Jen Berkner took a break from day care and tried a desk job once. She quickly learned it wasn’t for her.

 

Berkner prefers chasing kids, not sitting in a chair all day.

“This is what I was meant to do,” said Berkner, who has been named 2008 Goodhue County Licensed Child Care Provider of the Year.

Berkner has been running her day care center, Jen’s Place, since 1997. She watches six to 10 kids on any given day at her Wanamingo home.

 

“There’s never a dull moment,” Berkner said. “The kids learn something every day, and they all teach me something every day.”

Megan Brady nominated Berkner for the award. Brady, also a Wanamingo mom, said her day care provider always has fun activities planned for the kids.

There’s daily walks, an annual sleepover and homemade birthday cakes and presents.

Berkner also has an entire room — complete with a special pint-size mirror — dedicated to her day care children. The mother of three takes a portrait of each child, frames it and puts it in the playroom.

“She treats every child so special all the time,” Brady wrote in her nomination letter. “I can tell all the kids respect her and listen to the rules.”

A few times a year, Berkner allows parents to leave their kids with her a little longer — at no cost — to finish up last-minute holiday shopping or to enjoy a quiet dinner.

For Christmas, she made a scrapbook for each parent chronicling their child’s journey with her.

“I don’t know how just one person can plan all that,” Brady wrote in her letter. “She’s truly amazing.”

Berkner said the award — and Brady’s letter — touched her heart and brought her to tears.
“It made me feel like, ‘Wow, I’m appreciated,’” she said.

At Jen’s Place, positive reinforcement and distraction are the rule. Older children receive timeouts, but for the most part Berkner keeps things under control by keeping kids occupied.

“If someone is upset about one thing, then we’ll get in a circle and all sing a song,” Berkner said.

Berkner said she also is a fan of wiping each child’s slate clean every day — or every hour, if need be.

Berkner will receive further recognition today at a the Minnesota Licensed Family Child Care Association Recognition Banquet in Brainerd, Minn.

Full text available at The Republican Eagle.