Impressed By The Children’s Adventure Center

To the Editor:

As the mother of a 4-year-old who attends the Children’s Adventure Center, I would like to respond to Nancy D. Gordon’s letter regarding the need for more space at the adjoining Senior Center.

Ms Gordon makes a number of valid points. My husband and I, through regular visits to and from grandparents, as well as acts of kindness to seniors in the community, work hard to teach our children how it is important to have respect for the needs of senior citizens. Unfortunately however, it is a shame that Ms Gordon’s point loses virtually all its credibility with her rude, close-minded, and thoughtless “personal” solution.

Clearly Ms Gordon is painfully unaware of what actually goes on next door to the Senior Center. I feel compelled to shed some light.

We moved to Newtown from Manhattan last August. I assumed I would never find a preschool to equal the one I left. We ended up at the Children’s Adventure Center by default. To say I am impressed is an understatement. I hold a master’s degree in Early Childhood Education. I know quite well how a quality preschool experience largely contributes to a child’s future development of effective social and learning skills as well as their ability to place trust in adults. These skills impact their productivity as well as their perception of the world throughout their lives.

Perhaps Ms Gordon’s frustration clouds her ability to remember what it felt like to be 4 years old. The children at the adventure center are being granted an invaluable opportunity to learn, grow, and play in the care of supportive, well-educated, fun, and loving adults. As research shows, this type of early childhood environment is crucial if we want to offer our children (and future seniors) a secure base. The Children’s Adventure Center is giving these kids a leg up toward becoming kind, open-minded, secure, and caring citizens. (Citizens who hopefully have the insight and sense to see that simply wiping their obstacle off the map is not the way to solve a problem.) Thank goodness that this type of supportive environment exists in our preschools as all too often a child’s home life lacks such richness, stability, and consistency.

The solution to Ms Gordon’s problem lies in the very ideas being put into action daily at the Children’s Adventure Center. These include mutual cooperation, respect, empathy, compromise, and the constant flow of new ideas. Judging from Ms Gordon’s letter, she could benefit from spending a little time in the other half of the building.

Suzy DeYoung

9 Gopher Road, Newtown                                        February 24, 2004