Introduction

Hello and welcome!

I am Saralyn Groom, and I am one of the founders of 123 ME! Dayhome. For much of my adult life it has been my goal to create a space that children could consider their second home, where they can explore not only the world around them but also themselves. Where I would be able to help them to find and cultivate their strengths and imbue them with a lifelong love for learning. I’m ecstatic that this dream has now come to fruition.

However, this is anything but a one man show. I have my business partner Audrey Bergsma, who also just happens to be my mother and inspiration for starting me on this path. Then there is also my husband Richard, who is a Red Seal Chef and creates the menu for 1.2.3.ME! as well as being a wonderful sounding board. I could go on and on as I am blessed to have so many people in my village that help me in many ways, but I think I will save that for another post.

Today I just wanted to take the time to introduce myself and our business and give you a brief history on how this all came to be.

As I said above my Mum is what inspired me on this path. Growing up I was the oldest of 5 and my Mum stayed at home to help cover costs and to further help our family would take in a couple of children during the day. I have so many fond memories of doing crafts, sensory activities, baking, going out on adventures, reading stories together and playing in our giant playroom in our basement. My mother is a kind and patient woman who is always there when you need and will make you a cup of tea as she listens. As I grew up whenever I was asked what I wanted to be as an adult my first response was always a Mum. This usual followed with but what kind of job do you want? This answer always changed, there was never one job that seemed to call to me.

 Fast forward to 19-year-old me, I still did not know what I wanted to do with my life. I had worked in different jobs as a hostess, server, cashier and dispatcher but I didn’t seem any closer to figuring out what I wanted to do with my life. This brings us to the second person who helped me to realize my potential and help put me on my path. My now mother-in-law encouraged me to think about going to college which truly hadn’t been something I had put much thought into. I started with upgrading as I took time to investigate the different programs I could apply for at different colleges and universities. One evening I was on Mount Royals website and was looking at the programs they offered and came across the Early Learning Childhood Education Program. After reading their program outline and what courses were involved, I knew I found the program I wanted. Also, since I one day wanted to have children of my own it would only help to have a foundation in Child Development and experience working with kids of a young age. I applied to both it and their general admissions program and was so excited when I got in.

I thrived in this program, I loved learning all about child development, learning through play, learning theories, Reggio, Montessori, Waldorf, etc. There was so much more then I had ever imagined. I soaked up all that I could, immersing myself with all the information and thoroughly enjoyed putting what I learned to practise in my practicums. I found out in this program that I not only wanted to do this to be a better potential Mum but also because I enjoyed working with and spending my days with children, advocating for them helping them to find their path and working with their parents in partnership.  As I learned about the different types of programs offered in Alberta, I knew that one day I would want to open my own Dayhome, but that I also wanted experience in the different types of programs and with a range of age groups. As I moved into the field, I spent 10 years soaking up as many experiences as I could, spent my spare time reading about how other countries around the world ran their programs and tried my best to keep up to date on the latest studies on child development. During my career I was able to work with children from as young as 10 months to 12 years of age and loved the wonders and challenges each and every age group presents.

Over these 10 years I was able to flesh out some of the different Early Childhood methods learning about their strengths and challenges and instead of specializing in one I decided to take a more eclectic approach, one that was child-led and would weave aspects of the different styles together in a way that was best for the group I would be working with at the time. I have been very fortunate to have some wonderful mentors over the years who showed me the ropes and shared with me their lessons they learned through their experiences giving me a chance to see everything from different views and who continuously challenged me to expand my skills and grow.   

Then the day finally came where my original lifelong goal came to fruition, I became a mother! Now I am privileged to live in Canada where I was able to take off the whole first year with my son through maternity leave. That year with my first born T was amazing, and everything I had dreamed of. We did all of the things, story and rhyme time groups at the public library, baby development classes & activities with Gymboree, breastfeeding support group, trips to the zoo, water parks, hiking, fun activities at home, visiting family. It was everything I had ever dreamed of and while yes all my knowledge and experience has come in handy, I still had learn who my child was and what makes them tick, there was still lots of trial and error as we learned how we all worked as a family. Then my maternity leave came to an end. At this point we were still renting a small 3-bedroom apartment, where we had much too much stuff for the space we had. So, while it was my dream to open my own Dayhome I knew I did not have the space to do one at that moment. We also were not in a finical position for me to stay home, especially if we ever wanted to be able to buy a home. Instead, I went back to the wonderful company that I had been working at before my baby was born.

 While I went to work my mother was able to watch our son. We would sit down every other week and plan out activities together that my Mum and I would implement over the following weeks. It was through these planning sessions as my Mum and I talked and worked together that I began to alter my dream from me solely running a Dayhome to running it with my mother, the more I thought about it the more benefits I found with this idea.

Then the world went sideways when COVID hit. I spent a few months at home while everything was closed. This turned out to be a blessing as I was beginning to feel burnt out from trying to find a work/child/life balance (seriously kudos to all the parents out there who work out of the house and find a way to balance work/kids/life) The beginning of COVID gave me the chance to reconnect with myself and my son. When I went back to work, I went back only parttime because most everything was still closed, though I also went back pregnant! This meant that we had to make a plan for our future, because we were about to outgrow our small 3-bedroom apartment and I knew mentally I could not continue to pay someone else to watch my children while I took care of others. About a month before L was born, we ended up getting approved for a mortgage and found our dream home, we would move in when L was 3 months! As I went on my maternity leave, I came to my Mum with the offer to be my business partner with my Dayhome after my maternity leave and she accepted, we have spent much of the last year planning and working out details.  

Now that we are coming up on a year since we moved in, I am ecstatic on how we have been able to set up every area of our home. Part of our approach is to have an environment that is developmentally appropriate that encourages learning through play. To do this we have gone through every single room and have found ways to make them inviting for children. On our main floor that means having sitting area by our front door so children can sit to put on shoes, cubbies for children to place their outdoor items, in our living room we have a bookshelf full of children’s books, a couple of bins for toys, a shelf for all our children’s board games, and stepping stools so children can participate in the kitchen. However, the real magic is downstairs, this is where we set up our playroom! I have had so much fun setting this room and its adjoining bathroom.  We have a baby & toddler area, dramatic play area, blocks & small world play, tabletop activities shelf, a quiet reading nook, craft area and sensory table! We also have a large enough laundry room that I’ve finally been able to organize all our overflow toys into different categories, which makes doing a toy rotation so much easier!!!

I’m so excited to see where this journey takes us, and I look forward to sharing aspects of it with you as we go.

Saralyn Groom