Day-care owner honored by education group

Her husband calls her Mary Poppins because she sings a lot. Carlyn Shaffer makes up the lyrics as she goes along but the children do not seem to care.

Shaffer loves her job and it shows. She will tell you that dealing with young children is a wonderful and exciting adventure because they are constantly experiencing things for the first time, and they see joy everywhere.

“I have the best job in the world and I cannot get enough of it,” Shaffer says.

As owner of Carlyn’s Child Care and someone who is surrounded by young children all day – Shaffer makes running an in-home day care look easy.

She starts every morning with two to three minutes of exercise dance. She wants the children to learn that exercise is fun and important.

She then sings rhymes with the children, counts and teaches them basic conversational Spanish. She wants the children to have an appreciation for diverse cultures.

She talks about the weather, teaches them how to cook large, soft pretzels, and how to care for a garden. They make bug boxes and learn about different kinds of animals such as the sheep and horses that they see just beyond her fenced back yard.

The children play Twister, make animals out of homemade dough, and the big kids read to the smaller kids during story time.

Whatever Shaffer teaches, she makes it a priority to teach “fun.”

“I try my best to make learning fun for the kids,” she says.

Shaffer’s professional achievements and exceptional teaching in the field of early childhood were recognized recently by the North Idaho Association for the Education of the Young Children. She was presented the “2005 Early Childhood Professional Award for Kootenai County Family Care Provider of the Year” at the eighth annual Early Childhood Professional Recognition Banquet held at North Idaho College.

NIAEYC is an affiliate of the National Association for the Education of Young Children. According to its mission statement, NAEYC exists for the “purpose of leading and consolidating the efforts of individuals and groups working to achieve healthy development and constructive education of all young children.”

Shaffer moved to Idaho in June 1998 with husband, Alex, who owns and operates Hayden Lake Crown and Bridge. Shaffer wanted to stay home with her children, so she decided to open an in-home day care. Carlyn’s Child Care is state-licensed for a “Group Day-care Facility,” which is defined as a home, place, or facility providing day care for 7 to 12 children.

“A license requires fire and safety inspections, first aid and safety classes every two years, and infant/child CPR certification every year,” Shaffer says.

Shaffer helps out moms and dads who want to be creative by referring them to mothergoose.com which has free online computer games for preschool and toddlers, coloring pages, clip art, crafts, stories, organic cooking recipes, gardening tips, and Mother Goose nursery rhymes.

She schedules the Hayden Lake librarian to come and bring books, and she has the fire department teach the children “Stop, Drop and Roll.”

A father, who wrote a letter of support for Shaffer, says “She treats all children as equals no matter what their family’s financial status, the child’s developmental level, or the child’s ability to adapt to their peers. The thing I feel most impressive about is Carlyn”s ability to teach and mold children.”

A mother says “my daughter says her teacher doesn’t just teach her preschool, she teaches her how to tie shoes and zip jackets.”

“A preschool teacher should be a seed planter,” Shaffer says. “I am hoping to plant seeds that will stay with them into adulthood.”