Latest / The Inspired Stories Podcast / Nurturing Hearts and Minds: Inside Leah Rosenthal-Kambic's Play-Based Learning Philosophy | Childcare Series

Transcript

Nurturing Hearts and Minds: Inside Leah Rosenthal-Kambic's Play-Based Learning Philosophy | Childcare Series · The Inspired Stories Podcast

0:04
Welcome to another edition of Inspired Stories, where leaders
0:07
share their experiences so we can learn from their successes,
0:10
how they've overcome adversity, and explore current challenges
0:13
they're facing. Welcome to another edition of
0:17
the Inspired Stories podcast, where leaders share their
0:20
experiences so we can learn from their successes and be inspired
0:24
by how they've overcome adversity.
0:26
My name is Anthony Codispote, and today's guest is Leah
0:29
Rosenthal Kambak, owner of Kid Time, Inc, a preschool that
0:33
believes in allowing children to be children.
0:36
That means allowing and encouraging movement when the
0:38
little bodies need to wriggle. While they definitely use a
0:41
curriculum, the kids are learning through their favorite
0:43
thing, play. They pride themselves on being a
0:46
community for their staff and families by offering many events
0:49
for people to meet and spend time together.
0:53
In 2021, Leah started a parent coaching business, which
0:56
leverages her knowledge of her early childhood and her
0:59
emotional IQ to ground even the most anxious parents.
1:04
And we'll hear about an upcoming retreat that she has planned.
1:07
And she has her own podcast too, called The Empowered Mom.
1:11
And before we get into all that good stuff, today's episode is
1:14
brought to you by my company, Add Back Benefits Agency, where
1:17
we offer very specific and unique employee benefits that
1:20
are both great for your team and fiscally optimized for your
1:23
bottom line. One recent client was able to
1:25
add over $900 per employee per year to their bottom line by
1:28
implementing one of our proprietary programs.
1:31
Results vary for each company, and some organizations may not
1:33
be eligible. To find out if your company
1:35
qualifies, contact us today at Add Back benefitsagency.com.
1:39
Now back to our guest today, the owner of Kid Time Inc Leah, I
1:43
appreciate you making the time to Share your story today.
1:45
Thank you so much for having me. I'm excited to be here with you.
1:49
OK, so Leah, let's start at the beginning.
1:51
As I understand it, you first started out working at kid time
1:55
before eventually becoming the owner.
1:57
Talk to me about how that journey unfolded.
2:00
I did. So I started at kid time at 19
2:03
years old, in the actual 90s, as my staff say now, the 1900s.
2:08
So I started, fell into it really, and I just fell in love
2:15
with working with children. I was in school and studying my
2:20
early childhood education. And so I did, I think about a
2:24
year as a teacher's aide and then became a teacher and then
2:28
an assistant director and eventually director.
2:32
And in 2018 my co-owner and I bought out the business from our
2:38
previous owner when he retired. So once we took over the
2:41
business, we decided to expand and we opened three more sites.
2:46
So we went from 1 little school to four sites and it's all been
2:51
going gangbusters since. Yeah.
2:54
So that's that's quite an arc. You start out as an employee and
2:59
over the course of 1820 years, you become you, you, you start
3:04
running the place and you become an owner.
3:06
And shortly after becoming an owner, you decide we're going to
3:09
grow this and not just by one location.
3:12
You went from 1:00 to 4:00. That's quite an undertaking.
3:16
We went from 1:00 to 4:00 and we went from 1:00 to 4:00 through
3:19
basically, we started growing right before COVID.
3:23
So it was a very wild ride through 2020 to about 2023.
3:28
We were just were, you know, obtaining use permits and trying
3:33
to keep everybody afloat while COVID was active and you know,
3:37
all of that kind of stuff. So that was a really, really
3:40
wild time, a really challenging time.
3:42
We've settled now into our foresights and, and we feel like
3:45
we're right where we need to be. But yes, it has been a journey.
3:49
It's been quite a lot for two teachers that don't really, you
3:52
know, we, we, we're not business people.
3:54
We've had to learn on the fly. And we actually think that's a
3:58
little bit to our benefit because we are preschool
4:00
teachers. And if anyone knows preschool
4:02
teachers, they're very resourceful.
4:05
They're really great at pivoting, and they're really
4:07
great at making something out of nothing.
4:09
So that's kind of been our our MO the whole time.
4:13
So let's tell the audience where your centers are located.
4:17
City, state. Like get any picture for us
4:19
there? Sure.
4:20
We're in the Bay Area, in California, so we're in the East
4:23
Bay. We're east of Oakland in
4:25
Pleasant Hill and Walnut Creek, CA.
4:28
OK. And so you guys were growing
4:31
through the early part of COVID, which is the worst time to try
4:36
to grow a, a school, right? Because and in California,
4:40
especially, if memory serves, you know, the, the, the
4:43
shutdowns were particularly onerous.
4:45
Talk to us about what those early days of the COVID period
4:49
were like for you. Yeah, it was.
4:51
It was wild. So when COVID, when the shutdown
4:55
started, we had our one main preschool was fully running.
5:00
We had a second location, which was our after school care
5:03
program that was fully running. And we had just opened our
5:07
second preschool six months before the shutdown.
5:11
So we were just hitting our stride on preschool number two.
5:14
Things were starting to really kind of feel like it was going
5:18
to be nice and smooth and easy. And then lo and behold, so when
5:21
the shutdown happened, we made the decision to not let anyone
5:26
go. We decided a lot of schools were
5:29
furloughing and we opted not to. And my biggest concern was
5:34
losing people for good. And I'm so glad that we made
5:38
that decision. It was very, very hard to stay
5:40
afloat at the time, but we retained all of our staff and
5:44
that was huge. It was so, so important to us
5:47
because we always say we would be nothing without our teachers
5:51
and our teachers are so wonderful.
5:53
And you know, it's, it was just something we weren't willing to
5:56
risk and, and leave them in the lurch.
5:59
So we took all kinds of measures that we could.
