Puyallup ELC Blog

A Sunday evening thought …

Day cares get a lot of flak—germs (germs, and more germs), strangers watching your kids, the rising cost, etc. While I don’t necessarily love the cost of day care, I began to love my day care (yes, even the germs).

I remember the first day I took my firstborn (now 4 years old) to day care. *Que, meltdown city here* and it was not just her; I had a good sob session too! We started at the Puyallup Early Learning Center in January of 2020, 2 months before the world changed.

During that time of uncertainty and panic, I leaned on our leadership through the difficult initial transition. My work did not stop even though we went remote, and I was able to still utilize our PELC team for childcare (YES!). Since then (and another baby later), I have become a part of the PELC and CCS community and have really enjoyed the teachers, staff, and fellow parents who have made this center such a wonderful place to be.

In the hustle and bustle of our days, I find comfort in that my children are learning new things, being social with their friends, and yes, even getting dirty! The PELC community has given me the place of still getting to be part of their day—without being part of their day! In reality,

• my kids are thriving.
• they are learning.
• they are making lifelong friendships … and I am too!
• they are making memories.
• I have balance in my life/work day to day. (Notice I don’t say work/life balance; that’s another blog post.)
• they get to invest early in their relationship with Jesus.

I love day care so much. (Is that mom guilt?) I’ve had days off and have spent them cleaning and doing laundry. I have the energy to make a great dinner. I feel like I’m a better mom. We have less time together, but the time we spend together is better and so intentional. We spend the weekends playing and reading books. The PELC gives my husband and me the headspace to be the parents we want to be as well as the ability to stay focused in our careers.

My kids are happy at drop-off (most of the time) and happy when they’re picked up. Each class has a unique safari name and lesson plan, and each teacher brings a new enrichment that’s exciting for the parents and the kiddos; even the infant room does amazing things! I treasure the handprint crafty things they bring home as gifts. (Side note: I have zero craftiness to offer.)

The teachers and staff pour their hearts into helping raise my children. For starters,  

• Ms. Marlem has epic potty-training magic.
• Ms. Angel can have 5 infants sleep-trained in a matter of days.
• Ms. Sarah O has ninja-type skills for her tot class.
• Ms. B was able to convince my daughter that veggies were yummy.
• Mr. Andrew has the heart of each one of his students; they love him!  

**There are so many teachers to praise; this is just a handful!

This experience has kickstarted my children’s formative years in a positive and enriching way, and we’re thrilled to have found this unique gem in our area. It’s an added bonus to have gotten to meet other moms—and have those acquaintances turn into wonderful friendships—as well as to meet parents from different campuses through PfC. Seeing and hearing the CCS mission flowing across so many families is something to be excited about, and I am excited my children will get to be a part of that mission in their education. And it all started at the Puyallup Early Learning Center …