Senior Connections Senior Connections June 2019

Debbie’s Daycare closes after 32 years in Dassel AMY JOHNSON Correspondent Debbie Burandt closed the door of her day- care for the ﬁ nal time April 5. During the 32 years she provided daycare, more than 150 chil- dren passed through her doors. Burandt’s former daycare families will be hosting a retirement party for her Saturday, May 18, and Burandt is excited for the oppor- tunity to reconnect with her past daycare kids and families. Through the years, Burandt stayed in touch with her former daycare children, watching them grow up to attend prom, graduate, and get married. Many former daycare kids sent their own children to Debbie’s Daycare. In fact, Burandt started her daycare with Ron and Betty Rauschendorfer’s kids, and when she closed last month, their grandchildren were in her care. Many things have changed since Burandt opened her doors 32 years ago. When Debbie’s �� Daycare opened in 1986, families paid $1.25 per hour for one child, $1.50 for the second child, and $1.75 for the third. When she retired last month, the cost was $30 per day for one child, and $15 per day for each additional child. Burandt described how a daycare home is dif- ferent than a center. One of the primary differ- ences is, in a daycare home, the older children interact with the younger ones. At a daycare center, the children are assigned to age-speciﬁ c rooms so the after-school kids don’t cross paths with the toddlers and infants. When describing the environment at her home daycare, Burandt said, “What is great is you have the infants and the 2-to-4 age groups here, and the after-school kids love interacting with the younger ones.” Burandt described what a typical day was like: The daycare starts at 7 a.m. when the ﬁ rst children get dropped off. Once all the kids ar- rive, breakfast is served,” Burandt said. “After break- fast, everyone heads outside for a walk (if the weather is nice). Once back at the house, they play games un- til lunch. Then, it is nap- time from 1 to 3 p.m. After nap, the children set the table for a snack (and the kids love helping set up). We have the snacks ready for the after-school kids. Once they get off the bus, everyone has snack togeth- er. During snack time, we talk about the day, then ﬁ n- ish off the afternoon with a fun activity like ﬁ nd the Frisbee or hide and seek.” Stories from a daycare family �� 2 Senior Connections June 2019 Debbie Burandt is shown here with two of her former day care children, Dani Johnson and Alicia Johnson. SUBMITTED PHOTO patience and her loving way with the kids. I don’t know how she did it at nap time, but she always had those younger ones well-disciplined enough for them to stay lying down, even when they weren’t asleep. She truly had a knack. She disciplined the kids, yet they loved and respect- ed her very much. I know our girls still give her big hugs whenever they see her. She was a big part of their lives.” Brenda’s daughter, Alicia also had some kind words to share. “Whenever I see Debbie today or when I think about all the fun I had there 10-plus years ago, I’m ﬁ lled with joy and appreciation. Look- ing back, Backwards Day was everyone’s favor- ite, and birthdays were the best! Debbie always gave my little sister, Dani, as much chocolate syrup as she wanted, and that’s something she and I will always remember. Words won’t ever be enough to say what Debbie and my time in her care mean to me.” When Burandt announced to the children that she was retiring, their reactions ranged Brenda Johnson’s daugh- ters attended Debbie’s Daycare until the ages of 9 and 10. “Debbie was like a sec- ond mom to them,” John- son said. “She helped with the potty training and get- ting them off the bottle, which was very much ap- preciated. What I admired More DAYCARE on Pg 7 most about Debbie was her Senior Connections HJ.COM

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