My Little Angels turns 20

DOVER PLAINS — My Little Angels DayCare & Preschool spared no expense for its end-of-the-year celebration on Sept. 3, bringing out the inflatable water slide and bounce castle, along with other activities guaranteed to make any Friday a blast.

Five children will be going back to school in the coming weeks, including students in kindergarten through second grade. But there was another reason to put a little extra into this year’s festivities, owner Denise Clair explained. In July the day care and preschool celebrated its 20th anniversary.

This year 15 children ages 1 to 7 were enrolled in Clair’s program, which for the past 10 years has been located off Route 22 in what Clair likes to call her “one-room schoolhouse,� a 900-square-foot area complete with little table and chairs, a computer and cubbies for all the children’s backpacks and clothing.

Clair attributed the individualized attention that Little Angels can give each of its children to the program’s uniqueness.

“We’re not like a big facility here,� she said, watching the children shriek and laugh as they got sprayed with the garden hose being used to water the slide. “We can give the kids more individual attention, and it’s a structured program. We thrive on the kids being taught independence and self-esteem.�

The children are taught all of the skills, “at their own level,� they need to bring with them into kindergarten, Clair said.

“My motto is the words ‘I can’t’ are not allowed here,� she affirmed.

Everything’s official at My Little Angels, from the cap and gown ceremonies that accompany graduation to the yellow T-shirts everyone enrolled in the program receives.

Clair also likes to involve her students in community projects. Last year My Little Angels helped collect nonperishable goods to donate to the local Sunday in the Country Food Drive, something that Clair hopes to continue this fall.

After 20 years, Clair said that she’ll sometimes run into former students of the program.

“They still call me ‘Miss Neicy,’� she said with a smile, referring to her nickname among the children.

She’s got a bit of help from her daughter, Allyssa, who is Clair’s assistant, and every once in a while her son, Michael, will show up to join in the fun as well.

“You gotta love your job,� she said proudly, “and I do.