Fredericksburg Parent

38 Fredericksburg Parent and Family • Stories of Strength Special Issue Early Childhood Educators Pressed on During Pandemic INTERVIEWED BY EMILY FREEHLING As the world shut down in March 2020 to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, child care center owners and early childhood educators had a unique perspective on the challenges and trade-offs that this unprecedented effort to stop contagion imposed on families and children. Daycares, family home providers and preschools play an essential role in the crucial brain devel- opment that happens from birth to age 5—development that doesn't stop during a pandemic. Smart Beginnings In addition to providing important care to allow parents to work, quality child-care providers are essential to fostering kindergarten readiness among Virginia's youth. But good child care cannot be delivered virtually, and social distancing takes on new meaning in a classroom where learning is accomplished through playing on the floor, handling objects and inter- acting with teachers. Virginia Quality, a free program that provides resources to help child-care and early-learning pro- grams improve, is proud of the innovation and dedication that the Fredericksburg area's child-care centers, preschools and home-based care providers showed throughout the various stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. From figuring out how to socially distance toddlers to building virtual learning labs... these dedicated providers were there every step of the way... "From figuring out how to socially dis- tance toddlers to building virtual learn- ing labs from scratch in the fall, these dedicated providers were there every step of the way for their families and children," said Jenna Martin, Virginia Quality Regional Coordinator at Smart Beginnings Rappahannock Area. "We hope their work shines a light on just how essential quality early childhood care providers are to our society." As public and private K-12 schools across the state closed, many early childhood educators never stopped coming to work to deliver essential care to children from birth to age 5, as well as full-time care for school- aged children who were no longer in school. Leah Spruill, owner of Always Sonshine Learn & Play, a Virginia Quality participating provider, in Spotsylvania County, remembers how hard it was to keep operating in the weeks of mid-March, after schools closed and much of the country retreated to home.

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