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Hours of Operation
The
Child Care Center
is designed for children between the ages of
2 to 5.
We are
open
Monday - Friday from
7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
For more information about our facility,
please call us at
(941) 484-4415.
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Kid
Stories |
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Irreverent Manipulation
Little Benjamin sat down at the desk to write a letter to God
asking for a little baby
sister. He started the letter like this:
Dear
God,
I have been a very good boy…
He stopped, thinking no God won’t believe that. He wadded up the
piece of paper,
threw it away, and started again:
Dear
God,
most of the time I’ve been a good boy…
He stopped in the middle of the line again, thinking God won’t
be moved by this. So
he wadded up the letter and into the trash can it went. Benjamin
then went into the
bathroom and grabbed a big terry cloth towel off the towel rack.
He carried it into
the living room and carefully laid it out on the couch. He
smoothed out all the wrinkles.
Then he went over to the fireplace mantle, reached up, and very
carefully lifted down
a statue of the Madonna. He had often seen his mother carefully
dust the statue, and
he had eyed it many times. On several occasions, his parents had
told him that he
could look but was not to touch the statue. Now, with all the
care he could muster, he
had it in his possession. Benjamin gently placed the statue in
the middle of the towel,
carefully folding over the edges. He then placed a rubber band
around the whole thing.
He brought it to the desk, took out another piece of paper, and
began to write his 3rd
letter to God. It went like this:
Dear
God,
If you ever want to see your mother again…
~ Chicken Soup for the Christian Soul ~
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Discouraged?
As I was driving home from work one day, I stopped to watch a
local Little League
baseball game that was being played in a park near my home. As I
sat down behind
the bench on the first-base line, I asked one of the boys what
the score was. "We're
behind 14 to nothing," he answered with a smile. "Really," I
said. "I have to say you
don't look very discouraged." "Discouraged?" the boy asked with
a puzzled look
on his face. "Why should we be discouraged? We haven't been up
to bat yet."
~ Jack Canfield ~
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Stories
for
Parents |
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If I Had My Child to Raise over Again
If I had my child to raise all over again,
I’d finger paint more and point the finger less.
I’d do less correcting and more connecting.
I’d take my eyes off my watch, and watch with my eyes.
I would care to know less and know to care more.
I’d take more hikes and fly more kites.
I’d stop playing serious, and seriously play.
I’d run through more fields and gaze at more stars.
I’d do more hugging and less tugging.
I’ would be firm less often, and affirm much more.
I’d build self-esteem first, and the house later.
I’d teach less about the love of power,
and more about the power of love.
~ Diane Loomans ~ |
When You Thought I Wasn’t Looking
When you thought I wasn’t looking - I saw you hang my first
painting on the
refrigerator, and I immediately wanted to paint another one.
When you thought I wasn’t looking - I saw you feed a stray cat,
and I learned
that it was good to be kind to animals.
When you thought I wasn’t looking, - I saw you make my favorite
cake for me
and I learned little things can be the special things in life.
When you thought I wasn’t looking - I heard you say a prayer,
and I knew
there is a God I could always talk to and I learned to trust in
God.
When you thought I wasn’t looking - I saw you make a meal
and take it to a
friend who was sick, and I learned that we all have to help take
care of each other.
When you thought I wasn’t looking - I saw you give of your time
and money to help
people who had nothing and I learned that those who have
something should
give to those who don't.
When you thought I wasn’t looking -
I felt you kiss me good night, and I felt loved and safe.
When you thought I wasn’t looking - I saw you take care of
our house and
everyone in it and I learned we have to take care of what we are
given.
When you thought I wasn’t looking - I saw how you handled your
responsibilities,
even when you didn’t feel good and I learned that I would have
to be responsible
when I grow up.
When you thought I wasn’t looking - I saw tears come from
your eyes and I
learned that sometimes things hurt, but it’s all right to cry.
When you thought I wasn’t looking - I saw that you cared
and I wanted to be
everything that I could be.
When you thought I wasn’t looking - I learned most of
life’s lessons that I need
to know to be a good and productive person when I grow up.
When you thought I wasn’t looking - I looked at you and wanted
to say,
Thanks for all the things I saw when you thought I wasn’t
looking.
~ Author Unknown ~
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A
Parent’s Prayer
Father, make me a better parent.
Help me to understand my children,
to listen patiently to what they have to say and to
understand all their questions kindly.
Keep me from interrupting them,
talking back to them and contradicting them.
Make me as courteous to them as I
would have them be to me.
Give me the courage to confess my sins
against my children and ask their forgiveness
when I know that I have done wrong.
May I not vainly hurt the feeling of my children.
Forbid that I should laugh at their mistakes,
or resort to shame and ridicule as punishment.
Let me not tempt a child to lie and steal.
So guide me hour by hour that I may demonstrate
by all I say and do that honesty produces happiness.
Reduce, I pray, the meanness in me.
May I cease to nag;
and when I am out of sorts, help me,
Oh Lord, to hold my tongue.
Blind me to the little errors of my children
and help me to see the good things they do.
Give me a ready word for honest praise.
Help me to treat my children as those of there own age
but let me not exact of them judgments and conventions of
adults.
Allow me not to rob them of the opportunity
to wait upon themselves, to think, to choose,
and to make their own decisions.
Forbid that I should ever punish them
for my selfish satisfaction.
May I grant them all their wishes that
are reasonable and have the courage
always to withhold a privilege that
I know will do them harm.
Make me so fair and just,
so considerate and companionable
to my children that they will have genuine esteem for me.
Fit me to be loved and imitated by my children.
Oh God, do give me calm,
and poise and self-control.
Amen.
~ Author Unknown ~
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