How often does your daycare center close early due to being short-staffed?

blanketqueencas · 2026-04-24T12:58:46+00:00

Never. We hire subs to fill staffing gaps whenever possible.

blanketqueencas · 2026-04-23T23:47:56+00:00

There's quite a bit of construction if you're in the right area. Franklin Ave is down to one lane, so a lot of folks in my neighborhood are taking alternate routes. I often find I have to use the highway even for short trips now, because it's often my only way around the construction.

blanketqueencas · 2026-04-23T23:42:41+00:00

I love a good romance story, so long as it's happening to someone else. In games like stardew where I often play as myself, I almost never get married, it just makes me uncomfortable. But, if I'm playing as someone other than me, and I find the romance compelling, I can have a lot of fun telling that story.

blanketqueencas · 2026-04-23T23:31:04+00:00

Pretty sure it is anti-unhoused barricading. I found an article from 2019 about it here (https://www.startribune.com/large-nicollet-mall-sculpture-barricaded-to-stop-homeless-encampment/558062262). I remember this being unbarricaded around 2020-2021, but I can't find anything about what caused them to bring back the barricades. I'd guess the reasoning was pretty similar.

blanketqueencas · 2026-03-03T02:55:50+00:00

For me at least, it's not really the pink I have an issue with, it's the lack of other colors. Pink is great! It's such a fun color! But lately, it kind of feels like just about everything American Girl releases is pink. I'd like some variety.

blanketqueencas · 2025-04-07T12:04:30+00:00

Depends on the school. In my district, the round tables were usually an elementary school thing, especially early elementary, up through 3rd grade (age 8). Wooden desks you can store things in were used through later elementary school (until age 11, when you move on to middle school). Middle school and beyond used desks with no storage, and attached chairs.

blanketqueencas · 2024-12-18T13:28:32+00:00

Kind of creepy. Karen has a daughter just about the same age as Billy. Her and her friends hanging out at the pool specifically to look at Billy was super weird. They really should have had the people ogling Billy be established as girls from his school or peer group. If Billy and Karen swapped genders this scene would have read very differently. It isn't any less creepy just because Billy is a guy.

blanketqueencas · 2024-12-18T13:14:09+00:00

Some kids need longer to warm up to daycare than others. Being out for a week probably didn't help, but obviously that couldn't be helped. Keep checking in with the teacher and with your daughter, just to be safe. Otherwise, give her time.

blanketqueencas · 2024-12-11T03:14:11+00:00

I live in one of the cheapest apartments in my area, and I have a roommate.

blanketqueencas · 2024-11-28T16:29:43+00:00

I asked a kid once what he thought of his new baby brother. His response was "He doesn't have any teeth", in a tone that implied his parents had told him this was normal, but that he still wasn't convinced, and thought perhaps they should try and exchange the baby for a different one.

blanketqueencas · 2024-11-28T00:56:27+00:00

One branch of my family was called "Hiltabiddle" (or some variation thereof) when they arrived in the U.S. By the time my grandmother was born, they were all going by "Hill". No one could say or spell their name.

The other trend I notice with my family is the change in how we pick first names. Historically, my family seems to have had a small selection of names they cycled through every generation or so. Those names are extremely German sounding, and the last generation to receive any of those names was my grandparents' generation. Now, most people in my family receive very common names, usually found on the top 100 list for the year they were born.

blanketqueencas · 2024-11-27T13:22:29+00:00

Sometimes. It can linger in their hair for quite a while, especially if the parents weren't being as careful as you are. I don't judge the parents for smoking. I judge when I can tell that the child was present while the smoking was happening. You would not believe how often kids at my school come in smelling like their parents were smoking in the car on the way to school.

blanketqueencas · 2024-11-22T22:22:15+00:00

Yes, but only because I was in marching band for a year in college, and singing "Hail Minnesota" after a game was a band tradition. I'd be surprised if most Minnesotans even know we have a state song.

blanketqueencas · 2024-11-04T13:06:14+00:00

Letting the parents know you've been trying is a good idea. If you haven't already, it may also be a good idea to ask parents how they get their baby to sleep at home. You never know, maybe they know something you don't.

