It’s time to meet Kelsey Daigle, who says watching inquisitive minds develop is the most rewarding aspect of her work.
Ms. Kelsey, a 5-year veteran employee at NurturEd Early Learning Center’s Cumberland location, says her daily work is so fulfilling in part because she gets to see children grow up as their inquisitive minds develop.
Seeing the way their questions change over time, from what makes leaves grow to sometimes much more complicated topics.
Children shouldn’t be expected to just always hear “that’s the way it is,” says Ms. Kelsey, which is why she takes the time, even when it’s a struggle, to answer. She was raised in a way where one didn’t necessarily ask questions unless they were being spoken to, said Ms. Kelsey, and because she wasn’t allowed to participate in that natural exploration, this topic is even more important to her.
If she doesn’t know an answer, she’ll often say, “Let me ask Ms. Hailey (L’Heureux) or look it up herself, said Ms. Kelsey.
For her, said Ms. Kelsey, she would probably say she prefers to hang out in “their space and world” rather than being around adults, and to get invited into looking at things from their perspective is a privilege.
“I miss being a kid,” she said, laughing. “I would love staying in that realm of fantasy forever, but everyone’s got to move on.”
In her spare time, Ms. Kelsey, a resident of Centredale in North Providence, says she loves watching Disney movies. She used to help coach baseball, she said, but this year she’s doing more spectating at the games than anything. She also enjoys taking short weekend trips or just hanging around relaxing.
Ms. Kelsey started out her career in home-based childcare services for children with developmental and motor delays, and says she loved it.
As preschool lead teacher, Ms. Kelsey says she’s heard it all. Many comments she hears from children are much more funny when thinking back on them later, she said, including that time when a toddler who didn’t want to nap and was trying to test her patience picked up her sleeping cot and then dropped it before asking her how she liked that.
“It’s hysterical to think about it now,” she said.
On her leadership style, Ms. Kelsey said she’s pretty easygoing and generally likes to to fill in gaps where needed. She’s not a natural follower of the pack, she said, nor does she worry a great deal about fitting in.
The new name for NurturEd has been an adjustment, she said, but she likes that it encompasses everything the company is about.
“We’re more than a daycare, we are a facility doing what it can to facilitate young minds to get that first step of education started,” she said.