What a month. It included an unexpected snowstorm and ended with bright sun and spring flowers. Last fall, at our staff training day, each staff member planted a couple of bulbs. The bulbs were to be a reminder of our work with children - the payoff for our investment of hard work can be months (or even years) down the road when the child masters a new developmental milestone.

When the bulbs began to sprout, I happily remembered last fall's staff training day and how hard our staff worked to prepare for our licensing inspection in October. When the bulbs were socked by the snowfall, I was disappointed and fearful that our work would be for nothing, but I should have had more faith. After the snow melted, the flowers all bounced back. These new blooms join ones that were planted by Lindsey Quill and her Universal Pre-K students a few years ago.

In a small way, this experience reminds me of the challenges of our work. Individual situations present enormous hurdles that seem insurmountable at the time, and we somehow find a solution. Funding woes, challenging behaviors, illness, lower than planned enrollment in some age groups and then waiting list in others, losing a good teacher who does not want to leave but simply could not turn down a better paying job, etc. - all of these situations make our daily life at Neighborhood House interesting and challenging.

In all of these challenges comes opportunity, if we can ask the right questions and work together to find the right answers. Providing a high quality program that deserves and is worth support from the community is our goal. Support from the community, such as our United Way grant, gifts from individuals and local foundations, and attendance at our annual children's carnival (scheduled this year for Friday, June 22) is essential if we are to stay open.

On the snowy Monday of April 16, even though it was school break, we still had nearly 50 children here whose parents were at work. I am grateful to our staff members who braved the storm so we could be open.

One way that we work to build a community here is to help new families get off to a great start and feel secure about the care that their children will receive. Two new children started that Monday, despite the storm, and we were pleased for their parents to know that we are open on bad weather days, unless there is a state of emergency declared.

That unexpected storm provided other examples of how our community works. Our snow plower gave us great service, coming by three separate times. Even so, our driveway became treacherous and a teacher and parent got stuck while trying to leave at the end of the day. Other parents and staff members worked together to push the cars free. A parent saw me shoveling and offered to snow blow our sidewalk. I happily accepted, and he quickly made the sidewalk safe for others.

At Neighborhood House, we have a community wall displaying the children's art work. This season's board features spring with a rainbow and earthworms created by our 4-year-olds, bees and clouds created by our toddlers, ladybugs from our youngest infants, flowers from our mobile infants, raindrops from our mini toddlers and a sunflower plant and birds from our 3-year-olds. Penny Lupo, our program coordinator, works with all of our teachers to create this seasonal wall, and the children enjoy pointing out their individual creations to their families.

Another way we are building a community is by attending a professional training conference. As we work to earn accreditation from the National Association for the Education of Young Children, staff development is an important piece. This year, 18 of us attended the conference. To leave home and family responsibilities for three days and give up a day off without pay is a lot to ask of our staff. In return, our teachers learned many new techniques, networked with other teachers and were reminded of the importance of our work.

My hope is that attending this conference gave our staff a morale boost. This would not be possible unless we closed for a day, and I am grateful for our parents and our board, for making it possible for us to attend.

Working to build a community in each classroom, in our entire building and as part of the larger community is one of the ways that we demonstrate our commitment to providing a great learning environment for the infants and children who attend Neighborhood House. On behalf of our board, staff and families, I wish everyone a happy spring season.

Susan Jones is executive director for the Neighborhood House in Auburn.