Loving every minute at Lucky Ducks
By MICHELLE BOSWORTH
Staff Writer
As a young teen, living in Wichita Children's Home, Susan Judd used to look out the window and see the students at Wichita State University hurrying off to classes. They looked so happy that Susan decided she was going to one day be among them.
She did. And after eight years of alternately working and going to school, she earned her teaching degree. Remembering her first monthly paycheck of $300, Susan smiles and says she was so thrilled because she felt like she had "arrived."
Over the span of 30 years, she taught at Newton, Perry, and Olathe schools, completed her master's degree in elementary education at the University of Kansas, and earned a certification in elementary gifted education.
Meanwhile, Susan's daughter and son-in-law, Kim and Tom Klein, who were living in Hillsboro, were experiencing difficulty finding a nearby preschool for their daughter. Kim shared with Susan her idea of their beginning a preschool together in Hillsboro.
Susan was already planning to retire from teaching in May of 1999. She decided to test the waters here concerning the demands for a preschool. In January, she ran an advertisement in the paper and the local response was good.
Then Delores Dalke called. A building housing a day-care that was going out of business was for sale. Todd, Kim, and Susan took out a small business loan to cover the building, the property, and a van.
Says Susan, "It was a project we all decided we would give our efforts to. It has been a labor of love and sacrifice for all of us."
Todd works as an executive for a computer company in Wichita and does maintenance whenever necessary on the Lucky Ducks building. Kim, who holds a degree in social work, does part-time work for the Area Agency on Aging as a case manager. She completes the book work and paperwork for Lucky Ducks.
Susan is the director of Lucky Ducks Preschool and also teaches there. She equates the experience of owning the preschool as "skydiving in God's world." She notes, "He is the wind that carries us. We are used to sky-diving in God's world."
Things were so uncertain during the first few years that the group delayed having a ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating the opening of the business until they reached their fifth year. Susan mentioned that in the first year, "people would just flat out leave us with big bills that had to come out of my pocket."
Finishing her sixth year, now Susan says, "We have to be a little more business savvy rather than being teacher oriented."
"There are kids that need the service. We work with people, but the bills come and the money isn't there," shrugs Susan.
Nonetheless, Susan views her life work on a higher level: "I'm not making a living, but I'm certainly making a life. It's better than money."
Lucky Ducks serves about 50 families from Hillsboro and the surrounding area. Preschool is held from 7:30 to 11:30 each weekday morning. Day-care activities are held in the afternoon. Lucky Ducks employees five other teachers besides Susan.
Stephanie Moss worked four years towards a degree in nuclear physics/engineering. She is the mother of three children, and she spends her time at Lucky Ducks assisting the teachers, fixing lunch, cleaning up the kitchen, and generally filling in as the 'jack of all trades.'
Jerrie Kruse is a retired teacher who taught Kindergarten through third grade in Marion. She has worked four years for Lucky Ducks and is there in the mornings with the preschoolers.
Jessica Eitzen is a December Tabor graduate. She has an elementary education degree and works various mornings and afternoons.
Rebecca Forman works at Lucky Ducks four afternoons a week and is currently a Tabor student majoring in elementary education.
Judy Howard is a retired teacher, certified in Missouri and Kansas, and she spends four afternoons a week working with the children at Lucky Ducks.
"We are educators, not baby-sitters," emphasizes Susan. She is proud of her staff's level of education and experience. But to her, their capacity to love children is their greatest asset.
"They can see divine potential in each face," shares Susan.
Her preschool teaches children who are 2 1/2 to 5 years old. The motto for the young ones is 'Playing to learn - learning to play.' Through play and other activities, children learn to become social, verbal, sit still, and focus on an activity for a certain amount of time.
By the time they reach the age of five, the motto has become 'Learning all the time - loving every minute.' The focus for these children is to learn school skills such as counting, letter recognition, number recognition, days/months, phonics, colors, shapes, taking your turn, being patient, sitting quietly, raising your hand, being polite, and focusing your attention. Although these skills are important, Susan feels strongly about others.
"We believe," emphasizes Susan, "the most important thing that our children take with them to kindergarten is a belief that they are beautiful, unique human beings, fully worthy, with potential beyond their wildest imaginings."
Every day, she and her staff work to build that belief into each child.
Susan follows a format that makes learning fun for her children. The students play for a certain amount of time, then they gather for morning circle. There, they sing, recite the flag salute, and go over the calendar activity while remembering to sit still and raise their hand to speak.
When a train whistle clock sounds and lights flash, the children know it is time to have their snack and go outside for recess (if weather permits).
Once back inside, the children enjoy class time where they spend 20 minutes at a table listening to directions, deciding on the supplies they need for a project, getting the supplies, and completing the assignment.
Then closing circle is an opportunity for the children to recap their activities and share about items of special interest from home with others before leaving.
For those children who stay all day, lunch is served. Rest time follows with children watching a movie or taking a nap on their mats.
Student initiated activities begin at 2 p.m. Two computers are available for learning games, or children can choose between painting, play dough, math manipulatives, puzzles, crafts, writing on the computer, or an assortment of various learning activities.
Susan says, "They love me catching them doing something to be proud of."
Often she will take a picture of the children doing something great and put it on a paper with the heading, "Each day I am smarter" or "Each day I make better choices" or some other encouraging heading that describes the situation.
Susan loves to give praise and warm fuzzies. She says, "It builds children's self-esteem, confidence, and love of learning."
In the summer, Susan plans field trips to the Discovery Place in Wichita, the zoo in Emporia, the park, the country to look for fossils, the swimming pool, soccer/basketball camp, etc. She loves to get the children out in the world to learn more about their world.
A long time ago, a young girl was entranced with students on the Wichita State University campus. She wanted to join them in their joyous pursuit of education. And she has. But she has also continued to share that blessing with the young students in her charge.
Says Susan, "We feel like it is a divine privilege to have the children that we are blessed to serve."
Certainly, the children feel the same about her.
