{"id":2457077,"date":"2020-04-12T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-04-12T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/?p=324230"},"modified":"2020-04-12T17:53:24","modified_gmt":"2020-04-12T23:53:24","slug":"local-early-learning-and-child-care-providers-continue-to-support-aspen-families-despite-covid-19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/local-news\/local-early-learning-and-child-care-providers-continue-to-support-aspen-families-despite-covid-19\/","title":{"rendered":"Local early learning and child care providers continue to support Aspen families despite COVID-19"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"swift-gallery p402_hide\" readability=\"6.5609467455621\">\n<ul id=\"imageGallery-324230-458\" class=\"gallery list-unstyled gallery-container\">\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/childcare-atd-041220-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/childcare-atd-041220-1-1024x682.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times | Cooper Gellert, 4, buckles his bike helmet as his mom, Lacey Gellert, left, and little sister, Sloane Gellert, 1, take a snack break in the shade outside of their home on Wednesday, April 8, 2020. According to Lacey, her and her children spend several hours outside playing every day. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)\" class=\"swift-gallery-slide h-100\" readability=\"4.8739495798319\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"20.470588235294\">\n<p><strong>Cooper Gellert, 4, buckles his bike helmet as his mom, Lacey Gellert, left, and little sister, Sloane Gellert, 1, take a snack break in the shade outside of their home on Wednesday, April 8, 2020. According to Lacey, her and her children spend several hours outside playing every day. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)<\/strong><br \/>Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times<br \/><a class=\"buy-link\" href=\"http:\/\/aspentimes.mycapture.com\/mycapture\/remoteimage.asp?backtext=Return+to+AspenTimes.com&amp;backurl=https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/local-early-learning-and-child-care-providers-continue-to-support-aspen-families-despite-covid-19\/&amp;image=https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/childcare-atd-041220-1-1024x682.jpg&amp;notes=https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/childcare-atd-041220-1.jpg\"><i class=\"fas fa-shopping-cart\"><\/i> Buy Photo<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/childcare-atd-041220-1-1024x682.jpg\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/childcare-atd-041220-1-1024x682.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Cooper Gellert, 4, buckles his bike helmet as his mom, Lacey Gellert, left, and little sister, Sloane Gellert, 1, take a snack break in the shade outside of their home on Wednesday, April 8, 2020. According to Lacey, her and her children spend several hours outside playing every day. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)\"><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/childcare-atd-041220-1-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/childcare-atd-041220-1-1-1024x682.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times | Cooper Gellert, 4, rides his bike as his mom, Lacey Gellert, left, and little sister, Sloane Gellert, 1, take a snack break outside their home in Aspen on Wednesday, April 8, 2020. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)\" class=\"swift-gallery-slide h-100\" readability=\"3.8577075098814\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"18.324110671937\">\n<p><strong>Cooper Gellert, 4, rides his bike as his mom, Lacey Gellert, left, and little sister, Sloane Gellert, 1, take a snack break outside their home in Aspen on Wednesday, April 8, 2020. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)<\/strong><br \/>Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times<br \/><a class=\"buy-link\" href=\"http:\/\/aspentimes.mycapture.com\/mycapture\/remoteimage.asp?backtext=Return+to+AspenTimes.com&amp;backurl=https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/local-early-learning-and-child-care-providers-continue-to-support-aspen-families-despite-covid-19\/&amp;image=https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/childcare-atd-041220-1-1-1024x682.jpg&amp;notes=https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/childcare-atd-041220-1-1.jpg\"><i class=\"fas fa-shopping-cart\"><\/i> Buy Photo<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/childcare-atd-041220-1-1-1024x682.jpg\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/childcare-atd-041220-1-1-1024x682.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Cooper Gellert, 4, rides his bike as his mom, Lacey Gellert, left, and little sister, Sloane Gellert, 1, take a snack break outside their home in Aspen on Wednesday, April 8, 2020. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)\"><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/childcare-atd-041220-1-2-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/childcare-atd-041220-1-2-1024x662.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times | Cooper Gellert, 4, Sloane Gellert, 1, and Lacey Gellert take a stroll around their neighborhood in Aspen on Wednesday, April 8, 2020. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)\" class=\"swift-gallery-slide h-100\" readability=\"1.9126213592233\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"14.344660194175\">\n<p><strong>Cooper Gellert, 4, Sloane Gellert, 1, and Lacey Gellert take a stroll around their neighborhood in Aspen on Wednesday, April 8, 2020. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)<\/strong><br \/>Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times<br \/><a class=\"buy-link\" href=\"http:\/\/aspentimes.mycapture.com\/mycapture\/remoteimage.asp?backtext=Return+to+AspenTimes.com&amp;backurl=https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/local-early-learning-and-child-care-providers-continue-to-support-aspen-families-despite-covid-19\/&amp;image=https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/childcare-atd-041220-1-2-1024x662.jpg&amp;notes=https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/childcare-atd-041220-1-2.jpg\"><i class=\"fas fa-shopping-cart\"><\/i> Buy Photo<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/childcare-atd-041220-1-2-1024x662.jpg\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/childcare-atd-041220-1-2-1024x662.