6:05
We took out APPP loan and an emergency disaster loan, and we
6:10
just kind of held on tight and tried to do the best we could.
6:14
So at some points we had five or ten kids total in our whole
6:18
school of 80 because they were the only kids allowed to come to
6:21
school because their parents were essential workers.
6:24
But we still showed up and we did what we needed to do.
6:28
Our teachers were making YouTube videos for the kids and they
6:31
made a whole channel for those that weren't allowed at the
6:35
beginning. We could only take, you know,
6:36
these essential worker children. So we had to sort of patiently
6:41
wait to be able to bring everyone back into the mix.
6:43
But one by one, you know, as people were allowed to come back
6:48
kind of in waves, we got back up to numbers and it was tricky.
6:52
We had to keep all of our classes very separate, which we
6:55
don't typically do. But again, it's that pivot.
6:58
We just, we. I'm dizzy when I think about how
7:00
many pivots we made during that period of time.
7:03
I, I can only imagine how challenging that was.
7:07
I had kids that were in daycare or preschool here where I live
7:11
in Columbus, OH during the early part of COVID.
7:14
And I knew some of the owners, you know, personally and to hear
7:17
their stories, what they were going through, you know, the
7:20
loss of income, trying to hold on to their staff, having to
7:24
pay, you know, rent at, you know, these expensive locations.
7:28
The I, I, I can only imagine the years that it added on to your
7:32
life. What were some of the coping
7:34
mechanisms that you used to get through that difficult time?
7:38
That's a great question. At the time, I think I was sort
7:41
of flying in in a state of shock and just I, I, I don't, I won't
7:46
say that I really was coping at the beginning.
7:48
I was just, I was just acting. We just had no choice but to
7:52
soldier forward our clients. I think one of the things that
7:55
really helped at that time was we have great relationships with
7:58
our clients. As you mentioned, we're very
8:00
much about community and supporting our families.
8:03
And a lot of our parents said we're still going to pay your
8:06
tuition. It's OK.
8:07
We understand. We all thought it would be a
8:09
couple weeks or a month, right? So people thought, oh, no big
8:12
deal. And, you know, at once things
8:16
started to get sort of back into a normal space, we, we offered
8:20
reimbursements to a lot of those families that paid and some took
8:24
it and some said, no thank you. We just, that's just, we wanted
8:27
you to be here when this the whole thing was over.
8:30
So that was amazing. And just being able to lean in
8:33
into our community and into each other as a staff was just
8:37
massively helpful. We, we all really were, are a
8:40
tight team and that was, you know, a godsend at the time.
8:44
And so you have 4 centers now. Are there plans for additional
8:48
growth or do you feel pretty comfortable with where you guys
8:50
are at the moment? In this moment, we, we love
8:55
where we are. We have one of our sites, we're
8:57
actually in a use permit right now process to move to a larger
9:00
location. So that one's going to grow a
9:02
little bit. It's our infinite toddler
9:04
program. But you know, I'm, I'm of the
9:08
mindset that we're here to meet needs.
9:10
And so if the need arises and if we find the right location, I
9:14
don't see any reason why we wouldn't continue to grow as
9:18
long as we stay very consistent and quality in all of our sites.
9:22
That's always just been the baseline.
9:24
We, you know, we're not willing to just keep opening centers
9:28
everywhere and, and hope for the best.
9:30
We want to make sure we've got enough of a framework of
9:34
onboarding and good training so that our teachers really are
9:37
consistent and can all be up to our standards.
9:40
Yeah, that actually makes me think of a of a question here
9:43
because I, I wonder, you know, when you're operating a single
9:46
location, you're probably a lot more hands on.
9:49
You're in the center every day and you grow to two.
9:52
You go to three, you go to four. You can't be at all four sites
9:56
simultaneously. It's probably not even feasible
9:58
to pop into each of the four sites, you know, every day.
10:01
What? Talk to me about how you had to
10:04
kind of shift your role inside of the company to be able to
10:08
accommodate that growth and make sure that these centers could
10:11
run, you know, a little bit more autonomously.
10:14
Yeah, that's actually a really relevant question because so you
10:18
asked about coping, I think it was.
10:21
So 2020 was the shutdown 21 In the fall, I went on a retreat.
10:28
I had been so stressed and I'd gotten through basically a year
10:33
and a half of this time period and I went away on a retreat and
10:38
had this very transformative experience where I realized I
10:42
cannot be the director of my site anymore.
10:45
I we have grown. I am spread too thin.
10:48
I had an amazing assistant director who was just waiting in
10:51
the wings when I was ready to give up my role.
10:54
And I finally said, OK, I'm ready, promoted her.
10:59
And that's when everything shifted.
11:02
I found my footing again. I felt grounded again.
11:05
And I had a little bit of space and time in my in my brain.
11:11
And that's when I decided to start parent time, my parent
11:13
coaching arm, because during that period of time, the stress
11:17
levels, as you just mentioned for parents were off the chains
11:20
too. Parents were home with their
11:22
kids trying to work, doing distance learning.
11:25
It was such a nightmare. And I just really saw this need
11:29
for for parents to have some support as well.
11:32
So going to this retreat and, and kind of stepping out of the
11:37
the fray for three days gave me this opportunity to really reset
11:42
and, and that's how parent time was born.
11:45
I want to hear more about parent time and the upcoming retreat,
11:49
but tell me a little bit more about this, this retreat that
11:53
you went to that was so transformative for you.
11:56
What was? The experience.
11:57
Like there. Yeah, so I found this summer
12:01
camp for women in Oregon and just outside of Portland, and I
12:04
didn't know anybody that was going and I I just kind of took
12:10
a leap and this looked really amazing.
12:12
It was tech free, it was marketed to entrepreneurs, women
12:17
who are change makers, people who run businesses who need a
12:21
break. And it was all women.
12:23
And it was just incredible to get away, especially from my
12:28
devices at that time. My phone was glued to my hand.
12:32
It was constantly, we're waiting for the next update and when
12:34
were the regulations going to change?