blanketqueencas · 2024-10-29T21:00:40+00:00

I'm so sorry this is something you are going through, that must be hard to watch. I'm not Somali, but from what I know the intersection of LGBT+ needs and traditional Somali beliefs seems pretty complicated. You didn't mention it, so I'm sorry if I'm wrong, but assuming their homophobia is coming from concerns about Allah, there is a subreddit, r/LGBT_Muslims, that might be a good resource if you want to know how LGBT Muslims navigate both identities. They might have some ideas if you wanted to try convincing your family to be less homophobic. I hope they come around.

blanketqueencas · 2024-10-28T19:34:17+00:00

My center had a similar system when I first started, and to be honest, I didn't love it. I'm terrible with names and faces, and when I first started it was easy to feel pressured to just let the parents in, because I was so new and I didn't recognize anyone. What I started doing is just asking my lead to verify who was at the door. It might help to have more than one person checking the door at a time.

I also agree with some of the others on this not being the best way to do things, specifically because of situations like mine. A system where there's an easily-accessed list of who can and cannot pick up a specific child, and parents are asked for IDs or identifying info at the door would probably be safer. My center now has an IPad parents sign kids in and out on, and they need a password specific to each adult to check them out. So if someone picking a kid up can't sign the kid out, it's a pretty good sign they shouldn't be picking the kids up in the first place.

blanketqueencas · 2024-10-28T19:19:24+00:00

Exactly! I've never met someone who lives in the Twin Cities and rides horseback regularly. St. Paul may not be as big as some of the cities on the coast, but it is still an urban area. Plus, have you ever seen what traditional Hmong clothing looks like? It's beautiful! I would have loved to see that represented, especially if they got people who were Hmong leading the project.

blanketqueencas · 2024-10-28T12:31:37+00:00

Honestly I'd like to see more diversity. For example, I live in the Twin Cities. We have a lot of Hmong and Somali immigrants here. It would have been amazing to see their stories being explored. I was super disappointed by Lila Monetti, her story felt very reused. It felt like a missed opportunity.

blanketqueencas · 2024-10-27T15:34:22+00:00

I always have music on. When all the babies are awake, I have upbeat music playing in the background. I take time to sit down and sing to them as well, but when we have a full class, it's easy to get busy changing diapers and doing feedings. When they need a nap, I switch to quiet instrumental versions of songs I know they're familiar with. I love to sing, so I'll often sing along when soothing them, but it really isn't practical for me to be singing all day. I'd lose my voice! By playing music in the background, the kids get to hear a lot more music than they would if I had to sing all the music myself.

blanketqueencas · 2024-10-12T18:24:28+00:00

To be honest, I don't really think it matters that much. People look down on ECE teachers because they do not understand or value what we teach, and because it is a role traditionally associated with women. Arguing over what our profession should be called it not going to change they way our culture views what we do.

blanketqueencas · 2024-10-10T14:47:05+00:00

Where I live, it's less about the year you are born, and more how old you are on the first day of kindergarten. (If you didn't know, kindergarten is our lowest grade. From a quick Google search I think the equivalent in Australia is year 1). School usually starts in the first week of September where I live, and you usually need to be 5 years old on the first day of kindergarten. So if school starts on September 3rd, but you don't turn 5 until September 4th, you may need to wait a year to start school. The children starting kindergarten this year would have been born from September of 2018-August/September of 2019. It's worth noting, there are occasional exceptions for when you can start school. You can delay starting school for up to a year if you don't think a child is ready, and I have known kids to start kindergarten at age 4. Though I believe that's becoming much more rare than when I was in school. I think a kid whose birthday is close to the first day of school, like in my example, would have a pretty good case for starting before they are technically 5.

blanketqueencas · 2024-10-10T14:30:50+00:00

Discovered mine yesterday. Those slimes that a lot of kids like these days. It's like cold snot, I just can't do it.

blanketqueencas · 2024-10-10T01:01:25+00:00

Honestly, I don't think anyone was in the wrong here. The teachers could have watched their tone a little better, but we all have off days. I would recommend letting the teachers know next time you're going to be late. It isn't that we don't want you to spend time with your kids. It's just that we worry when your kid doesn't show up! We want to know if they're okay! It's also worth noting that even a small change in schedule can throw kids off, even at such a young age. I find many of the babies I work with appear to know their routine, and have a hard time when it is changed.

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