Staff of the Week: Diane Wojtkowski
By: Jessica Huang and Lianna Yang
To children, families, and coworkers, Lead Teacher Diane Wojtkowski is always filled with warmth while teaching at the Harris Family Children’s Center (HFCC), where she has been working since 2008. She brings the spirit of discovery and nature to the classroom, enthusiastic to watch her students develop in the early stages of life.
While her toddler son was growing up, Wojtkowski knew she wanted to work with children. “I really have a love for children,” she said. “I love being around them and love learning about how they grow and develop, and other milestones that they hit.”
“What’s most important is letting them be kids and play and explore,” Wojtkowski said. To help the toddlers grow, she provides them with freedom and the ability to “experience things through play.”
As an avid lover of the outdoors, Wojtkowski loves to teach her young students outside and let them interact with nature. “That’s a key component that I bring into our curriculum. We spend a lot of time outside and learning through nature,” Wojtkowski said.
Wojtkowski recalls taking her toddlers to the football fields this fall as part of their outdoor curriculum. “We let them out of the strollers, and we let them run around the fields and just totally be free.” she said. “The kids were happy; We were happy. They were just exploring, and we found deer tracks. We were out there for probably close to two hours, and it was just such a fun day.”
Wojtowski’s colleagues also have many fond stories to share about her. “[Wojtkowski’s] curriculum is child-centered and nature-based,” HFCC Director Mary Driscoll said.
“She challenges her toddlers to explore the natural world around them and promotes a ‘nature-rich’ curriculum,” Lead Teacher Kim Kosow added. “On any given day you might find Diane and her students strolling along Swasey Parkway to visit the mallard ducklings that arrive each spring or taking a moment to admire our local bald eagle soaring above the river.”
According to substitute teacher Nicole Pascarelli, Wojtkowski’s class motto is “not all classrooms have four walls.” Pascarelli also described Wojtkowski as instrumental in facilitating engaging activities for children at the HFCC. Even when her classes can’t be in nature, she brings it to the classroom, turning pieces of bark and pinecones into sensory bins for the toddlers, or teaching students to paint rocks with water. “Playing and exploring outside is a crucial part of our Reggio-inspired curriculum,” Pascarelli said. The Reggio Emilia approach emphasizes student freedom and hands-on learning opportunities.
In the classroom, teacher Linda Felch admires Wojtkowski’s patience. “[Her] ability to appear to remain calm and patient are remarkable,” Felch said. “Even with the hustle and bustle of 10 children under the age of four and a fire drill sounding in the background, she has herself all calm and collected…she is comforting to both the students and her coworkers.”
Wojtkowski also knows how to provide individualized attention when caring for each toddler, according to substitute teacher Donna Cross. “[She can be] kind, yet firm when the need arises,” Cross said. “[Wojtkowski] gets down to the level of the children and [speaks] to them clearly and succinctly so that they may more readily understand what she is conveying. She encourages the children to use their words, gently guiding them out of conflict into a content, peaceful place with effortless ease.”
In addition to being a beloved teacher, Wojtkowski is also an amazing mother and wife, and lives on a farm with her husband and two children. Teacher Kim Clauson, who has known Wojtkowski for five years, commented, “Wojtkowski’s family is most important to her, and she works very hard to keep everything well balanced and running smoothly.” While teaching toddlers at the HFCC, Wojtkowski has also been teaching her children a plethora of skills including but not limited to farming, gardening, cooking, baking and sewing. “They are being taught the reality of where their food comes from and the hard work that goes into that. She is raising her children with strong morals and ethics,” Clauson said.
“Her family takes up all of her heart, and you can tell just by the way she talks about them. She actually gets a sparkle in her eye.” Felch added.
It doesn’t matter if Diane Wojtkowski is interacting with enthusiastic co-workers, her adventurous family, or with curious toddlers. Each person she knows can attest to her kindness, guidance and joy for the progression of life. “For over a decade she has brought countless meaningful contributions to our community,” Miranda Marchetti, a teacher at the HFCC said.