12:36
And you know who had COVID now and do we have to close the
12:39
classroom? And it was just so hard.
12:42
So being able to set the tuck down and be in nature and around
12:47
all of these other inspiring women, it was sort of like just
12:51
being embraced in a huge hug. And I had been meeting it.
12:56
It's you know how you sometimes you don't know what you need,
13:00
but. Until it shows up.
13:02
Yep, and there it is. So Marley Williams is the leader
13:06
of she, She no longer runs camp, yes, but now she runs amazing
13:10
retreats. And she, she stated it, that
13:15
when you come to camp, she hoped that you would get what you
13:18
needed and something that you didn't even know you needed.
13:21
And I mean, it gives me chills even now to think about it,
13:24
because when I walked out of there, I was like, yeah, I
13:26
needed permission to give up this role, to take on a
13:30
different role. I'm now executive director of
13:32
the four sites. I'm able to bounce around.
13:34
I'm able to support all my directors.
13:37
And it's just, you know, I, I couldn't let go.
13:40
I I was so I couldn't see the forest for the trees, especially
13:44
with everything going on with COVID, so it was the permission
13:47
I needed. What a cool story.
13:49
And so out of that experience came this idea for your parent
13:52
coaching program. Tell us more about what this is.
13:56
Yeah, so I started the parent coaching program in 20/20/21.
14:01
And basically I meet with groups, I do individual and I do
14:06
couples, and we do Zoom calls and we just kind of talk about
14:10
whatever is going on. At first I thought it would be
14:13
more instructional. I've worked with children for 26
14:17
years. So I thought, you know, I'll
14:19
give people guidance on potty training and all of these kinds
14:21
of things. And we do that a lot, but we
14:24
also spend a lot of time unpacking why we parent the way
14:28
we do. And I think especially for
14:31
people of my generation, I was born in 79, I'm 44.
14:35
So many of us were raised in such a different way than how we
14:39
want to raise our children. So those messages and the things
14:42
that are ingrained in us from our childhood, we have to, we
14:45
have to unpack them, see them, notice them, wish them away and
14:49
make decisions about how we want a parent.
14:51
So it's kind of morphed from being more instructional to
14:54
really a little more internal. And, and that has been extremely
14:59
rewarding. I, I love these breakthroughs
15:02
that I get to have with moms where, you know, they realize,
15:05
Oh my gosh, I'm doing this thing because, because it's what I
15:07
learned and not because it's what I believe or what I think
15:10
is best for my child. It sounds like therapy for
15:14
parents. It is a little bit therapeutic.
15:17
Instructional Therapy. Yes, it I'm able to give
15:20
guidance and direction. And so it is definitely a
15:23
balance of both and and it's a lot of listening and a lot of
15:26
reflecting. I hear a lot from parents.
15:29
I'm not doing a good job at this.
15:30
I really don't like how I handle this.
15:33
And as we kind of talk about the situation, I can say back to
15:37
them, well, it sounds like actually I had a conversation
15:40
with someone over messenger last night.
15:43
A mom said, you know, I, I beat myself up when I yell at my kids
15:47
and I lose my temper and then, you know, I have to apologize
15:51
and we talk it out. And I said, but what would you
15:53
be teaching them if you were perfect?
15:56
You know, we have to teach our kids how to be imperfect and how
15:59
to figure out how to get back up, how to apologize when we've
16:02
misspoken or lost our our composure.
16:06
You know, this is a huge part of parenting.
16:08
So I love a good reframe and kind of turning it back and
16:12
saying, actually, you know, I think you are doing what you
16:16
intend to do. It just maybe doesn't feel like
16:18
it's you on the inside because you're torn between I, you know,
16:22
how it sounded to you and how you intended it to sound.
16:26
I love that so much. That's something that I really
16:29
try to make a point of doing with my own boys.
16:31
I've got two sons, eight and nine, who are loud, active,
16:35
physical boys. And yeah, sometimes I lose my
16:38
temper and I yell at them, and then I cool off.
16:41
And I'm like, you know, why did I do that?
16:43
And I beat myself up about it. But then I do exactly what you
16:46
just talked about, and I go and I apologize.
16:48
And here's the thing that I always try to make sure that I
16:51
do in that apology is not make an excuse for what I did.
16:55
I'm sorry that I yelled at you, but you guys were being crazy.
16:58
It's like, no, there's, there's no, but in there.
17:01
I'm sorry I yelled at you. I'm going to do better next
17:04
time. I apologize for that.
17:05
I shouldn't have raised my voice at you.
17:07
That wasn't necessary. And they're very receptive to
17:10
it. And, and I think to your point,
17:11
like I, I'm modeling the behavior that I want from them
17:15
because none of us are perfect. We're all going to slip up.
17:18
We're, we're going to, you know, we're going to lose our temper.
17:20
We're going to do something we didn't.
17:22
We we wish we hadn't done, but then what do you do from that
17:25
point when you catch yourself? Exactly, I life is all about
17:29
getting back up again, right? And I think, you know, there's
17:33
this especially for moms and I, and I'm, I'm sure dads feel this
17:36
way as well, but my clients tend to be moms.
17:38
That's tends to be who, who reaches out.
17:42
But, you know, there's this internal mom guilt and shame
17:46
that we walk around with all the time, especially as working
17:49
moms. And, you know, people need to
17:52
hear that they're doing a good job and that they're a human.
17:57
And, you know, our children appreciate seeing our humanity.
18:01
They connect to us better when we're not.
18:04
I, I remember as a child being intimidated by adults and, you
18:09
know, being afraid of them very often, you know, and, and if
18:13
some, a friend of mine's parents were strict or something and you
18:16
know, they made me nervous. And I just, I, I want to be able
18:20
to form relationships with my child.
18:22
And I want other parents to have that opportunity where they're
18:26
genuine and it's real and, and they can come and talk to you
18:29
because they know even if you do fly off the handle, you will
18:32
apologize and you will find your your baseline again and show
18:36
them how to do that. I like that.
