Most of the time, whether you call it a preschool or a daycare, it is just semantics, but to me, there is a distinction.

The School with the Fluffy Bear! Recently, New Covenant Preschool was deemed the VPK option of choice by a four-year-old who had toured various preschools with her family. When the tours were over, she insisted she had to go to "the school with the Fluffy Bear!”

Quite often when you ask a preschool child “what was your favorite part of the day?” they reply “lunch!” Well, quite frankly, it’s my favorite part of the preschool day, too.

After 40 years in the Early Education field, I can honestly say I have been introduced to more “picky eaters” than you can count. Though I do not have a degree in nutrition, I do feel qualified to give parents advice, when asked, on feeding young children and how to develop positive eating habits.

New Covenant Preschool began as a Mom’s Day Out program and three decades later, we are still at it. Though the name may have changed from Mom’s Day Out to Preschool, New Covenant Preschool has continued to offer half-day play opportunities, music, movement, and fun lessons that “focus on the foundation.”

“Never ask a question you don’t want to hear the answer to.” That simple truth brought me back to my very first day as a preschool teacher—a day full of hope, nerves, and gentle lessons I still carry with me. It was circle time and I asked the children to gather at the circle rug and sit down crisscross. Gina sat on her knees on the corner of the rug. “Well at least she is sitting,” I said to myself.