I now have an inspection appointment!

Things really seem to be moving quickly at this point. I finally, after numerous attempts, got through to licensing to arrange an appointment for my home inspection. We have it set up for Tuesday morning, January 16. I then spoke with my mentor, Donna, and she will be coming over on Saturday, January 13 to help me get things ready. So I will be having two "pre-inspections" -- one with my mentor, and one with the CCIP Program Coordinator.

I think the only other thing I will have to do is take the CPR class I signed up for on January 20.

Reggio Emilia Philosophy

While in Sweden I read four books. It was wonderful having time to read again. Earlier last year I was doing really well keeping up with my book-a-month goal, but over the summer during our move, I stopped reading completely. Yesterday I went through the shelves to choose my next book. I'll be spending this weekend in Texas, as my godchild is being baptised. I need reading material for the planeride there and back.

I chose The Hundred Languages of Children. I bought this book about 7 years ago for a paper I was writing for a child development class. The book is about the Reggio Emilia philosophy of education. I was so fascinated by this philosophy and its emphasis on fostering children's creative expression. I have read short parts of this book, but haven't read it straight through, cover to cover. I think it will be the perfect thing to read as I prepare my own family child care. The founder of the philosophy, Loris Malaguzzi, wrote a wonderful poem that beautifully expresses his approach to child development. Here is the poem:

No way. The hundred is there.
The child
is made of one hundred.
The child has
a hundred languages
a hundred hands
a hundred thoughts
a hundred ways of thinking
of playing, of speaking.
A hundred always a hundred
ways of listening
of marveling of loving
a hundred joys
for singing and understanding
a hundred worlds
to discover
a hundred worlds
to invent
a hundred worlds
to dream.
The child has
a hundred languages
(and a hundred hundred hundred more)
but they steal ninety-nine.
The school and the culture
separate the head from the body.
They tell the child:
to think without hands
to do without head
to listen and not to speak
to understand without joy
to love and to marvel
only at Easter and Christmas.
They tell the child:
to discover the world already there
and of the hundred
they steal ninety-nine.
They tell the child:
that work and play
reality and fantasy
science and imagination
sky and earth
reason and dream
are things
that do not belong together.


And thus they tell the child
that the hundred is not there.
The child says:
No way. The hundred is there.

--LORIS MALAGUZZI
Translated by Lella Gandini

Back from Sweden

It's early Friday morning right now, and we just got back from Sweden around midnight Wednesday. We spent yesterday unpacking and opening our Christmas presents. Also, a couple things happened regarding my licensing while I was gone. First of all, in the mail I received the clearance on Sven's fingerprints. That was a big relief simply because I had been told that that could take a very long time, but it apparently took less than three weeks, and over the holidays at that!

Also, there was a message on my answering from licensing. I'm assuming the call was an attempt to set up the home inspection, one of the very last steps of the process. I called her back, but couldn't get ahold of her directly.

So then I called someone from the 4C Council. 4C stands for Community Child Care Council of Santa Clara County. They have a program called the Child Care Initiative Project which will reimburse Family Child Care providers once they have obtained their licenses and completed at least 3 designated activities. I haven't yet done any of the activities, as I was told the program was run on a "first-come first-served" basis, and once they run out of money, it's over. I was waiting until my licensing process was nearly complete, but now it is! I called my CCIP Program Coordinator and arranged for a home visit, sort of a pre-licensing inspection check. She will be coming next Thursday morning, January 11.

So my next step is to do a few last minute things to prepare myself for the inspection. The fire extinguisher we have is too small, so we need to buy a larger one. I should buy a complete first-aid kit, and install childlocks under my kitchen sink.

Things are really coming along! I hope I can have the license by the end of the month. Then my focus can turn towards purchasing more materials and setting up our children's garden.