Chiquita Southerland, Founder, Nurturing Nature Child Care, LLC
One of life’s small, simple pleasures is hearing gratitude and happiness in someone’s voice. It’s easy to experience when listening to Chiquita Southerland describe her amazement in learning her small business, Nurturing Nature Child Care, LLC, was a grant recipient. “It was such a blessing and it wasn’t double or triple but ten times the original amount,” she cheerfully relays.
Chiquita is referring to a grant from Fiserv’s Back2Business COVID-19 relief program and the Milwaukee Bucks. Initially she was told it was for $1,000. The day of the presentation, however, at Fiserv Forum, Chiquita and fellow recipients were each given $10,000.
In a recent conversation with Small Business Milwaukee, she indicated the funds have been used for staff training, day-to-day operations, and field trips. Some of the children at her center have never had the opportunity to go, for instance, to the Betty Brinn Children’s Museum or visit the Milwaukee County Zoo. That changes when they are enrolled at Nurturing Nature Child Care.
These aren’t just fun day trips merely designed to keep kids occupied. Instead, they are an important part of Nurturing Nature’s social, philosophical, spiritual, and educational framework—all of which is best defined by Chiquita herself.
Starting with her staff, Chiquita says they are “early child care professionals.” When referring to them, the word “babysitter” is never used. All her Nurturing Nature professionals understand the first five years of a child’s life is the most critical in instilling good morals and values and establishing relationships. All of them want the children to feel safe and loved. It’s equally important they stay connected with the parents.
Chiquita and her staff sometimes consider themselves “second mommies and second daddies” because they spend so much time with the children during their waking hours.
So, she says, “We try to keep our parents updated on a lot of the kids’ first moments, such as their first steps.” And that’s just a small portion of all the communicating Chiquita does with her parents. She does it by calls, texts, and emails. She does it to inform, educate, and guide. “I don’t like my parents to panic. I want them to feel comfortable and secure. And sometimes I have to educate some of my parents because they get misinformation,” Chiquita explains.
If, for instance, the center has to implement a new procedure because of COVID-19, Chiquita herself calls every parent and then follows up with each of them by email. To make communications easier and more efficient, she plans to have a website developed and to use social media platforms more.
Child care is a daunting responsibility, but it doesn’t intimidate Chiquita. “The reason why I’m not is because I really believe I was born to do this and I believe God has given me the things I need to do this,” she explains. “Any time I ever begin to get anxious, I just stop and pray. I know that every child and every parent who comes to the door are meant for me. This is my calling.”
At Nurturing Nature Day Care, Chiquita says, “We do a lot of reading with the kids. I’m big on learning. I’m not one to say, ‘Here, sit down with this piece of paper and do this worksheet.’ We are hands-on learning because kids learn best when they’re playing. They learn best naturally.”
She elaborated, “We’re sitting down with the children. We’ve having conversations with six-month-olds because we believe they understand what we’re talking about. We’re reading to them because we understand as they listen to the words coming from the book, as they’re looking at the book, as they’re helping flip the pages, they are helping their brains make connections to the world around them.”
The care and attention given to the children by Chiquita and her early child care professionals are extended, in some measure, to the parents, as well. She explains, “Taking care of families is very important. The parents need nurturing, too, whether they know it or not. Asking them how their day is going is important to me. And I tell my staff that, as well. We may not be able to hold a long conversation with them at the moment of drop off, but it’s important to see how people are doing.”
All the children and parents at Nurturing Nature Day Care receive the very best of what the center offers. The wonderful thing is that the staff receives much in return. Says Chiquita, “We may take care of the children, but they take care of us in so many ways. They come up to you, give you the hug you need, give you love. They just bring that joy.”
If you’d like to connect with Chiquita Southerland, email her at [email protected] or call her at 414.585.9710. Nurturing Nature Child Care is located at 5810 W. Fond Du Lac Ave, Milwaukee, WI, 53218.