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Cooper Gellert, 4, Sloane Gellert, 1, and Lacey Gellert take a stroll around their neighborhood in Aspen on Wednesday, April 8, 2020. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)\"><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"caption-toggle\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/local-early-learning-and-child-care-providers-continue-to-support-aspen-families-despite-covid-19\/#\" class=\"show-captions\">Show Captions<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/local-early-learning-and-child-care-providers-continue-to-support-aspen-families-despite-covid-19\/#\" class=\"hide-captions\">Hide Captions<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText DropCap\">For Aspen resident Lacey Gellert and her family, the past few weeks have been all about finding a balance and creating a new daily rhythm.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Not unlike other families in the Roaring Fork Valley and across the U.S., Gellert said having her, her husband and their two young kids all at home every day due to the coronavirus pandemic and its related public health orders isn\u2019t easy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cYou don\u2019t really get a break, there\u2019s no time to catch your breath. It\u2019s nonstop,\u201d said Gellert, who works part-time as a personal assistant but has mainly been caring for her 4-year-old son Cooper and 1-year-old daughter Sloane during the COVID-19 crisis.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cIt\u2019s challenging, for sure, but things are starting to click this week. We\u2019re all settling into this new routine of it just being us.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col\">\n<div class=\"row at-donation at-donation-mobile p-0\">\n<div class=\"col-xl-4 p-2\">\n<div data-bg=\"url(https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/AT-logo-white.png)\" class=\"p-0 mt-2 mb-2 h-75 text-center rocket-lazyload\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/AT-logo-white.png\" class=\"logo m-0 p-0 invisible\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-bg=\"url(https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/at-banner-paypal.jpg)\" class=\"col-xl-8 p-3 text-center rocket-lazyload\">\n<h3 class=\"d-inline mr-3\">Support Local Journalism<\/h3>\n<p><button class=\"btn d-inline\" type=\"button\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/donate\/?utm_source=article&amp;utm_medium=website&amp;utm_campaign=donation&amp;utm_term=&amp;utm_content=mid-article\">Donate<\/a><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Although Gellert said her family\u2019s new routine means lots of outdoor games and activities together, it also includes daily video Zoom calls with her children\u2019s Aspen Mountain Tots peers and teachers along with constant support from the toddler and preschool program amid the pandemic.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cDawn really bolsters our mornings with the meetings every day at 8:30 a.m.,\u201d Gellert said. Dawn Ryan is the director of Aspen Mountain Tots. \u201cIt helps us get ready for the day and I feel like I can call or text her any time because she knows we\u2019re all probably having a hard time with this adjustment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Similar to Ryan and Aspen Mountain Tots, many of the child care and early-learning facilities in the valley physically closed due to COVID-19 are continuing to connect with their students and support families through virtual meetings, social media and newly created online resources.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Woody Creek Kids teachers are filming themselves reading books and students are still keeping up with some of their learning, including watching videos of the school\u2019s incubator to see how chicks hatch from eggs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The Aspen School District and Aspen Country Day School are continuing their curriculums, too, through virtual read alouds, video lessons and at-home science experiments.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Early Learning Center teachers are pushing out a variety of virtual learning tools and activities to maintain connection on a weekly basis. And Aspen Mountain Tots has themed morning meetings every weekday from show-and-tell to PJ parties for students, along with daily emails filled with activity ideas for parents.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cFor me, the most important thing is staying connected in every possible way so we have a foundation for when we come back together,\u201d Ryan said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cTo hear from teachers on a weekly or daily basis is a real positive for everyone throughout all of this,\u201d said Carrie Tippet, executive director of the Early Learning Center in Aspen. \u201cIt\u2019s important for students and teachers. They all miss the same structure and time together.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Many child care and early-learning facilities also are waiving tuition fees during the pandemic and seeking federal, state and local funds to help keep staff paychecks whole until their buildings can reopen.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">For some families, however, virtual learning and enrichment activities aren\u2019t enough. That\u2019s why Kids First, a city of Aspen department that both helps local families access child care services and supports county child care and early-learning programs, has stepped up to help match qualified staff and teachers from the area\u2019s closed facilities with children of essential workers who may still need in-person child care.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">This emergency child care acts as a referral system, meaning Kids First matches a care provider with a family. However, the specifics of how often the provider works and how much they are paid is between the provider and the family, according to Shirley Ritter, director of Kids First.