GNOME’S CORNER CLOSES; EQUIPMENT DONATED
Nina Moore is not a happy camper; after 28 years of running Gnome’s Corner, she has had to throw in the towel. That is almost three decades of lovingly tending to the little people in our community, those ranging in age from 2 ½ to 5 years.
Back in her native Finland, (home to the happiest people in the world), when she was in high school, she first starting helping out with preschoolers in general and then specifically at her friend’s mother’s day care center.
She took child development classes at Mendocino College in 1992 and in May told three people in her class that she was going to open up her own center.
At the time she was working at Leonard Lake and, although her older daughter was able to accommodate to being with her mother as she worked, her toddler son needed more of his mother’s one-on-one time.
She started looking around town for childcare and with televisions serving as baby sitters, she did not like what she saw.
So, she and her husband Randy, now-retired Pomolita English teacher, had a 512 square foot house built next to their home on the west side of town and, for the first month, with their permit still not finalized, she opened her day care center using their bedroom and office.
On Sept. 2, 1992, she had five people knocking on her door and in no time was operating Gnome’s Corner at her licensed capacity of 14—with no advertising, all through word of mouth.
“Little people have always been very drawn to me, throughout my entire life” she says. “They still are; they just come up to me.”
For the first 18 years she operated from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and in the last 10 years changed her schedule to 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
She has been assisted in her daily routine by Michelle Woods who worked with her for 25 years and Tara Hire, both of whom started when they were in a work study program at the high school; and Jennifer Tabor and her sister Melissa Smith who now runs the Montessori School at the Fairgrounds.
The kids arrive between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. with a lunch from home and then there is free play around the kidney-shaped table the Moore’s built that is set up with art, puzzles, sea shells, magnifying glasses.
Her program is Waldorf oriented with wooden desks and chairs that she and her husband also built, wooden toys, no television, lots of books. small manipulative blocks and wooden cars, garages, houses and toys.
At about 10 a.m. everyone cleans up and gets ready for snack. They wash up and stand by their designated seat at the table waiting as everyone finds their place. Then she tells them they may sit down.
“Using the word “may” gives them a choice but is also very clear in what we are asking.”
Moore supplies the snacks—a variety of 10 fruits and vegetables each day.
“It’s what I did for my own kids,” she says.
They finish, are excused and bring their plates to the sink in the kitchen.
Then to the carpet for circle with books, songs, finger puppets, instruments and seasonal art projects.
There are, of course, potty breaks and time outside.
At 12:30, they take their shoes off, return to their little house and sit down at the table to eat the homemade lunches that have been set out for them.
Then it is time for reading, napping, drawing, puzzles and relaxing until their parents pick them up.
Originally, she was going to close shop in 2009 when her youngest graduated from high school but she loved it so much she just continued.
She had no intention of retiring from doing child care but the arrival of COVID-19 changed her plans.
“I figured when we closed down last year at this time that it would be for maybe 2 or 3 weeks; I was naïve.”
Not all childcare centers closed but with grandchildren of her own she did not want to put anyone in jeopardy.
Not knowing what else to do, she waited and waited and then waited some more, hoping she would be able to reopen.
“Then it got worse; I was devastated and I didn’t know what to do.”
She didn’t want to open, close and reopen, deal with the possibility of COVID and perform the necessary extensive cleaning required by the pandemic so last month she realized she was done, that she was going to close permanently. But what to do with all her stuff?
She had read about the new Hopland Charter
School, called local teacher Leslie Barkley and asked her to make arrangements to come see what she had.
Barkley was overwhelmed and blown away.
“I donated it all to them. They are coming to pick it up tomorrow.”
There are lots of art supplies, paints, markers, pencils, reams of paper, wooden tables, chairs, cubbies and boxes and boxes in the little house and outside in her yard.
Although she has come to terms with her decision and feels good about being able to donate all her materials, she is heartbroken.
“I miss everyone; we were a community and there’s a huge void; I feel that I lost something. I’m grieving big time and not yet sure of what I’m going to do next.”
There was no graduation for the 5-year-olds in preparation for kindergarten and there was also no real kindergarten for those kids to attend in the fall.
She says she misses the times with the fathers who would come and hang out for an hour to watch and talk.
“I would give them hints about how to deal with their children at home or remind them how important it is for them to remember their wives’ birthdays or Mother’s Day. It was all a blessing.”