Last week, I treated myself to a sun break, a little intravenous sap. Three hours in a parallel world, at La Soleillerie preschool; to attack (nice) sharks in the water tank; to read Hello doctor to Theo (and at the end, the wolf disguised as a doctor, guess who he’s going to eat?); sticking synthetic hair on rabbits that will never be transformed into stew; to amaze myself in front of mauve forests and pink trees; to build wooden block houses that turn into REM… No favouritism, no bribes, no submission, just collaboration and creativity on an unlimited budget in the imagination.
And neither the Dolphins nor the Butterflies blubbered or insulted anyone. Calm, reassured children. It must be said that they are already big, 3 to 5 years old. We did not play at war, no injuries, a few civilized talks. We didn’t shout names like “Mother Teresa” at each other, the ultimate insult. This invective from our PM François Legault against Québec solidaire MP Christine Labrie, when she was defending the issue of daycare spaces last week, will cost her votes at $500.
But it is an opportunity to see that some brave Beavers of the National Assembly would surely need support in their cognitive and language development.
I suggest an approach through the arts, like at La Soleillerie, a non-profit and non-subsidized organization (we are far from $8.70 a day), founded in 1968 in Saint-Lambert. “Besides the pleasure of joyful and spontaneous expression, arts activities also offer the child the possibility of externalizing his darkest feelings, sadness, anger, frustration, vulnerability”, can we read in his educational book Both hands in the arts.
Oh, the arts! This catch-all activity that some take for entertainment. The game is serious business. The political game is only a culmination of acquired skills. François Legault should take out his brush and get started. Picasso claimed that he spent his whole life learning to draw as a child.
Mothers, but few fathers Teresa
When I ask Lyne Guérette what are the essential qualities of an educator, she does not tell me about her baccalaureate in preschool education or her commitment since 1987 to the Soleillerie; rather, she mentions emotional maturity, empathy, benevolence, openness: “Humor is part of our daily life, and it goes with humility. ” Here then.
She observes that the field of early childhood is largely occupied by women, with a salary three times lower than that of a plumber and the little glory that comes from helping a child to go to the toilet. It’s easier to plant a toddler in front of an iPad than to listen to him patiently describe a drawing of a witch who stole the baby.
Besides, I haven’t seen a tablet screen here, and we don’t ask children to describe their drawing, it’s not recommended. It could repress their brains. When I ventured with a “Your man is beautiful, Sacha! », I was rebuffed by « No, it’s a monkey. ” Yellow. You add wings, and it’s your mom.
Théodore wrote his name on the board for me. Theo. 5. During the “gathering” of the zamis, he mechanically put his hand and my head on my shoulder, as if we had kept the zebus together. Théo adopted me, I am in integration. No need to draw him a picture.
For real or for fake
At La Soleillerie, we apply positive discipline. Either way, whether you forgot to put on your Hello Kitty panties or spilled a bucket of water on your head to mimic a dolphin, it’s all good in daycare. It’s not me saying it, it’s Pierre Terzian, my favorite of the year, a bad year anyway, I’m getting ahead. This Frenchman was a substitute in daycare centers and CPEs in Montreal — because the educators often do burnout — but above all he is an excellent writer. (I talk about it in the Joblog, it’s so good.)
“Whatever happens, it’s positive. This is a golden rule for Quebec daycares. A child can break a leg or be shit on it by a seagull, it’s still very positive to play outside. »
We consider the daycare as a “safe space” dedicated to the emergence of potential
In daycares, the educators say “Good morning”. I’m sure this infantilizing Anglicism was born in a CPE, before your first coffee. “We don’t have that ‘good morning’ at home, writes Terzian. That’s why we have shitty mornings. Quebec’s good humor is something. It is much more than a tourist attraction. It’s a moral, quasi-religious imperative, a pioneer thing […] With their “Bon matin”, it’s radical. You feel like you’re stepping into a musical. Everything becomes pastel pink and green and the sets begin to move. »
Looks like a CAQ election platform, or when the PM addresses the nation on TikTok. It’s good-natured and jovial: “Good morning! And for couples, that’s $1,000. ” I know how to count ! $500 x 2 = 2 votes.
I didn’t want to talk to you about couples or voting, I wanted to talk to you about art, colors, brain development. Oliver, 4 years old, tells me that his big brother goes “to a school made only with brown”. He’s right, our lives are brown most of the time. And our gray matter too.
Fortunately, it’s spring, it’s already budding a little. I wonder if Camille or Romie will want to be Mother Teresas like Nikki, Manon or Josianne, their educators. In the meantime, they make a recipe for maple syrup ice cream in the sandbox. I believe she will melt. It doesn’t matter, we can do more.
But in the end, you guessed it, the wolf eats the sheep instead. It’s like that… I can’t rewrite history.
But I can draw you a picture.