Administrative Observation Post

This week, for module 3, i spent 4 hours at my site on two different days. It was very different getting to observe and interact with the director, cook, and administrative assistant. I got to the center at 8:00am, and stayed in the lobby for a while where the director and assistant were greeting the children and families. While we were in the lobby, a child came in the door eating a donut and the director said to the child "A donut for breakfast, you need a healthy breakfast, why don't you give that donut to your mom and you can have oatmeal and oranges with your friends". I looked at the parent to see her reaction and she smiled at the  director and said "sorry, i stopped for coffee and I couldn't say No". The child gave the donut to her mom and told her to save it for later after dinner. The director walked the child in the back and they were talking about the oranges and oatmeal. I thought that was the greatest thing, it was good to see that someone cares about the health and nutrition of children. I asked the director if that was something she always did, and she told me she can't be up front all the time but that the teachers would do the same. In the front lobby, there is a whole section on nutrition for children, SNAP applications (Food stamps), healthy breakfast items, and a ton of resources from MyPlate (which the director told me to help myself to the resources so I can use them for my paper). The director of the center seems to be very involved in the center, and seems to know all of the families, and even the first names of parents (which was surprising to me).

On another day when i was observing, the director went to the different rooms and ate lunch with the children. She put a little of everything on her plate in each room and ate with the children, she stayed int he rooms for about 5 minutes. She spoke about the benefits of the foods they were eating (green beans, applesauce, and chicken alfredo). The director also used positive reinforcement to get the children to eat their foods. She would say things like "Wow, look A.H. ate all her vegetables" and then all of the children wanted to finish their vegetables to get praise as well. I didn't speak with the administrative assistant as much because she sat at the desk int he front lobby and basically answered phones, didn't really seem like she wanted to be bothered. I did observe the director asking the administrative assistant to give the children healthy snacks when they leave. At 12pm, some of the children go home after preschool hours and the administrative assistant was handing out candy tot he children that were leaving. The director asked her if she could hand out something other than candy, like fruit snacks, animal crackers, or just give out stickers. During my observation I also noticed that in the lobby there are a lot of resources for the parents to take. They had copies of the menu, which seems very nutritious, how to get physical activity at home, and more resources for healthy eating.

When I spoke with the director she seems very passionate about the health and nutrition needs of the children. She said she goes into the classrooms to model for the teachers because they don't encourage the children to eat their food, and it bothers her. She also stated that she doesn't allow the teachers to eat anything other than what the children are eating in the classroom, no pop, chips, or any other kind of food. I was very pleased with my observations and interview because i feel the director is a good example of how we can be advocates for our children and families. I would have liked to spend more time talking with the director, but she had her hands full, and was running around most of the time.