that the children have grown to enjoy visiting is The Hamlets residential care centre, where they get to mingle with the elderly in a variety of ways.
“We take trips there twice a month and do an intergenerational program,” Kayle explained. “Sometimes we’ll sing and do songs. Other times, we’ll colour or paint, or we’ll do games — we did Bingo one time, that was awesome, they loved it.
Little Miracles Front Door
Image Credit: contributed
“We do a bunch of different things. Normally what we are learning in our curriculum for the pre-school students is what we apply when we go to The Hamlets.”
There are also regular guests at Little Miracles, with the “bug guy” being a big hit recently.
“That was kind of cool. He came in and did his little performance … it just opens up their eyes to other things that are out there,” Kayle said. “It is just giving them an experience of different things that they may or may not like.”
The children get to celebrate special occasions at Little Miracles — with events for Mother’s and Father’s Day as examples — before culminating the school year with a graduation and certificate ceremony.
“We do truly care about the needs of the children and working towards giving them the tools to be the best person they possibly can,” Kayle said, with her passion on display in delivering that mission statement of sorts.
For more information on Little Miracles programs and enrollment, contact Kayle by phone at 250-503-2220, by email at thelittlemiraclespreschool@gmail.com, or check out their website at littlemiraclespreschoolvernon.com.
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