18:38
So you do a lot of one-on-one coaching now this fall and I
18:43
think in August you have a retreat.
18:45
So this is like a a group getting together to sort of
18:48
support each other to tell us more about that.
18:50
Yeah, so, so it, it stems back actually my mom passed away at
18:56
the end of 2017 very unexpectedly.
18:59
My mom was the most loving, wonderful human.
19:02
I miss her every single day. And her name is Lori.
19:06
And I decided that in in parent time, as sort of I mentioned, I
19:12
went and kind of from more instructional to more of this
19:15
internal work. My mom was the most selfless
19:18
woman. And you know, we wear that as a
19:22
badge of honor, but it's really not the best way to live your
19:25
life to be selfless. There should be somewhere where
19:29
you kind of pour into your own cup, right.
19:32
So this retreat that I'm holding is an honor of my mom.
19:36
I want to bring other women together into a community space
19:42
where we can unpack our our drama and our nonsense that we
19:46
grew up with, send it away, move it along, exit it from our
19:51
bodies and our psyches and our minds and make plans about how
19:55
we want to be as parents. So I want to take them to a
19:58
beautiful, quiet space that's in nature.
20:02
You know, it was such a game changer for me.
20:04
And I'd never been on a retreat before when I went to that camp.
20:08
I've since been to several and everyone I've gone to has been
20:11
another. There's sort of a life shift
20:14
that comes after each one. So I'm just, I wanna share that
20:18
experience with other moms and kind of be that that mom to
20:22
them. And you know, honey, sit down,
20:24
let me feed you. Let's, let's talk about it.
20:27
You know, let let let me let me listen to you and and show you
20:30
that support. What's the name of the retreat
20:33
and where can people find out more information about it?
20:36
It is called It's Your Turn, and I have a retreat website I can
20:41
link for you. But it is, it's in Castro
20:44
Valley, CA, which is just about 20 minutes from the Oakland
20:47
airport. And it's in a really neat
20:50
location because it's easy to get to, but it feels like you're
20:53
far away. It's on acres of land and it's
20:56
in a beautiful home with outdoor, lots of beautiful
20:59
outdoor space. So I'm envisioning, you know,
21:02
lots of alone time where people can take, take breaks and be on
21:06
their own and journal and lay in a hammock.
21:08
And then also times where we're together.
21:11
And I have a Co facilitator who does energy work, who I've
21:15
worked with at a couple of retreats now, who has absolutely
21:18
changed my life in terms of helping just get rid of those
21:22
old patterns and, and wishing them away.
21:24
So I'm very, very excited about Michael Facilitator.
21:28
It's going to be amazing. And what are the requirement,
21:31
excuse me, what are the requirements to be able to
21:32
attend? Is it just moms, moms or dads?
21:35
Parents of certain ages? It is for moms.
21:39
It does not have to have your children of any age are fine.
21:44
It's not geared just toward preschool really.
21:47
I mean, I, I know parents that have teenagers who absolutely
21:51
that mom needs to get, get away and take a little break.
21:54
So yeah, the the only requirement is you're a mom and
21:57
you need a break and and you're willing to get be a little
21:59
introspective and a little vulnerable with us.
22:03
And what are the dates? It's in August.
22:05
August 22nd through 25th. Great.
22:08
OK, and you'll provide us the the URL to link to in the show.
22:12
Notes here will do, absolutely. OK.
22:15
So I want to know a little bit more about the centers You guys
22:18
have different programs, you serve as different age groups.
22:21
Tell us about that. So I have two preschools, so
22:24
those are ages 2 through 6. We have one infant care center
22:29
and that's zero to four and one after school program which is 4
22:33
and up basically up till 12 but fifth grade.
22:37
So and all of them are the same philosophy.
22:40
We are play based, we are hands on.
22:42
We want to let kids be kids. Our after school kids have a lot
22:46
of fun because you know, they're coming from sitting at a desk
22:49
all day and they get to come and play and do all of the fun
22:53
gooey, gooey sensory stuff we did in preschool.
22:56
We still do with the big kids and they absolutely love it.
22:59
So we're doing our slime and our finger painting and all of that
23:02
good stuff and we just think it shouldn't stop at 5.
23:05
And you know, all of this sensory learning is so important
23:09
from zero to five that that is our our bread and butter.
23:13
You know, we're social and emotional and play based.
23:16
Learning are what kid time is all about.
23:19
And so you've got a preschool center.
23:21
Is this sort of like a preschool slash daycare or is it like
23:25
limited hours, more like a traditional preschool?
23:28
What what? What's sort of the difference
23:29
between those two terms? Sure, all of our centers are
23:32
open full days, so we just call ourselves preschool.
23:35
But we are also full daycare, so we're open from 7:00 to 6:00 PM.
23:41
We've got, you know, all the working parents drop off in the
23:43
morning. We do sort of our academic time,
23:46
which I use that term loosely in the morning and the afternoon is
23:51
all hands on play and and our academics are also hands on
23:54
play. We just are a little more
23:56
targeted. So depending on the age group.
23:58
Are there any particular philosophies that you guys draw
24:02
inspiration from and setting up your your curriculum?
24:06
The biggest one that we lean into is called emergent
24:09
curriculum, which essentially means if you're in an activity
24:13
that you've created for your children and they are interested
24:16
in something else or they're taking it a different direction,
24:20
we go that direction. So we don't lead from an egoic
24:24
place of I made this plan and you will do this activity and
24:27
we're going to finish the story. An example I can give is, you
24:31
know, sometimes we're doing something and there's, you know,
24:35
a spider on the wall and the kids are really excited about
24:38
where is that spider going? And they want to follow the
24:39
spider. You know, so it's like there are
24:42
distractions that we could let sort of take over or we could
24:46
follow that distraction. And we want to go where the
24:49
children's interests are. They learn what they love, they
24:52
learn what they care about. So everything can shift at any
24:57
time depending upon how it's presented and what their what
25:00
their interest level is in it. I have absolutely stopped a book
25:03
in the middle and said, you guys don't seem like you like this
25:06
book. We should do a different thing
25:07
now. And they're like, yeah, let's do
25:09
it. So, you know, it's really just
25:11
meeting the needs of the individual child is our is our
25:14
main MO. And the part of the country that
25:17
you're in, it's a little more temperate year round.
