{"id":364,"date":"2022-03-30T09:40:31","date_gmt":"2022-03-30T16:40:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/labs.wsu.edu\/essential\/?page_id=364"},"modified":"2022-05-18T11:24:20","modified_gmt":"2022-05-18T18:24:20","slug":"juana","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/labs.wsu.edu\/essential\/juana\/","title":{"rendered":"Juana"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

En espa\u00f1ol<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Juana<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a five hour trip <\/h4>\n\n\n\n

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I\u2019ve been a provider for 25 years, and I\u2019m very proud of that.  I feel a lot of satisfaction, I can say. I\u2019ve really liked my work. <\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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About My Picture <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Look, I have them all separated, it was very hard for all of us to make it work, because, you know, kids like to be all stuck together and everything.  So I sit them down like that, a little bit separated, and I have two little tables, so I put some over there so they\u2019ll have a certain distance, and other kids in the other.  \u2026 They use their imagination and their motor skills to color. I ask them, \u201cWhat did you do? What did you color?  What is it that you\u2019re seeing, your eyes, what do they see?\u201d And they tell me, \u201cI made a heart.\u201d I said, \u201cWe have a heart?  Do you have a heart?\u201d  \u201cYes, I have a heart!\u201d and I say, \u201cAnd where do you have it, your heart?\u201d And [the child] said, \u201cIn my tummy!\u201d  Aw, so nice!  These are kids … they use their imagination and everything.  But yes, it was really hard. Our work [was] very hard … this whole year was very difficult.  Of all my years \u2026 last year and that part of this year, very difficult, very difficult.<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Our Interview with Juana <\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Despite the difficulties of operating her center during the pandemic, Juana said, \u201cI don\u2019t like to leave my work. My job is: I am the owner of this daycare, and I like it.\u201d Her commitment is so unwavering that she even accommodated school-aged kids from 4 a.m. to 3 p.m., for both before-school and school-day supervision.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As for all care providers, the pandemic forced Juana to make considerable adjustments to her work schedule, to redouble cleaning and disinfecting routines, to alter pick-up and drop-off procedures and the structure of her limited space to accommodate remote-schoolers alongside younger children, and to educate everyone, from children to parents, on all the above.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Juana levied hardly a complaint about the adjustments and instead focused on the absence of serious problems or infections. She said, \u201cThank God, my kids, they didn\u2019t go into shock, I didn\u2019t see them sad \u2026 Everything was very good \u2026 no one was sick.\u201d   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Motivated by those successes, Juana scoured her entire region for needed supplies when hers ran low, asking her adult children to search for her, too, even on the Internet. Nothing turned up, but luckily a friend in Idaho informed her that there were abundant disinfectants, masks, and toilet paper locally. Juana immediately contacted her adult son and said, \u201c’Guess what, there\u2019s [supplies] in Idaho, son, should we go?’ \u2026 We left in that instant, man, we didn\u2019t wait.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Juana\u2019s son drove her on the five-hour hour journey that ended with them stocking up on supplies for Juana\u2019s center and more to share with Juana\u2019s childcare colleagues, of whom she said: \u201cWe all [in-home providers] are making it through, triumphant over this that happened, from a lot of sacrifice and a lot of effort, from all of our working, our washing \u2026 we helped one another out.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From full interview transcript of 3,846 words<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Juana<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Es un viaje de cinco horas<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

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De ser proveedora tengo 25 a\u00f1os, y estoy bien orgullosa de eso.  Me siento con mucha satisfacci\u00f3n, puedo decirlo.  Mi trabajo me ha gustado mucho.<\/em> <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n