The preschool children at Skyline College’s Child Development Lab Center in building 14 paid the facilities team on campus a visit to show their gratitude for all their hard work on campus as well as the center! The Facilities team provides first-rate quality, professional, and responsive engineering, custodial, grounds, facilities planning & construction management services to the campus community and the visitors to the District. The children, ages 3-5, noticed a few key facility team members around the center. The educators at the center discussed with the children the important work the facilities team provides and how they help around the school. These things include keeping the center clean, fixing broken fixtures, groundskeeping, etc. The facilities team is always willing to help and promptly complete requests from the educators, and they are kind and friendly to all the children and staff while at the center! The children and staff planned to show their gratitude by making apple jam, cupcakes and a thank you sign. They then walked to the facilities maintenance center and thanked the facilities team! Thank you to everyone in the facilities team for all the hard work they provide!
The Child Development Lab Center provides high-quality early learning care and education to the children of students, staff, and faculty at Skyline College. The educators there know the importance of teaching gratitude in the early years. But why is it important? This quality is fundamental to healthy brain development. For survival, the brains of all human beings need relationships and connection with others, and in early childhood, children are learning how to connect, how to relate to others, and how to build relationships. Being a part of a community, such as Skyline College, will lay the foundation for how children relate to others in the future. Every time there is an experience, brain cells ‘fire’ and join with others, and these links create associations and change the brain. If children regularly experience and practice gratitude, neural connections will strengthen and create a more permanent grateful nature. Not only that, but expressing gratitude increases our serotonin, dopamine, and oxytocin levels in our brains, which makes us feel calm and happy.
“Piglet noticed that even though he had a very small heart, it could hold a rather large amount of
gratitude.” ― A.A. Milne, “Winnie-the-Pooh”.
For more information on early child care services, please check the Skyline College Child Development Lab Center website or contact the center director, Christine Herndon at herndonc@smccd.edu or call at 650-738-7071.
For hiring information at the center, please check the Skyline College ECAP/Early Childhood Apprenticeship Program website, contact Michelle Amaral at amaralm@smccd.edu, or call 650-738-4340 to apply.
If you are interested in Early Childhood Education, please check the Skyline College Education and Child Development website to learn more about ECE classes and degrees.
Article by: Michelle Nava
Photo by: Amanda De Souza