25:19
Do the kids get to be outside quite a bit?
25:22
Oh yes, we are outside probably 75% of our day.
25:25
We do early, you know, the morning time, we do circle time
25:28
and we have our meals indoors and nap time.
25:31
But for the most part, all of our activities, we try to set up
25:34
things that can be indoor slash outdoor.
25:37
So we're in and out as much as possible.
25:39
And you know, kids need fresh air, they need to run, they need
25:42
to be free, they need to be flexible.
25:44
Some mornings you at drop off time, it gets a little wild in
25:47
the room and you'll hear a teacher say, all right, who
25:49
needs a quick run? We just open the door and let
25:52
everybody go take a lap or two outside.
25:54
And then they come back. They're they've, they're full of
25:56
energy. And you know, I think a big
25:58
pitfall of, of childcare and preschool is having kids sit
26:02
down and be quiet too much. We have it actually posted on
26:05
our wallet. So sitting down and being quiet
26:07
is not a marketable job skill. I don't know why we think this
26:11
is how we're supposed to teach 2 year olds how to live their
26:13
life. And did I hear you say meals are
26:17
provided? Yeah, at at different sites it's
26:20
different. One of my sites we provide all
26:22
the meals. Other sites we just provide
26:24
snacks and parents bring lunch, but we serve all.
26:27
We serve meals all day. And at at least some of the
26:30
centers, you have aftercare, so kids are coming from another
26:34
school to your location until, you know, parents are able to
26:38
come pick them up. How is that transition happen?
26:40
How does that transportation take place?
26:41
We have passenger vans and a couple of teachers are drivers
26:46
and we have one driver that's just a driver.
26:49
So it's it's always a jungle. We pick up from three different
26:52
schools and typically three different schools depending upon
26:56
the year. And they're all going different
26:58
ways and they all show back up and everybody's, everybody's
27:00
there. So we have a busy afternoon with
27:03
our big kids. Leah, what are some of the most
27:06
common concerns that parents have when it comes to starting
27:10
their kids at a new school like yours and and what can you tell
27:14
them to help put them at ease? Yeah, I mean, I think again,
27:18
it's that guilt and shame shows up first.
27:21
Parents are always worried that their little one is not going to
27:24
be OK. And if there's tears that drop
27:26
off, they're going to be miserable all day long.
27:28
And the parents leave and go off to work upset.
27:32
And, you know, so we're always telling parents, we will tell
27:35
you what's really going on. We'll send you pictures.
27:38
But please, you know, know that they're in good hands once
27:42
they're at the site. The transition of drop off is
27:45
usually the hardest part for everyone involved.
27:49
So we like our drop offs to be very quick and painless.
27:52
We, we'll take the child if we need to and hold them or take
27:55
their hands, But working into a routine where the child feels
28:00
empowered and drop off is so helpful.
28:02
We have a lot of kids that will push their mom out the door or
28:05
their dad out the door and you know, or we do three waves and
28:09
three kisses, whatever their pattern and routine is.
28:12
But we love establishing something so the child knows
28:16
what to expect. And, and just really, I think I
28:20
would love parents to just have faith in their own intuition
28:23
that they chose a center that they can trust the people.
28:27
And if you can lean into that trust, you're going to be so
28:30
much less fraught with misery on your first few days of school.
28:35
You know, the kids will get busy and distracted and be having fun
28:38
in an hour. And you are at work like, oh,
28:41
I'm the worst mom, you know, So we just want to take that out
28:45
any, any way we can. So that and, and visits, you
28:49
know, we really encourage parents to come and visit your
28:51
program with your child before you start.
28:55
Ask your school, hey, can we just play for an hour in the
28:57
afternoon and just with the parent there so they can get a
29:01
feel for it? And when children know that
29:03
their parents feel comfortable with something, they will feel
29:06
much more comfortable. They pick up on our anxieties,
29:09
so we won't really want to try to shield them from that as much
29:11
as we can. You know, listening to you talk
29:14
reminded me of the first time I dropped my oldest son, Gio off
29:18
at daycare and my own reaction surprised me.
29:21
You know, I was looking forward to him getting into daycare to
29:27
sort of free up my attention and be able to, you know, go back to
29:29
work and, you know, focus on the things I needed to do to be
29:32
productive. And as I walked in there and
29:36
handed him over to the daycare worker who I had met before, you
29:41
know, he had been in and done a tour, I got all choked up.
29:45
And I, I had to leave quickly. And I found myself in tears on
29:50
the drive home. And I was like, OK, that that
29:53
was surprising. I wasn't expecting that out of
29:56
myself. And and then, yeah, I found
29:59
myself very much in that place that you're describing where I,
30:03
I was thinking about him all day and wondering, did we do the
30:05
right thing? And, and with some repetitions,
30:08
you know, the second day was much easier, the third day much
30:11
easier. You know, and after we've been
30:13
going there a couple weeks and he was excited to go in and, you
30:17
know, and he kind of reached for the, the, the workers there, the
30:21
teachers there. That made me feel a lot better.
30:23
You know, just I, I needed a little bit more time, a few more
30:26
repetitions to get more comfortable with that process.
30:29
Yeah, I mean, it's, it makes perfect sense.
30:32
Kids and adults are not different in that we all really
30:35
are creatures of habit. We like routine.
30:37
We like to know what's next. We like to know what's coming.
30:40
And that's a big new unknown. And you know, you know, the way
30:45
I look at it is children are just they're like little pieces
30:49
of us walking around in the world, right?
30:51
So you're leaving this little piece of yourself with someone
30:55
you don't know that. Well, of course, it's nerve
30:57
wracking. And it's really just more about
31:00
what do you let your child see? And what words are you saying?
