The value of mixed-age child care

​Yesterday was a fun day at Rising Star Child Care! Our youngest member is learning to crawl, and all of the children were cheering him on! His first efforts to get on his knees and push forward were met with words of encouragement and clapping of his older peers. What joy!
 
It made me so happy to watch Aiden’s grins while receiving the acknowledgement of his friends. It’s as if he knows he’s about to do something great, and he finds extra strength in the support he’s receiving from them. This embodies one of the many things I love about mixed-age child care; when children recognize and appreciate the milestones of their much-younger peers, it helps to reinforce traits of awareness, leadership, sympathy, and support.