"For all these reasons my wife and I most enthusiastically recommend Elizabeth Greenfield."

July 15, 2008

To Whom it Might Concern:

My name is Richard Geib and I am writing this letter of commendation for Elizabeth Greenfield, an early childhood education professional and most impressive young woman.

My wife and I first met Elizabeth Greenfield when we enrolled our first-born daughter, Julia, at La Petite Academy daycare center. Previously, we had our daughter at a center where our daughter had not thrived. Our little Julia was an intense baby who required much energy and attention, and she had not received that from an overwhelmed daycare provider; our doctor was more than a little alarmed when Julia actually weighed less after two months in substandard daycare than when she started there. Increasingly concerned that our daughter was sitting in her car seat for hours in daycare and not eating, we immediately switched daycare providers to La Petite Academy.

This is where we met Elizabeth. Imagine near-panicked parents whose baby daughter was not gaining but losing weight and “failing to thrive,” and this was our state of mind at the time. We explained the situation to Elizabeth, and she confidently replied, “Don’t worry! We’ll fatten her up!” Where previously her daycare provider had been stretched too thin with too many children to watch, Elizabeth made Julia her priority. Again, Julia was a “high maintenance” baby: she would not sleep unless she was rocked to sleep in someone’s arms, and she would not eat unless patiently fed by a trusted adult; all this required time and attention. Elizabeth did all this and more. As her co-workers explained to us, Elizabeth made Julia her “project.” She invested enormous amounts of effort, attention, patience, and love to our daughter over almost a full year.

And Julia thrived! Where previously Julia came home in a sort of stupor apparently born out of boredom and neglect, Julia under Elizabeth’s care grew physically and matured cognitively. She learned to crawl and climb up and down stairs; her dexterity increased with hour after hour of playing with objects large and small, round and square in the infant room with Elizabeth. Julia also learned to recognize objects and use baby sign language which my wife and I also used at home with her, reinforcing what was learned during the day. Exhausted from all the exercise and interaction during the day, Julia slept better at night. Every time we picked Julia up from La Petite Academy late in the afternoon, it seemed Elizabeth was holding Julia on her hip, arm securely around our little one. Julia was not upset in the morning to arrive at daycare, and she smiled and reached out for Elizabeth much the same as she did for her mother. Julia was soon back at the fifty percentile in body weight for her age. By her first birthday Julia spoke a few clearly discernible words and was on the very verge of walking.

That Elizabeth possesses enormous skill and aptitude in caring for and loving infants goes without saying. But she equally displayed impressive people skills and the ability to communicate with parents. More than two or three times Elizabeth answered delicate, difficult parenting questions that my wife and I had and gave good advice and explained her reasoning well. Elizabeth would take the time to speak personally with us on some thorny parenting matter for up to half an hour. Her explanations were clear and understandable; her rationale and point of view came from layers of personal experience and her professional training in caring for infants. Not surprisingly, her advice was excellent and of much use to us. In past generations, advice of this sort was delivered to new parents by grandparents. Nowadays parents like my wife and I live far from immediate family and rely on someone like Elizabeth. Our debt to Elizabeth, and her co-workers in the infant room at La Petite Academy, is large.

Obviously, we think the world of Elizabeth and will always be grateful to her for having played a central, beneficial role in our daughter’s infancy. But beyond that, even to the layman, it is obvious to me that Elizabeth is a “natural” at her job. A person can be professionally trained and licensed in a discipline and still be a mediocrity in their career, but when someone combines professional training and a natural aptitude it can be a marvel and a pleasure to behold them at work; and such is Elizabeth Greenfield. Even after some sixteen months of fatherhood, I struggle to find my footing in taking care of my baby daughter, but even through my relative ignorance I can recognize training and expertise married to raw talent in Elizabeth.

For all these reasons my wife and I most enthusiastically recommend Elizabeth Greenfield. An often smiling and always optimistic young woman, she is exactly the sort of person a parent wants interacting so closely with their almost helpless, needy baby for so many hours each day. Any baby that finds itself in her charge is a fortunate baby. Any parent who gives their child baby to Elizabeth for its care is a parent that can rest easy that their precious little one is in good hands. We cannot recommend her enthusiastically enough.

Please feel free to contact me should you need any further information on Elizabeth Greenfield.

Very Truly Yours,

Richard Geib

"In past generations, advice of this sort was delivered to new parents by grandparents. Nowadays parents like my wife and I live far from immediate family and rely on someone like Elizabeth. Our debt to Elizabeth, and her co-workers in the infant room at La Petite Academy, is large."

"Elizabeth made Julia her priority. Again, Julia was a 'high maintenance' baby: she would not sleep unless she was rocked to sleep in someone’s arms, and she would not eat unless patiently fed by a trusted adult; all this required time and attention. Elizabeth did all this and more. As her co-workers explained to us, Elizabeth made Julia her 'project.' She invested enormous amounts of effort, attention, patience, and love to our daughter over almost a full year."