Joanna Gebel, East Granby to be Awarded National Child Care Teacher Award

The Terri Lynne Lokoff Child Care Foundation (TLLCCF) is proud to announce that Joanna Gebel, at the Apple Tree Children's Center in East Granby, CT, has been selected to receive the 2013 Terri Lynne Lokoff/Children’s TYLENOL® National Child Care Teacher Award.  This exemplary early care and education teacher was selected from a pool of applicants nationwide.  Gebel will receive an award of $1,000 on Thursday, April 11, 2013 at 8:00pm at a special ceremony at Please Touch Museum, Philadelphia, PA.

There are a total of 52 National Child Care Teacher Award recipients for 2013.  Each recipient of the Terri Lynne Lokoff National/Children’s TYLENOL® Child Care Teacher Awards designed an enhancement project that illustrates the educational, social and emotional benefits for the children in their care. With a grant from the awards program, Gebel will implement her project, "Growing Plants and Young Minds". She said, “My goal is to create a garden to share with the entire school as well as our local community.  Our garden journey will begin in the spring and last straight through the fall.  It will provide the children with opportunities to explore many science concepts such as insect and plant life.  We will use math concepts such as sorting, counting, and measurement.  The children will take an active part in the planting, weeding, watering and harvesting of the fruits and vegetables.  This will provide me with the opportunity to teach the children about responsibility and teamwork.  The garden will also provide the children with a chance to become more involved in our community.  Our community is rich in farming and agriculture so we plan on donating some of our produce to our local food bank.  We will also donate items to the parent’s in our school and provide special healthy snacks for everyone.”

A committee of national early childhood educators and experts reviewed and scored the applications. Each recipient receives a $1,000 award: $500 to implement their proposed project and $500 to acknowledge their dedication. 

Dating back to the inception of the Teacher Awards program in 1994, the TLLCCF, with the inclusion of the 2013 recipients, will have presented 739 awards totaling more than $700,000 to early care and education teachers and providers for their dedication and excellence.

TLLCCF Executive Director Allan Miller stated, “Early childhood education is emerging as a necessary beginning for a child’s formal education.  Child care teachers are being recognized for the important role they play in providing the first learning opportunities for young children. Children attend an early care and education program from as young as 6 weeks of age to five years old.  The teachers, particularly those honored as our national award winners, are respected professionals.  Their curriculum-based lesson plans are designed to further children’s natural creativity and stimulate curiosity to explore.  Teachers play a vital role in the development of children. They introduce children to reading and writing, expanded vocabulary, creative arts, science, and social studies. They use games, music, artwork, films, books, computers, and other tools to teach concepts and skills.”

Continued Miller, “Children learn mainly through investigation and play. Early care and education teachers capitalize on children's play to further language and vocabulary development, improve social skills, introduce scientific and mathematical concepts, learn self-help skills and physical independence through play and social interaction. When teachers have done their jobs well, they will have instilled a life-long love of learning in their young charges.”

For the thirteenth consecutive year, the Terri Lynne Lokoff/Children’s TYLENOL® National Child Care Teacher Awards are sponsored by McNeil Consumer Healthcare, the makers of Children’s TYLENOL®.

About The Terri Lynne Lokoff Child Care Foundation

The TLLCCF has been working for 26 years to make America better by improving early care and education. The Foundation has dedicated its resources to improving the quality of child care for children and supporting and elevating the status of child care teachers and providers.  TLLCCF is a nonprofit, nonsectarian 501(c)(3) organization established in 1987 by Kay and Fred Lokoff to honor the memory of their daughter Terri Lynne Lokoff, a devoted child care teacher who died tragically in an automobile accident.  The Foundation continues the work of Terri Lynne and those who work in the field of early care and education to ensure that every child has an opportunity to attend a high-quality child care program.

For additional information about the Foundation or the National Child Care Teacher Awards™, please visit www.TLLCCF.org or call 610.992.1140.

For additional information about Children’s TYLENOL^®, visit www.tylenol.com.

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