Provider Spotlight Interview: Lindsey Brown

BKC: How long have you been in child care? 

Lindsey: This year in May will be 13 years! 

BKC: How many children do you have in your care from day to day? Do you have any employees? 

Lindsey: I have 8 preschoolers and 4 before- and after-school kids. That is going to change once I move. I'm going to have 10 preschoolers, and the school-agers will only be there in the summertime when I have a summer camp.  

I work by myself. I have had employees in the past, but it just didn't work out because I wasn't able to provide benefits for them. But I like doing my own thing, working by myself. My husband is my substitute. We keep his file all up to date in case I'm not feeling well, or if I need extra help. 

BKC: What got you interested in child care? 

Lindsey: When my kids were little, I wanted to be home with them but still make a little money. So, I started a family child care and opened it up to some other families in the area. It made it so I was able to be home with my children and also to share our property, the garden, and the farm animals, with other kids. 

BKC: How has your philosophy about child care or child development evolved from your experiences? 

Lindsey: It has evolved a lot! When I first started, I opened my child care with my kids' toys in a spare bedroom. Now I have both inside and outside nature-based programs that have completely transformed from just regular plastic toys to all open-ended toys and manipulatives and loose parts. In the past five years I have really delved into nature-based education and getting my Nature Explore certification. I've also completed a lot of education since opening. I started with a high school degree; now I have my bachelor's degree and my director's credential. I'm always learning more. It's interesting to look back and see where I started and where I am now. I would have never thought back then that I would have become like the program that I am. It's been, like I said, very transformational. I still can't believe everything that I've done in my program. It's kind of hard to believe. 

BKC: Well, it's really inspiring. So, you should be proud of it, for sure. 

BKC: What makes your days great? 

Lindsey: Seeing the kids happy and seeing them really be free to enjoy the environment that I created for them. Seeing the kids happy—that's enough for me to keep wanting to try to make my program better, seeing them learn new things. We go on nature hunts all the time and the kids—because we do that every day—remember things like, "Oh, there's an eagle" or "Oh, there's that maple tree." They're learning new things that I don't think they would learn on their own without being in my program. So just seeing them learn new things, kind of seeing my love of nature rub off on them, makes me keep going, and it just makes me very happy. 

BKC: What makes your days tough? 

Lindsey: It can be hard when a child is misbehaving, or maybe they're just having a rough day and don't want to be here. It kind of tends to have a ripple effect and then more kids are like, "Oh, I need a hug or I don't feel well, I want to go home, too. Can you call my mommy?" But I notice once we get outdoors it seems to be better. It's like everybody feels like they're free once the walls aren't there. You know, you can just be free to just be happy or just be. But it's very difficult when kids are having a hard day and especially if I'm having a hard day, too. 

BKC: How do you use Better Kid Care? 

Lindsey: I've used Better Kid Care for years. Before I was going to get Nature Explore certified, I needed nature-based training to get my certification. So, I went to Better Kid Care and took "Get Outdoors. Explore."

I actually just took today the training about loss and death because I have a professional development in the works and we're going to have different animal skulls for the kids to explore and observe for loose parts in our program. I got inspired by a book, and then the author is also going to be part of the professional development training. But I wanted to be a little better about talking to the kids, about the inevitability of death and loss, and that training really helped me to feel more confident with that because it's not an easy thing, I don't like to talk about that. But some of my kids struggle with loss because of their goldfish, or their dogs, or even family members. So now I feel a little more confident about just being open and honest with them about it. So that's another way. Better Kid Care has helped me just today. 

It also helps my husband and I to stay compliant with our child care program so that we can do the health and safety trainings, different trainings throughout the years we've done so that we can get our hours in every year. 

It's also helped me become a better facilitator. I'm on my 5th cohort of "Create Healthy Futures" right now, and I really enjoy doing that program. And that is from Better Kid Care as well. 

Better Kid Care has helped me in a lot of ways over the years, and I'm really thankful for it, because, you know, they have the free offerings a lot of the time, and I just enjoy the trainings. I also like that you can't just sit there and press the play button. My husband and I were talking about how that has changed over the years—now you have to answer the questions, and it helps me to be more engaged with the material. 

BKC: What keeps you going as a provider? 

Lindsey: Just knowing how important and valuable my job is to the next generation. It just honestly keeps me going, keeps me motivated because I know what children need. I know that they need nature. I know that they need less teachers telling them no, they need to be free, just like we do as adults. We don't want everybody telling us what to do all the time. When I let them outside, I don't have to say no very often, it just makes everybody happier. I find what I do every day very fulfilling, and that's what keeps me going. 

BKC: What do you wish more people realized about child care? 

Lindsey: I wish more educators would be on board with a nature-based approach. I don’t think preschool-aged children should do worksheets all day long. They need to be able to move their bodies, use their imaginations, explore, and be inquisitive. I wish more educators would see that instead of worrying about the box curriculum and sitting down to do worksheets. 

BKC: What do you wish professional development and/or policy people would know about your work? 

Lindsey: I wish there was more openness to certain things. For example, there are not a lot of policies around outdoor play and outdoor learning. Child care providers don't need to have outdoor play areas—it is not a regulation in Pennsylvania. I understand in big cities you might not have the space, so they have like a big open floor for children to run and do their gross motor activities. But one thing that I've learned is that outside is not just for gross motor. It can literally be an entire classroom; every learning domain is there. And so, I wish that that would be more spelled out with more policies to support and help structure outdoor learning environments.  

BKC: Anything else you are excited to share? 

Lindsey: I want to tell everyone to be patient; things don't happen overnight. I'm finally getting a separate child care facility from my home after thirteen years. Good things come to those who wait. Be patient because I know there are a lot of people who struggle with that. I've done it for years. I've watched other people as their whole programs have changed. And it's like, "Oh, my gosh! When am I going to get there?" And now, finally, I'm getting there, and I'm going to be able to have woods for the kids to explore. So, we're going to do it. It's just going to be a lot better than what it is now—it's just continuing to transform and I’m so excited.