Ms. Teresa

This all started when I had a baby, and now my son is about to turn 39. When I had my first son, I was home taking care of him, and slowly I started taking care of other people’s children, too. I thought kids needed more of a relaxed environment where they could have a bad day and stay in their pajamas if they needed to. I thought I would work in this role as long as my kids were growing up, but now it’s the grandchildren who are coming through. I love giving all the kids in my program the freedom to be themselves, and I love that freedom for myself, too. Some kids call me Ms. Teri, and others call me Gram Gram. I really love working with infants and toddlers. They’re a lot of fun to be around; they learn so rapidly. It gives me a completely different perspective to look at the world through their eyes.

At Teri’s Tots, I focus on individual children and their social development, without stressing academics at such a young age. If I take them out somewhere, I teach them how to behave in that particular context. When children leave my program, they are comfortable in their own skin, and they know what’s expected of them in settings like stores and every situation. I stress manners, politeness, and kindness. I also allow space for kids to have bad days and need to stay in. Other days, when everybody is following directions and treating each other kindly, we get to go to the park. I have a schedule, but I build in a lot of flexibility. Meals and nap time are set in stone, but the rest can vary according to children’s needs and interests on any given day. I incorporate a lot of play and activities that help with social skills and motor skills development. I nurture children as individuals and tailor programming accordingly. For example, I have one child who is really physical, so we spend a lot of time outside, and I help her develop focus by spending incrementally longer amounts of time on activities. With the very young children, I do a lot of crawling around on the floor with them, and then I introduce developmentally appropriate activities such as puzzles, manipulatives, and sorting things.

Teri’s Tots is located in my two-story colonial home. The bedrooms are upstairs, and the kids have the whole run of the downstairs living areas. I have a playroom for them, and the dining room is a good space for the little kids while the older children are in the playroom with smaller pieces or more intricate activities. This is a home, and it’s a home I share with all the children in my program. It’s also their home where they can play.