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Ritter also said there are some ways Kids First can help families with essential workers who normally couldn\u2019t afford child care in the first place, let alone right now, if they are in need of it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cThis was the compromise we came up with to be able to still help the community but not have a program open where you might have a much higher number of kids,\u201d Ritter said. \u201cWith little kids, there\u2019s just no such thing as social distancing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The number of families who have contacted Kids First in search of emergency child care has been low so far, Ritter said, noting that number may increase if the county sees a surge in severe COVID-19 cases. However, Ritter feels people are more concerned with what recovery looks like coming out of the COVID-19 crisis, namely what jobs will be available and what child care and early learning centers will be open.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">After the Great Recession, Ritter said there was an increased need for child care financial aid. Kids First is anticipating that need again post-pandemic, which it is preparing to help with if needed through some of its reserve funds.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Ritter recognizes the challenges many parents are facing right now trying to juggle work, care for their children, follow the public health orders and guidelines and maintain as much normalcy at home as possible. That\u2019s why Kids First recently <a id=\"N0x2ea7520N0x2dc3290:N0x2ea7520N0x2ea3d88\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cityofaspen.com\/1283\/Parenting-During-COVID-19\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">launched a new website with resources for families with young children<\/a><i class=\"fas fa-external-link-alt\"><\/i>, and why she commends the Aspen area\u2019s child care and early-learning centers for continuing to provide fun and educational activities to their students virtually and for sharing their ideas with their colleagues and with parents.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cThis is a very resourceful group,\u201d Ritter said of Pitkin County child care and early-learning providers. \u201cMost of the programs we\u2019ve talked to have teachers that are preparing learning packages to drop off or doing some virtual storytelling and other activities with the families they normally serve, and I think that really illustrates what kind of partnership should be going on anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Morgan Ruppenkamp, a lead teacher in one of the toddler rooms at the Early Learning Center, is one of the local teachers working to maintain connection with her students during the COVID-19 crisis.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Over the past few weeks she\u2019s videoed herself leading lessons on friendship skills, helped her students learn why they should practice good hygiene like handwashing, held Zoom video calls with her students and shared lots of craft and activity ideas with parents to keep everyone connected.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cIt\u2019s a hard time for us, because as teachers we take our jobs very seriously and I love all of these students so much. I miss them,\u201d Ruppenkamp said. \u201cI feel like this situation has shown me anything is possible when it comes to learning and staying connected. \u2026 I just think it\u2019s important to keep our tight-knit community and to know we\u2019re not in this alone.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">With the help of local child care programs and early-learning centers, along with their own creativity, parents like Gellert and Betty Schou feel they can make it through the COVID-19 crisis, which may even have a lasting positive impact on their families\u2019 lives.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cIt\u2019s definitely been an adjustment and challenging, but it\u2019s also a strange gift in a way because of the time they\u2019re able to spend with each other,\u201d Schou said of her two kids, Jens, 6, and Eliana, 3. \u201cThey\u2019ve had the time to rediscover toys and have been left alone to explore and play. \u2026 It\u2019s a beautiful thing to watch.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Gellert expressed similar thoughts, acknowledging each family\u2019s own strategies and ability to persevere.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cEvery family is going to figure it out in their own way. You can\u2019t go over it, you can\u2019t go under it, you have to go through it,\u201d Gellert said of the COVID-19 crisis. \u201cFor us, we\u2019re trying to set short-term goals, say yes as much as we can and keep everyone\u2019s love buckets filled as much as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText Tagline\"><a href=\"mailto:mvincent@aspentimes.com\">mvincent@aspentimes.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/local-early-learning-and-child-care-providers-continue-to-support-aspen-families-despite-covid-19\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: The Aspen Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Cooper Gellert, 4, buckles his bike helmet as his mom, Lacey Gellert, left, and little sister, Sloane Gellert, 1, take a snack break in the shade outside of their home on Wednesday, April 8, 2020. According to Lacey, her and her children spend several hours outside playing every day. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2457077","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-local-news"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-18 04:43:41","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSPN The Valley&#039;s Quality Rock","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2457077","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2457077"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2457077\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2457087,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2457077\/revisions\/2457087"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2457077"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2457077"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2457077"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}