From left to right (Front) Mercedes Diaz, Bergica Albuquerque, Zoila Chusan, Nancy Correa; From left to right (Back) Yolanda Morales, Humberto Cruz, Alexandra Alberto, Jose Alberto
This Wednesday, July 6th the Informal Family Child Care Project held a recognition ceremony for the fourth cycle of Brooklyn Borough Trainings. This group was special because it was our first Spanish speaking group held for this series of trainings. It was also more intensive with 3 weeks of two trainings per week for which our providers were fully committed to. The trainings were held under the facilitation of Humberto Cruz, one of IFCC’s trainers.
As part of the IFCC team we are used to providers being familiar with us, however what struck me the most about sharing time with this group of providers was the familiarity in which they treated one another. Friendships were made that is for sure. The most natural of events such as eating came by as the way to bond between us and them but the feeling of familiarity came by as if we gathered among family members. It was loud, it was full of jokes and stories about the children they care for as well as funny experiences the class had during their time together. At some point, during the dinner, one of the participants stood up and handed Humberto a thank you card as a gift from the group to express their gratitude towards him and IFCC. Filled with emotion he said thank you and hugged the participants.
From left to right : Yolanda Morales, Humberto Cruz, Mercedes Diaz, Nancy Correa, Jose Alberto, Bergica Albuquerque
Gathered around the table providers discussed the lessons learned through the training. Some of these were asking children why they behaved a certain way or understanding the motivation of children for their acts; the use of concrete explanations when addressing/dealing challenging behaviors and not just saying “because I said so!” lowering yourself down to the child’s level to communicate with him/her; considering the family’s perspective when addressing challenging behaviors or a sensitive topic. The most influential part of this discussion, I believe, was hearing them explain how they put it in practice with the children they care for and their acknowledgement that doing so is the best form to manifest what they learned.
Also, two of the three informal providers in the class shared that they are interested in obtaining a license this year; that’s telling of their interest to continue with their professional development in the future. All providers were interested in continuing classes for the fall.
Left Side: Yolanda Morales, Mercedes Diaz, Nancy Correa, Jose Alberto; Right side: Alexandra Alberto, Bergica Albuquerque
The following participants were recognized:
Alexandra Alberto
Jose Alberto
Bergica Albuquerque
Zoila Chusan
Nancy Correa
Mercedes Diaz
Yolanda Morales
