Hurray! Wisconsin schools are on vacation for three whole months! No math assignments. No papers to write. No spelling tests. No homework for 12 weeks. What would you do with 12 weeks off of school? Sleep in? Watch movies? Hang out with friends? Well, for two Kids Corner kids, 12 weeks off of school means taking on a summer job. Sure, they'll get to sleep in a little, watch a few movies and spend time with their friends. But they will also be very busy working.
Stephanie, 14 years old, and Kyle, 12 years old, are working for The Peanut Gallery Family Daycare this summer. Stephanie has worked for the daycare after school and in the summer for many years now since she is the daughter of the owner. Kyle was the first official child to come to the daycare when he was six weeks old, and this year will be his first year working at the daycare.

Steph with Natalie and Anna

For several years now, Stephanie's main job has been to help with the small babies in the daycare. She gets them up from nap and helps feed them. Steph is also the main summer time art project leader and a big help with getting the kids into strollers so we can go to the park. This year she will have a couple new jobs. She will help make meals and clean up afterwards. This can be a pretty big job when you are feeding up to eight kids. She will also be helping with one of the special needs kids this year. She'll help her with learning how to eat and move around and learn some sign language.
Steph says, "I like working for the daycare. I can sleep in a little bit in the morning before I help with the morning chores, and my friends can come over and play with the kids with me. My favorite part of the job is holding the little kids hands when we walk to the park." When asked if she would like to work with kids for a job when she is older, she said, "I want to go to college and take dance classes. Then I would like to be a dance teacher and teach little kids how to dance."
Along with Steph, Kyle helps the daycare by getting meals ready, serving the meals and cleaning up afterwards. Some of his other jobs are helping the kids wash their hands before meals, putting on their sunscreen before we go outside, playing with the kids at the park and reading books before rest time. Kyle says, "I like reading books to the kids because it's fun and I get to read books I haven't heard before." He also likes playing ball with the kids.

Kyle (right front) helps with the kids.

Although Kyle helps with all the kids, he says, "I really like the kids that are 1 ½ to 2 years old. I like to try and teach them stuff and I like to make them laugh." Like Stephanie, Kyle is a dancer. So, he brings music to the daycare, helps the kids get dressed up in costumes and gets them all dancing. Kyle says, "I like the daycare job because I really don't sleep in in the morning and my friends come over to my house every Friday and on the weekends." When asked if he would like to work with kids in a future job, Kyle says, "I'm not sure if I will work with kids when I'm older. I would like to be a professional roller blader."
Kyle and Steph will be two busy KC kids this summer with organizing art projects, making meals, reading books and teaching kids. But there will be time for friends and maybe a movie or two. Maybe… Around the World in 80 Days?
Kids Corner kids have all sorts of talents. What will you be doing for the next 12 weeks?