Something Is Going On!
/by Rev. Kay Ash
Our Kessler Park UMC Parents Day Out program is blooming! You may already know that after being shut down for a few months due to the COVID virus, PDO re-opened with a very limited number of children in the Fall of 2020. We opened up to a few more children in the Spring of 2021 and are almost at capacity this Summer. It is such a joy to have the children in the building again each day! What you may not know, however, is how things have changed in the PDO program during this very unusual year.
The first and very obvious change you might notice around here begins with the children themselves. So many of the children participating in our care are new to our program! Previously and because PDO has such a long-standing reputation in the neighborhood, we used to get returning families, families with siblings, families of cousins or families with grandchildren – most often we would get families that have very deep connections to our program over many years. But now, something is going on! Our nursery is filled with new and very young babies!
Another and more subtle change has to do with how the children spend their days. PDO has provided safe, excellent and loving care for the children of North Oak Cliff since 1968. However, the academic requirements of our surrounding school systems continue to rise which means those requirements trickle down into pre-school programs as we prepare students to enter kindergarten. As a result, PDO is focusing more on pre-school education. I am especially thankful for our PDO Director, LaTara Thompkins, who lovingly guides our staff each week in the development of age-appropriate lesson plans, crafts, and activities. On any given day you might witness painting with ice cubes, tracing the alphabet, or hear the children counting absolutely everything they see. Like I said, something is going on!
Most exciting, we have a wonderful and large group of new parents who are already in discussions about the expansion of our PDO program when space in our building becomes available. We are not only dreaming dreams about the logistics and space use aspects of expansion. We are dreaming dreams about deeply enriching, educational and always loving ways to serve the children and families of North Oak Cliff in big ways. Keep your eyes open as things unfold.
In the meantime, here are some pictures of what’s going on! PDO is currently registering families for our combined Fall 2021/Spring 2022 session. For more information, contact PDO@kpumc.org.
