Week of the Young Child: Foster Grandparent Program celebrating children

This is the 50th Anniversary of the Week of the Young Child, April 10-16, an annual celebration sponsored by the National Association for the Education of Young Children, the world’s largest early childhood education association, along with the Iowa Association for the Education of Young Children and other state associations. The purpose of the Week of the Young Child is to focus public attention on the needs of young children and their families and to recognize the early childhood programs and services that meet those needs.

By Jennifer Lantz, FGP Director

The Foster Grandparent Program helps meet the needs of children every day by mentoring, tutoring and offering emotional support.

The Grandparents act as a special friend to the children in day care centers and schools across the area. They encourage them when they are having a bad day, help them learn and do their best when it comes to their education, talk to them about their problems, play with them and have a special bond while loving them as the friendship grows stronger.

In this Week of the Young Child, we are proud to say the Foster Grandparents in the area make this their regular mission.

Beginning March of 2020, all Foster Grandparent had to stay home to stay safe. This was a hard time for the program with many uncertainties along the way. A few went back to their sites in the fall when schools started back with safety measures in place.

Now almost all the Grandparents are back at their sites, wearing masks, washing their hands and most of them have received their vaccines.

After going through the pandemic and not having any contact with the children, these Grandparents were excited to start serving the children again.

“I love the smiles, hugs and reactions I receive from the babies when I walk into the room,” said Aletha Berding-Powell. “It makes my day! I believe the biggest impact on the babies are they sense that I am calm and loving to them. If they have had a tough morning, I can usually calm them down.”

Her favorite story is the time a little boy, who was almost a year old, fell headfirst into an empty, shallow toy box. He said, “Gamma, gamma, I’s stuck.”

Powell serves at TLC in Charles City and has years of experience calming and playing with the babies in the room.

Foster Grandparent Tammie Garber joined the program more than a year ago and serves in Mason City.

“Grandma Tammie is great with all our preschoolers,” said Carol Jara, Sugarplum Preschool director. “She takes the time to sit and talk with them, engage in pretend play, ask questions, and work on skills with them. The kids love seeing her every day and ask where she is if she’s gone!”

Wanda Ward, who is 90 years old, said, “There are many reasons I enjoy being a Foster Grandparent. I enjoy the program and the fellowship with the other grandparents. It also gets me up each morning and out of the house. I enjoy the kids and they keep me on my toes. Each day is different and each kid is different. There are a few bad days but it’s mostly good days.”

Ward said she feels like she has a special bond with each student and enjoys helping whoever needs help. She said she learns something new each day from her students.

One year on her birthday, the teacher sent her to the office to get something and when she came back to the room it was dark. She opened the door, the lights came on and the kids were right inside the door and yelled “Happy Birthday.”

She said she was so surprised, and everyone enjoyed cake. The best part for her were the handwritten birthday cards, she said. Ward serves at Lincoln Elementary in Charles City.

The Grandparents are in the classrooms and day cares in the area and it always makes them feel special when they receive an invitation to former students’ graduation parties.

They all have fond memories of watching their students grow up and become part of the community. They hope their experience with them helped them grow into the person they have become, and enjoy when these former students who are now adults call them “Grandma” or “Grandpa.”

Colly Huebsch has been a Foster Grandparent for several years in Osage and said, “It is important because there are a lot of children who really appreciate your help and the time. I truly love what I do, working with these students.”

During the pandemic she missed the kids so much, but she has been on Zoom with them. This lifts her spirits and she loves it. She listens to them read or reads a book to them.

Area schools and day care centers say they love having a “Grandma” or “Grandpa” in their rooms and know helping and caring Grandparents can make a difference in the students’ lives.

The program offers residents age 55 and older an opportunity to serve children in schools, day cares, preschools and Head Start programs. They serve as mentors, caregivers and tutors.

Whether a child needs comforting or help with spelling, the Foster Grandparents are there to encourage them to do their best. And while serving their students, sites and communities, the Grandparents find out this is just what they needed in their lives.

The program brings them together and it changes both of their lives for the better. They break through the generational gap and become lifelong friends in many cases. This helps both groups with their self-esteem and their sense of belonging. These volunteers can change children’s lives forever.

The program is currently looking for new Foster Grandparents to serve children in Floyd, Chickasaw, Cerro Gordo and Mitchell counties. Many children are struggling due to the pandemic and there are many over the age of 55 who are struggling also.

Grandparents receive a tax-free stipend and many other benefits while schools and day care centers can always use a helping hand.

For more information about the program, becoming a Foster Grandparent or becoming a Foster Grandparent site in the four-county area,call Program Director Jennifer Lantz at (641) 257-6327.

Celebrate the Week of the Young Child by becoming part of a program that makes changes for the better one child and one Grandparent at a time.