We Love Sonbeam

The Famous Mrs. Rhoda

About ten years ago, I commuted to and from work with a friend. Every afternoon on the way home, we would stop to pick up her daughter from Sonbeam Day Care. Vanessa was always in a such a good mood when she got in the car and often sang to us or told us exciting stories of her day. I remember thinking that if I ever had kids this would be a good place to take them.

Five years later I stood in the Elephants classroom at Sonbeam, trying to make myself leave my new daughter, home from China for less than a month. She was sobbing and wailing "Mommy, Mommy, Mommy" over and over. The wise women at Sonbeam told me to go, that everything would be okay. One of the hardest things I've ever done was turn around and leave. I sprinted across the room with tears running down my face and cried all the way to work. Of course Annie was just fine and within a few days had to be dragged out of there every night.

That was the year Mrs. Rhoda, the teacher of the Elephants, came into our life. All the teachers at Sonbeam are wonderful, as is the Director, Miss Karen. Mrs. Rhoda, though, has had one or the other of the kids in her class for almost five years now. By the time Annie finished the first year of preschool, being with Mrs. Rhoda and all the other kids helped her not only learn English, but adapt to a completely different culture and way of life.

That fall Annie went off to kindergarten, but at the beginning of the next summer, we were back at Sonbeam with both Annie and her new sister, Bethany. The girls spent the summer together with Mrs. Rhoda and the Elephants. When it was time for Annie to go to first grade, we thought for sure there would be separation anxiety for the girls, but Bethany sailed right through her first year of preschool with Mrs. Rhoda and all the other great staff members. She really blossomed that year.

The next summer they were back at Sonbeam and we were waiting for our paperwork to go through to bring home Jack. After he came home in November, we thought we would have him at Sonbeam for the rest of the school year, but the separation anxiety was real this time and we put him in the kindergarten at school with his sisters. That summer Annie and Bethany were moved up to other classes and enjoyed being with their friends from the prior summer. Jack got to be in Mrs. Rhoda's class and loved it.

Yesterday the kids started back at Sonbeam for the summer. I talked to Miss Karen and Mrs. Rhoda ahead of time about Jack's surgery and reluctance to walk and how he would need assistance. There was no hesitation - they told me just bring him in and they would handle it. Although we have been working with Jack and he has been going to PT, he has veen very, very scared to do anything on his own. He sat on the walker's seat and propelled himself along by the tips of his toes. We hoped that being around other kids, running and playing, would inspire him to get moving.

It didn't take long. Yesterday when I picked them up, Jack said "look what I can do!" and he pulled himself to a standing position holding onto the wall. In the tub later that night, he looked at me and said "Mommy, I need to walk!" Today was even better. Not only did he figure out how to get up into the walker by himself, he stood up in the walker and walked a few steps with his feet flat to the ground. Major progress.

Coming back to Sonbeam is kind of like coming home. Sadly, next summer will likely be our last at Sonbeam because Annie will be nine this year and will be getting too old for their program. We feel very lucky to have found them, though, because their warmth and caring, along with all the learning (and fun) has made such a difference our the kids' lives.