31:03
I've had parents who you can see the tears in their eyes and
31:06
they're saying to their child, you're going to have so much fun
31:09
with your teachers and I'll see you after a nap and I love you.
31:11
Bye. And, you know, on the way out
31:13
there bawling, but you know, they're, they're trying to hold
31:15
it together. And, and I think that's
31:17
important because we don't want to put our stress and and our
31:21
anxieties on them any chance we can, any chance we can to keep
31:24
that to ourselves. Leah, how would you describe
31:27
what sets you and can time apart from others in the preschool and
31:31
daycare space? I would say, you know, kid time
31:36
has always been about being a community for families.
31:39
We really try to show up for not just the children, but for the
31:42
parents and the whole family as well.
31:44
And I, I think that's translated, we have a, a really
31:48
good reputation in our community.
31:49
People know of us as being more than just kind of a daycare
31:54
center. So I think it's, it's really
31:57
that focus on getting to actually connect with people.
32:02
I've heard of preschools where they don't really like the
32:05
parents to interact because when they do, then they talk about
32:08
things they don't like and then they bring it to the director.
32:10
And now there's more work for the director to do.
32:12
And in my mind, you know, I'm, I'm a growth minded person.
32:16
Our business is all about always being better and learning
32:20
something new every day. So to me, it's, you know, I
32:23
would much rather us kind of make those connections and and
32:28
continually to improve the the programs for everyone then to
32:34
have this egoic feeling of, well, we're the best and we we
32:38
do what we do and you better like it or not, You know, we're
32:40
not for everyone. Not everyone wants to do play
32:43
bass curriculum. Not everyone wants their kids to
32:45
get as messy and hands on as we do, and we're happy to help
32:49
people find the right school for them if they're not going to be
32:51
a fit because you know it's you need to feel comfortable and
32:55
happy as well or your child will not.
32:58
That's really profound. Can you share maybe a success
33:02
story of a particular child who thrived under your care?
33:06
They were experiencing a little challenge and you guys were able
33:09
to help them through it. Yeah.
33:11
You know, because I think we're set up to be such physical and
33:15
so much outdoor time and and we're not sort of this
33:19
regimented program. We've done very well with kids
33:23
that were struggling in other programs.
33:25
We've had many, usually boys, usually three or four year old
33:29
boys that mom will call and say, Oh my gosh, you know, we're
33:32
getting kicked out. The behavior is a problem, this
33:36
and that. And they come to us and they do
33:38
so much better. And I think it it we're, we do
33:42
not give up easily on a child. I will end the relationship with
33:47
a family more often than not because the parents don't work
33:52
with us and are not cooperative. I have never let a child go
33:56
because of their own behavior. It's always been because bring
33:59
the behavior to the parents. We say, how do we work on this?
34:02
And let's let's strategize. And if the parents are checked
34:05
out, that's when it's not going to work.
34:08
So I think you know those those kind of tougher wild friends
34:13
that need to move a lot and have a lot to say, we want to give
34:16
them a place where they get to learn too.
34:18
It's not this world is not about cookie cutter.
34:20
We're all different. So everyone should have a place.
34:23
I really like that. I'm, I'm curious to hear more
34:25
about what that approach looks like in, in the real world.
34:30
You know, I remember when we were going through the daycare
34:32
experience here and we had friends who great parents, great
34:36
kids, and the kids were having some behavior problems at the
34:39
school and the parents were just mortified and they didn't know
34:42
what to do. They, they wanted to be helpful.
34:44
They wanted the behavior to change.
34:45
And in that case where you've got a parent who's interested in
34:48
cooperative and wants to be part of the solution, how are you?
34:51
You know, in this case, it was like a child, a child who kept
34:53
biting other kids. You know, how would you work
34:56
through something like that? Yeah, I mean, biting is super
34:59
common, especially amongst our little friends that aren't
35:03
verbal yet. It's a a very quick way to get a
35:06
reaction. So, you know, whenever we have a
35:09
behavioral issue that we need parent help with, typically it's
35:13
we have a meeting, we talk about it, we try to identify the
35:16
reason why things are happening. Often we can pinpoint it's
35:19
usually a power issue or an attention issue or a control
35:23
issue. And so we give the parents
35:26
tools. And sometimes, even though the
35:28
behavior is happening at school, at home, the parent can give
35:32
them do different things like give them more power and control
35:36
and more measured and, and specific ways so that they're
35:41
not seeking that attention or that power need.
35:45
And again, it's also meetings with the teachers at school and
35:48
coming up with, OK, well, this is our behavior plan.
35:51
Here's how we're going to when this happens.
35:53
This is what we all say. It has to be consistent.
35:56
And so, so much of it is just getting the school and the
35:59
parents on the same page. When we're all willing to dump
36:02
our energy into a solution, it almost always pans out.
36:06
And in all honesty, what I have noticed is when I have a meeting
36:11
with parents, sometimes it's an overnight change.
36:14
We don't even do very much differently, but it's that
36:16
everyone came together. Now we're all thinking about the
36:20
same things in the same way. So all of our verbiage and how
36:24
we speak to the children, all of it shifts just enough that the
36:28
child can kind of settle down. But yeah, usually we we just
36:32
have to try to pinpoint what what is causing it.
36:35
And there's almost always a reason that we can find and, and
36:39
we, and we work it out that way. So we always think about
36:42
adjusting the behavior. We, we say control the
36:45
environment, not the child. It's not our job to control
36:48
children, but maybe there's ways that we can line up differently.
36:53
Maybe there's things that we can do bring them into the classroom
36:56
1st and have them help be the line leader and, and that helps
36:59
them to come into the classroom easier.
37:01
You know, there's all kinds of of tools that we do, but
37:04
bringing the parents on board is, is vitally important.
37:07
Interesting. Lee, I'm going to ask you to put
37:10
your business hat on for a moment because I'm curious to
37:13
hear, as you know, business leaders, you know, we're always,
37:16
we've got an eye to the bottom line.
