Shape NC helps create healthier lives for children and teachers in child care

Lynette Mitchell has been the director and owner of Harvest Learning Center in Chapel Hill, NC for 15 years. She is in her first year as a Shape NC site. In the video above, Lynette talks about how she’s involved the parents of her center with Shape NC.

Shape NC is a program implemented by Early Years inpartnership with Smart Start that aims to increase the number of childrenstarting kindergarten at a healthy weight. The program promotes healthy eatingand active play for children from birth-5 years old by working with child careprograms to instill healthy behaviors early on, creating a solid foundation fora healthy life.

Early Years’ Communications Manager, Jennifer Gioia,sat down with Lynette to find out how her experience has been with Shape NCthus far.

Jennifer:  How did your center hear about Shape NC?

Lynette:  Swanda [Shape NCTechnical Assistant] called me into the office one day and said, ‘Listen, wehave a great program that we think your center might enjoy and qualify for.’Once she described how it worked, I thought, ‘Oh my goodness, most definitelysign us up. We want to be a part of that.’ We feel like we can grow and becomea better center through this program.

Jennifer:  So, it was personal face-to-face outreach?

Lynette:  Definitely. I didn’tknow about the other sites. Now that I’ve been in the program, I look for them.I actually was Googling the other day and saw there were several Shape NCprograms across the state that have been highlighted in their local newspapers.At first, I thought Shape NC was great just on the criteria alone, but now Isee it’s truly a significant program and the community recognizes it statewidefor what it provides.

Jennifer:  What resources has Shape NC provided yourcenter so far?

Lynette:  Oh, so much. Firstof all, just the educational workshops alone have been invigorating andexciting. I’ve even taken my staff to a couple of the workshops, and that’sjust been invaluable. You know you can give someone a fish to eat for a day,but you teach them how to fish and it’s for life. By giving us that knowledge,we can go on and do a lot of things beyond that. Then you start getting intothe balls and hoops and recipes that they send out. I’m in the first year, butI’ve already gotten so much.

And Ihaven’t even gotten to the playground yet. My husband and I went to NC Statewhere we sat down directly with the experts to design the playground. They’reat our disposal, and have come up with things I would only dream about. Youthink you could open up Home and Garden magazine and see these designs inthere. Like we can do that here? That was just mind blowing. Then Shape NC putus on a bus to Asheboro where we saw a center that’s doing exactly what I am atmy center.

Jennifer:  Why did your center want to become a Shape NCsite?

Lynette:  Let’s just put itout there, it’s expensive, and I’m a small business owner. So, when Shape NCtold me if I’m willing to make these positive changes in my center, they’llcontribute significantly to enhancing my playground space, it was just veryattractive. We have a beautiful natural environment at our center with bigtrees and shade. When I saw some of the designs that NC State could do for uswith Shape NC, it fit perfectly into our philosophy and topography. It was awin-win.

…It was about creating beautiful, relaxingspaces that not only enhance you physically, but mentally and spiritually. Andwe’re a Christian-based center, so when I saw some of the spaces where peoplecan go and be quiet and calm down, but also other places to go and run around,it’s about all of that when you go outside.

Jennifer:  What is the importance of kids consistently getting that nutritional value from child care centers?

Lynette:  Most of my clienteleis middle to upper-middle [income], and a lot of times you think food programsare only for the less fortunate. But I will tell you that these families, whoare working moms and dads running here and there, have the resources but justnot the time to provide the types of meals that they would like to. What wewant to do here is give parents peace of mind that their child’s breakfast,lunch and snack are very nutritious. They may do fast food for dinner, butthat’s okay because they had salmon, wild rice, broccoli and quinoa at schooltoday. I think that’s significant because we’re providing them food for thegreater portion of the day.

Jennifer:  What impact have you seen Shape NC have onyour teachers, the children and on the children’s parents?

Lynette:  I just can’t sayenough. I mean I feel so fortunate. Not many centers get picked each year. Justthe commitment of this entire team, Swanda and her group cannot be morehelpful. Another great thing is the networking. I love being in contact withother sites that have already done it. They have been so helpful and soinspiring. I mean, I forgot which center we went to, but the director keptasking, ‘Is there anything else we can tell you?’ My phone is full of photos,and then one site, I went beyond asking about the playground because I likedthe classroom, too.

I love the way the Asheboro center wanted tohelp. She just kept it real director to director, because when you put all thesebeautiful things on the playground, you need to know how to maintain them. Shetold me, ‘I can tell when I get a new teacher who does not understand how weplay. She’ll be the first one to toss something over a fence and say thechildren didn’t know how to play with it.’ She told me you have to continue theeducation of the staff, so the children know how to enjoy the space.

You can plant all these wonderful herbs, andchildren will romp through them and rip them apart, not understanding that thisis part of the environment and you care for it. This is how we work and play init for it to be a beautiful place for us. So, I was really glad for that goodnote of how to maintain from another director.

To continue supporting the operations of Early Years and crucial programs such as Shape NC, please consider donating today.