State lawmakers visit Granville daycare

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State elected officials Jabari Brisport, Andrew Hevesi and Dan Stec with their chiefs of staff and Exploration Acres co-owners René and Paul Leonard.

Two New York State Senators and one Assemblyman made the trek to Exploration Acres in the Town of Granville on Dec. 1 to witness the benefits firsthand of the “play-first” learning approach in daycares.

City-based elected officials Senator Jabari Brisport (D, 25th District covering Brooklyn) and Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi (D, 28th District covering mostly the Middle Village and Forest Hills region of Queens) were accompanied by their inner circles and Senator Dan Stec (R, 45th District covering the North Country) to take a tour of the Granville-centered daycare that has been operating since April 2019.

René and Paul Leonard are the two providers for the childcare facility that operates Monday through Friday from 6:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. with 12 children enrolled in their program located on State Route 149.

They can be contacted at 515-836-8807 or through the “Exploration Acres” Facebook page.

The Leonards said they were incredibly honored to have three elected officials from different walks of life and political viewpoints want to know how they can help smooth operations further.

“I didn’t think they get to see the other side of childcare,” René Leonard said. “I was so glad to see elected officials take interest in group-childcare.”

The visit began outdoors with the state leaders walking through the snow and observing the laughter, playing and comradery of the children aged 3 through 5. Hevesi was mightily impressed by the wonderland-like forest full of ribbons, obstacles and fake birds in the low-hanging trees.

“How did we arrive in Arrendelle (from Disney’s Frozen)? This is amazing, it’s magical,” Hevesi said. “This is a great place to grow up!”

The Leonards moved to Granville from Iowa where they first experimented the play-first model of instruction with a heavy emphasis on being outdoors as much as possible, expanding the imagination and developing critical thinking and life skills.

Left to right: State Senators Jabari Brisport and Dan Stec, Exploration Acres co-owner René Leonard and State Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi have fun at the music station at Exploration Acres.

With Tonka trucks, wheelbarrows and a music station outside and plenty of coloring books, books and toys on the inside, the children were able to take steps at obtaining knowledge by sharpening sensory skills.

“We kind of leave it up to the kids,” she said. “We didn’t have the woods (in Iowa)… It (Granville location) kind of just expanded and got more and more fun.”

Brisport, a former educator, commented on his initial observations, what childcare providers are struggling with and the importance of play-based learning to him.

State Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi playing in the snow with children at Exploration Acres who are learning their colors by spraying colored water into the snow.

“Incredible sense of play from the kids. A lot of really good social-emotional work. I don’t see any fights, any crying. The kids aren’t only having fun together, they play well together and they collaborate really well together and you can see the effects of play-based learning,” Brisport said.

“Kids learn very well through play, through games and when it’s fun and engaging to them,” he added. “So you can see them learning their colors outside by just squirting around (colored water bottles in the snow) there and if we’re talking about an early childhood education system, then play has to be some component of that.”

Brisport and Stec agreed they expect discussions on action on this important issue to begin soon with all levels of the state government, including Gov. Kathy Hochul. Brisport added it may take time but it is a needed decision to improve legislation to make things easier on providers.

“We all asked that question in a couple different ways, what is the state doing that it could do better or how have they been to work with? And her (René Leonard’s) answers were fairly complimentary,” Stec said. “She didn’t have any major complaints. I think a lot of it, whether it’s this line of work, this business or anything, nobody likes a moving goal post. They like something that is predictable, you know what the rules are, you know what the expectations are and you just live by them. Then, if they aren’t moving around a lot, the next focus is are they where they should be, are they reasonable?”

Stec mentioned difficulties he found in childcare facilities in Plattsburgh are the “barriers” of regulations for providers like René Leonard. Pam Wells, president of Voice CSEA, was present for the tour and touched on her observations elsewhere and why there is a struggle registering and qualifying providers.

“Policy does not necessarily support regulation,” Wells said. “You have to have regulations that allow you to operate in the best interest of the family… things do have to change because parents change and businesses change.” Wells had the three politicians in full agreement with her statement that the number one priority to childcare providers is the “caring and teaching of children.”