37:18
You know, there are obviously other things that are also
37:21
important to running the business besides just profit,
37:23
but without a solid bottom line, you know, we're not going to
37:27
keep our doors open very often. So I'm kind of curious to hear
37:29
from you maybe some interesting things that you've tried in the
37:34
past to either lower cost or boost sales to to help with that
37:38
metric. Yeah, that is always the
37:43
challenge. Even though we have do a lot of
37:46
volume, we have a lot of children coming in every month,
37:48
our overhead is ridiculous. So it is always a challenge.
37:54
I, I guess I don't know how, how this sounds to the business
37:58
community, but one of the things I've learned is just to really
38:02
embrace the debt that I hold at this point.
38:04
Before I was a business owner, I was like, I don't want any
38:07
credit card debt. I don't want any, you know,
38:10
extra bills. And now I recognize that debt is
38:13
part of like the natural order. You have to borrow money to be
38:17
able to continue to grow. And I, in our rapid growth
38:22
period that we had, we're still sort of like levelling out from
38:26
the last four years. But I had to get really
38:30
comfortable thinking about knowing that the future is going
38:34
to be brighter and knowing that while it's very stressful,
38:38
feeling like, OK, I've got to borrow from Peter to PayPal this
38:41
month. At the end of the day, this is
38:43
not forever. It is temporary.
38:46
You know, we, we're very careful with our balance sheets, with
38:49
our P and LS and we look over everything and make sure that
38:52
there's, you know, tweaks that can be made, but there aren't a
38:55
lot to be honest. You know, there's an old saying
38:58
in, in childcare, you can only thin the paint so much.
39:01
And at the end of the day, you know, I've had to get better
39:05
about raising rates and about charging what is appropriate.
39:08
We've always kind of ran below the market, and I felt like a
39:12
better person for doing that. And then, you know, with COVID,
39:16
everything changed. So many teachers left the field
39:20
because they all got let go and furloughed at the beginning.
39:23
Many of them became nannies. They were making $10 more an
39:26
hour than preschools can afford to pay.
39:29
So when they came back into the business, a lot of the
39:32
preschools now we're paying a lot more money, which is what I
39:35
think should be happening. But it's forced us to have to
39:39
charge more. It's forced us to have to take a
39:41
look at our fee structures and make sure that we're not cutting
39:44
off our nose to spite our face. I want to be a good human, but I
39:47
also really want to be open. So and and.
39:50
You got to keep the doors open. Where?
39:52
Everybody loses their jobs and the the parents and the families
39:55
don't have a place to go so. Yeah, and I look at it as you
39:59
know, we all help each other when the time is right.
40:02
During COVID, I had parents who stepped up and paid for school
40:06
that they were not allowed to even attend.
40:08
And so where I can help parents, I will help them every time.
40:13
And we and, but the overall pricing has to be appropriate so
40:18
that we can keep the doors open. Yes.
40:20
Of course, Leah, you know, in a competitive job market like
40:24
we're in now, recruiting and retaining good employees can be
40:27
really challenging. What's something that you've
40:30
tried and found success with? You know, I think the care that
40:34
you take with your employees is what makes all the difference in
40:38
the world. I, I can't say that we're the
40:41
highest paid center. I'm, I'm sure people pay more
40:44
than I do and people definitely charge more than I do.
40:48
But you know, it's about getting to letting those teachers know
40:54
that you care about them, showing up for them, supporting
40:56
them, having their back. You know, my, my teachers know
41:00
that if a parent got upset and, you know, was rude or, or pushy
41:06
with a teacher, that that parent's going to hear from Miss
41:08
Leah and I'm going to contact them and let them know.
41:11
We're going to need you to be a little more gentle with our
41:13
staff. These people are very, very
41:14
important to us. And we, we just treat everyone
41:17
very kindly and, and with a lot of love.
41:21
It's not for everyone. This, this field, this job, our
41:25
centers, you know, our philosophy is not even for every
41:27
teacher. For some people, it's like, Oh
41:29
my gosh, this is too messy, too wild.
41:31
I don't like it, but when we find those people who really get
41:37
it and really understand our philosophy, we want to grow them
41:41
as leaders. We want to retain them.
41:42
We want to, you know, take good care of them, good benefits.
41:46
And, and my door is always open and they know I'm always
41:49
available. If anyone needs a one-on-one or
41:51
I do those frequently too. Just have one on ones with the
41:53
teachers just to check in and see what's going on.
41:56
What's new with you and what do you need and and how can I
41:59
support you? Leo, what's something you wish
42:02
you could teach a younger version of yourself?
42:06
Oh, that's a really good question.
42:09
I wish I had been more confident with what I know when I was
42:15
younger. I, I think in the past I needed
42:18
more validation from others and I've gotten to a point now
42:23
where, you know, I really can lean in and trust my instincts
42:27
and I, I wish I'd had more years of that.
42:29
I'm excited to see what the next bunch of years are like now that
42:33
I've mastered that skill. But to be able to really just
42:36
trust myself and know that oftentimes my gut is right.
42:40
And, you know, even if sometimes it doesn't, people don't agree,
42:45
that's OK. They don't always have to think
42:48
you're right or agree with you or even like you.
42:51
It's about the work you're doing and what you're putting out
42:53
there that matters. And so where did you sort of
42:56
discover this confidence to listen to your your gut, your
42:59
inner self? Did that come from these
43:01
retreats that you've been talking so glowingly about?
43:05
Yeah, I think it's a combination of of the retreats, being in,
43:11
going inside, learning more about myself and just that piece
43:15
of self-care that I was not doing it all.
43:18
And also COVID, really COVID showed me that, you know what,
43:22
if I could get through that, I can get through anything.
43:24
If kid time can roll through this nightmare of the time, we
43:28
will survive through anything. And now, you know, we've gotten
43:32
through the survival. Now we get to just thrive.
43:36
What's a fun fact most people wouldn't know about you?
43:40
Oh gosh, most people wouldn't know.
43:42
That's a hard one 'cause I'm an open book.
