A member of the UFT Family Child Care Providers Chapter, Valina Vega has run an independent day care business out of her home in Brooklyn for 13 years.

What do you do?

I provide care before and after school for students — and during the day for infants and toddlers — from my home in Flatbush, Brooklyn. Right now, I’m caring for my grandsons, who are 2 and 9, and five school-age children from another family in the neighborhood.

How do you approach teaching and learning with the children in your care?

I am a seed planter. From when they are as young as 6 months old, I set my children up in a swing or seat and I do short lessons as if they’re in school. I teach things like colors and numbers. Children benefit from structure and routine before the bigger demands of kindergarten.

I go on a lot of outings with them. I have memberships to places like the Brooklyn Botanical Garden, the aquarium, all the zoos — places where the children see things to ask questions about. We don’t use baby talk. We speak to the children properly so they can develop their vocabulary.

When I pick up the children from their school, I talk to the teachers and ask how it’s going or if there’s anything we should be focusing on with the homework.

What professional learning do you receive?

I’ve received training from the UFT on CPR and on health and safety. My union is on top of their game and keeps me open to more education.

How would you describe your relationship with the parents?

As providers, we always keep the parents present. I take so many videos for the parents that I’m always buying more digital storage space! For Christmas this year, I’m giving each of the families a flash drive full of footage so they can see their children grow from the time they started with me to the present.

The parents need to work, and I’m here to help pick up that slack. I help the children understand that. I say, “Your mom and dad have to work. They’ve got to make sure you have clothes, food and shelter.”

What languages do the children at your child care center speak?

English, Spanish and French. I’m bilingual, so we do Spanish Tuesdays. We focus on the basics — food, colors, numbers, please and thank-you. My grandchildren speak Spanish. The children from the other family speak French at home, so my goal is for them to have three languages. As many languages as children can get early on, that’s great.

What’s your favorite memory from your career?

One day toward the end of the school year, a 12-year-old in my care broke his leg. All summer he was in a cast, and I had to keep his leg elevated. We carried him in and out of the van because I didn’t let him miss any of our activities.

No matter what these children go through, I’m there for them. I can’t explain the love I have for them. My faith is important to me, and I believe God wanted me to be with these children. It’s like they’re my own.

—As told to Hannah Brown and Carly Sorenson