October’s Center Spotlight shines on the teachers of the insect wing! The insect wing is lead by Andrea Powers, who was featured in last month’s Center Spotlight on the Lead Teachers.

The Insect Wing is comprised of three infant classrooms, the Bumblebees, the Butterflies, and the Ladybugs. The classes are taught by Gloria Ramos, Andrea Powers & Christy Widener, and Zuleika Rodriguez & Monica Hernandez.

This month in a continued series meant to introduce all the BGCC Teachers we did a Q&A with our Insect Wing Teachers.

How long have you been teaching overall? At BGCC?

Starting in our youngest classroom, Gloria Ramos has been in the education field for 14 years and began teaching at Becky Gates Children’s Center in August of 2017.

In the Butterflies Classroom we have lead teacher, Andrea Powers (who was introduced in last month’s center spotlight), as well as our newest Insect Wing Teacher Christy Widener. Andrea has been with BGCC since it opened in August of 1998. Christy has been in education for nine years and joined BGCC in February this year.

In the Ladybugs classroom Zuleika and Monica teach our oldest Insect Wing children. Zuleika has been teaching for eight years overall, and three years at BGCC. Monica had the opportunity to be a teaching assistant at a very young age. She started working at the BGCC back in 2001 and left in 2008 but was able to come back in 2019.

What is your favorite thing about teaching infants?

Gloria says her favorite thing about teaching infants is getting the chance to see the children grow each and every day. She also loves making them laugh and her favorite thing about teaching overall is “seeing the smiles and greeting each child each day. Every day is a learning experience just by seeing each child go through day to day milestones.”

Andrea said “My favorite thing about teaching infants is watching the many changes that occur and watching them achieve their milestones. I love to see the excitement in their eyes when they learn something new. I love to share their days through pictures and videos and to write everything they enjoyed doing at school. I love every bit of my time making lasting memories with them and their families as well.”

Christy said her favorite thing about teaching infants is the fact that she is teaching the minds of our future. She continued to say, “I love watching them interact with each other.”

Zuleika said her favorite part about teaching infants is the moment you get to “see their facial expression when they accomplish something new.”

Also from the Ladybugs classroom, Monica said “For me I would have say busy and exciting never a same day. And the favorite part of the day would be music and Movement and when we get the one on one with the child to read or to observe and talk and see how much they’ve grown on a daily basis.”

What does a typical day look like for the kids in your class? What is your favorite part of the day?

A typical day in the Bumblebees classroom consists of listening to Gloria sing songs and read books. “My favorite time of the day is music and movement,” Gloria said.

A typical day in the Butterflies room starts with greeting each child with smile, even though the teachers all wear masks. The children go and wash their hands and are checked in for the day.

“I try to be out front to receive the first child, I have always liked the transfer from parent to teacher. It gives you a chance to ask them about their morning before school, or the night before,” said Andrea.

The early morning consist of some fun one on one time, as the children trickle in, the Butterflies might play some homemade games, read a book or just play together. They have Large Group, Music and Movement Time, followed by Small group time with an activity planned. They then move to our outside time on our wonderful playground. Breaks for meals and snacks happen throughout the day as well as one for nap time.

At the end of the day the Butterflies say their goodbyes and send a daily note talking about our day to the parents. Andrea said, “We accomplish a lot in a day for sure.”

The Ladybugs and other classrooms follow a similar schedule to the Butterflies with age appropriate activities. Zuleika said a typical day is “Very busy and active,” and that her favorite part of the day is “Large group time in the morning, when we sing our good morning song.”

“For me, I would have say, busy and exciting, never a same day. My favorite part of the day would be Music and Movement and when we get the one-on-one with the child to read or to observe and talk and see how much they’ve grown on a daily basis,” said Monica.

What makes working at BGCC different from other childcare centers?

Gloria said that the thing that makes working at BGCC different from other childcare centers is working with student workers and staff as a team.

“Working at the Becky Gates Children’s Center is a joy, I love knowing that each teacher and administrator is here to make a difference in each child’s life,” said Andrea, who continued on to say, “We work together as a team to support each other and we are all here because we love children. We are professionals and are given the best opportunities to further pursue our profession by attending workshops or trainings to keep us updated on the latest developments in our profession. We have the best support in our Administration. I love everything about our Center, I feel like we make a difference in each child’s future.”

Christy said that she loves that the kids are able to learn through play at Becky Gates Children’s Center.

Zuleika said the thing that makes BGCC different from other childcare centers is “the diversity in the children in our classes that we get each year.”

Similarly, Monica said, “The BGCC is very different then other centers because I have always felt supportive when needed and the diversity is amazing. I’ve enjoyed working with different cultures and learning new things.”

How do you help your student workers learn about early childhood education?

Gloria said she helps her student workers know that the classroom is their classroom as well. She also gives them training and models teaching for them.

Andrea said she works hard to teach student workers to interact with each child and parent in a professional way. As a teacher she models being kind and loving to each child as well as the parents and coworkers.

“I have watched so many Teaching Assistants over the years become, teacher, parents and just awesome people in our community,” said Andrea.

Christy helps educate and walk student workers through the process of teaching.

“Having them work with the children is the best form of learning,” said Christy.

In the Ladybugs classroom, Zuleika said she helps her student workers learn “by setting an example, the student workers will follow by what we as teacher do.”

Monica said, “I set a good example for them and hope that if they have any questions for me I would answer them to my best knowledge or we would figure it out together.”

Is there anything else you would like parents/families to know?

Gloria concluded by saying “I enjoy spending time with my class and watching them grow. And I enjoy bonding with not only the children but families as well.”

“I just want to say my life has been blessed in so many ways getting to be a part of so many children’s lives and their families as well. I have had the best coworkers, teaching assistants and administrators. This Center is awesome,” Andrea said.

Christy wanted parents to know she has been in many roles in childcare, anywhere from infant teacher, to older children, to admin, and even assistant director.

Zuleika said, “As a teacher I strive to help our children grow, and become more independent. I’m also bilingual, so teaching children not only English words but also different Spanish words is a very rewarding feeling.”

Monica spoke about the fact that, “it takes a very special person to do the job that we do. I enjoy working with each and every child and teaching them some of amazing things. I think our class is very unique because it has two bilingual teachers that work together to keep our class a fun, safe, learning environment.”