43:46
Fun fact, most people don't know about me is I'm a, I'm a
43:53
recovering people pleaser. I'm still working on it, but
43:55
I'm, I'm pretty much almost on the other side of it.
43:59
So I relate very well to people who give themselves away.
44:03
And that's something that I think because I figured out that
44:07
wasn't serving me. I, I want to spread that
44:09
medicine to everyone. And you know, hey, let's please
44:13
ourselves too. And it's OK to take care of
44:15
yourself. It helps you to be better at
44:17
taking care of the people around you when your crop is full.
44:21
That's great. What's something you do for fun
44:23
outside of work? I love hanging out with my
44:27
friends. I have a very tight group of, of
44:30
women friends that just fill my soul and make me happy.
44:34
And we, you know, just being with them is, is my favorite
44:38
thing. I love to travel.
44:40
I love little trips to Tahoe. We, we're fortunate to live and
44:44
the driving distance from Lake Tahoe.
44:46
So yeah, just, you know, rest, relaxing, being outside.
44:51
And I'm, I'm learning how to meditate and to, to kind of just
44:55
be, that's my new journey I'm on now.
44:58
So I'm I'm enjoying that as well.
45:02
Leah, are there any specific mentors, books, maybe other
45:06
experiences outside of the retreats that have helped shape
45:09
you or your professional career? As an early childhood
45:13
professional, definitely. There's a woman who passed away
45:16
several years ago. Her name was Bev Boss BOS and
45:21
she was an incredible childcare child advocate.
45:25
Childcare advocate. She ran a program in out of her
45:29
home and it was all about hands on play based learning and
45:34
letting the kids be themselves. So much of what I believe has
45:38
come from her line of thinking. And what I learned from her is
45:41
that you do have to stand up sometimes and advocate for what
45:45
you're doing. Sometimes parents don't
45:47
understand, well, why are my kids so messy?
45:50
Explain to me why you let them do this painting activity this
45:53
way. And you have to be able to back
45:55
up what you do. So she was a huge inspiration to
46:00
me and and I'm always be grateful to her.
46:02
I never had the chance to meet her, but I did meet her son and
46:06
I interviewed him years ago and that was amazing.
46:09
So the boss is definitely high on that list for me.
46:14
Very good. Yeah.
46:15
I just have one more question for you, but before I ask it, I
46:17
want to do a couple of things. If you're listening today and
46:20
you like today's content, please hit the subscribe, like or share
46:23
button on your favorite podcast app.
46:25
Second thing is I want to tell people what's the best way to
46:28
get in touch with you? How do we make that happen?
46:31
Sure, the best way to reach me is through my Instagram.
46:34
It's parent time Miss Leah, and you can DM me anytime.
46:40
I'm always happy to chat with people.
46:43
If you wanted to have an A breakthrough session with me, I
46:46
do a free call for your first call so you can DM me.
46:51
I'll send you the link. There's links in my bio for my
46:54
retreat for all of the podcast. Everything that I've done is is
46:57
linked. Oh, a free first call.
46:59
I might have to take you up on that.
47:01
You've. Already you've already dropped
47:03
some golden Nuggets on me today. I can't wait to see what else
47:06
would be behind the curtain there.
47:08
OK, so last question for you, Leah, I'm curious, how do you
47:11
see the industry that you're in evolving in the next five years?
47:15
What do you think the big changes are that are coming?
47:18
Well, it's interesting in California they have been
47:22
rolling out universal TK, which is for four year olds.
47:26
So a lot of our four year olds that we've been servicing for
47:30
all of these years are now going off to elementary schools for
47:33
their pre-K, their year before kindergarten.
47:36
TK stands for transitional kindergarten.
47:38
So in California, it's been a little scary for those of us in
47:42
the field because our older, our, our older group is starting
47:46
to get smaller. So for me, I'm feeling like the
47:49
future is in babies and yet the younger children because, you
47:54
know, it's a little bit of a tough pill.
47:56
I, I'm a, I'm a very left-leaning leading heart
48:00
person. I want everyone to have
48:02
everything they can for free from the state and the
48:05
government, But it's been, it's been tough to lose our families
48:10
because it's really hard to compete with free.
48:13
So, you know, we're looking at just taking more younger kids.
48:18
And if we open another center, it'll probably be another infant
48:21
and toddler or a younger preschool center.
48:25
But you know, preschool's here to stay.
48:26
We have working parents. There's always going to be a
48:30
need. And that's one thing that I've
48:31
been very fortunate is that kid time has felt like a very
48:35
recession proof business. Even when people lose their job
48:39
temporarily, a lot of them will say we're not giving up our
48:42
childcare because we're not going back on a list of 200
48:45
waiting for a spot again. So we we need more centers.
48:49
We need, there needs to be more good quality people that are
48:52
willing to do this work. It's not easy, but it is so
48:55
rewarding. And you know, I'm a big advocate
48:58
for people going to school, getting their early childhood
49:00
education and making their way into the field if if that feels
49:04
like what they love to do. And so these TK centers that are
49:09
offered by the state, these are these all day programs or
49:13
they're for more limited hours. Most of them are three hours a
49:16
day, which is gets tricky for parents, but you know, then
49:20
they'll, they'll go to the after school care on the campus if
49:23
there's space. So that's been a little bit of a
49:27
complicated dynamic because a lot of people will go, you know,
49:31
plan to go to TK and then find out, oh, wait, I don't have wrap
49:34
around care. I'm only covered from 9:00 to
49:36
12:00 or 8:00 to 11:00. So we've started offering a full
49:41
day transitional kindergarten class at one of our sites to
49:45
help those that just aren't able to bridge that gap.
49:48
It's it's tough. It's really tough out there for
49:50
parents these days. Nice day.
49:53
Well, Leah, I want to be the first one to thank you so much
49:55
for taking the time to Share your story with us today.
49:58
I really appreciate it. You're so welcome.
50:00
Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity.
50:03
It was really fun. I appreciate it.
50:05
Absolutely, folks. That's a wrap on another episode
50:08
of the Inspired Stories podcast. Thanks for learning with us
50:10
today.