Behind the Door....a Betrayal of Trust

We were dismayed by the front page story of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel last Sunday: DRUG DEALERS USE CHILD CARE AS FRONT

Reading the details, we never anticipated that we could use "homicidal crime boss" in the same sentence as "daycare" and "exploration of vernacular architecture." Apparently the $340,000,000 annual budget for Wisconsin Shares and some "regulatory gaps" facilitated the severing of a basic human contract between parent, child and caregiver.

Subsequent articles itemize the discoveries of the state auditors.

Entire Series at JSOnline Watchdog Reports/Cashing in on Kids

skippity do

We've been watching the short documentary film "In The Street" filmed by Helen Levitt, Janice Loeb, James Agee. Here's what we found on our streets....

Human Rights Day

Article 26 from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the General Assemby of the United Nations in 1948 declares that parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.

As we drive through the economically striated neighborhoods of Milwaukee, the choices have a flavor all their own.

Read the full text of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Living in Destiny

With last night's first snowfall, this scene in the window of the Living in Destiny Daycare, Empowered Child Curriculum, makes me hope for an enlightened spring.

Daycare International

As we prepare for December 6, St. Nicholas Day.
http://www.stnicholascenter.org/Brix?pageID=867

Open Arms....Close Doors

Open Arms Academy was stripped bare last week. Daycares, which I habitually pass at 30 miles per hour, are bright flowers on the urban wallpaper. They are fixtures in my peripheral vision until they disappear and prompt me to contemplate how and why "all things are always changing" and wonder "now what are they thinking!?" We offer a decisive moment in social history.

Bittersweet Gains

The Wall Street Journal reports "The composition of the nation's work force is approaching an unprecedented benchmark. Due in part to deep layoffs of men, women are poised to become the majority of workers for the first time. As of September, women held 49.9% of the nation's jobs, excluding farm workers and the self-employed, a rise of 1.2 percentage points from their 48.7% share when the recession began in December 2007. In 1970, women held 35% of jobs."

We aren't sure what is going on behind these lively windows in privately run daycare centers, but finding affordable, quality, safe childcare is a still a struggle for many.

MomsRising.org has this call to action: Right now, our U.S. Senate is considering the Early Learning Challenge Fund which would invest $1 billion a year for 10 years in early care and education. Tell the Senate to step up to the challenge and pass the Early Learning Challenge Fund today:http://momsrising.democracyinaction.org/o/1768/t/9251/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=926

Blessed Coming In!

Milwaukee, Wisconsin, has an abundance of lovingly embellished daycare centers. This is one of the choir of angels from Sweet Angels Community Center where the door welcomes the "Blessed Coming In".

The celebration continues.....

The intersection of Sesame Street, Burleigh Street and Fon du Lac Avenue.

Veronica's Family Daycare

What better date to initiate this archive of our current project than on the 40th anniversary of the great American mythic locale: Sesame Street?