By Linda G. Green At first glance, it seems like any other swim class. Little kids float and laugh in the shimmering water on this hot summer day. But one tiny fellow clings to the side of the pool, tears welling in his eyes. He doesn't look to be more that 3 years old and is uncertain about this whole water thing. A nearby instructor murmurs encouraging words and it works. Smiling again, he bravely lets go of the side and splashes into her waiting arms.

 

It might be just another day at Mama Pete's Nursery School, but for these Southern California children, it's filled with life lessons and lots of good, old-fashioned TLC. The dynamo behind this unique facility is Marjorie Peterson (Mama Pete), the 90-year young director.

 

At this school, the 2- to 5-year-olds are taught about colors, shapes, the alphabet, handcrafts and social skills. And in the summer, everyone hops into the pool to learn water skills. Mama Pete's philosophy is simple:"Especially in California, where there's a pool in every other yard, they need to know how to swim. I've had a couple of parents not want to put their kids in the classes, afraid they would drown. I talked them out of it. It's more dangerous if the children don't know how to swim. At least they need to learn how to get out of the water - we don't let them use the stairs; they must climb over the side - and how to roll over and float."

Going Strong

For 62 years, Peterson has devoted herself to offering child care in Sierra Madre, Calif. "I wanted to be a kindergarten teacher, but I was a Depression baby and there was no money for that," she says."Then the war came along. I was taking care of a number of children, running a day-care center in my

For the children: Marjorie Peterson has dedicated six decades to child care, and an important part of the curriculum is swim lessons for all of the 2- to 5-year-olds at her Southern California facility.

 

 

 

home, charging $2 a day. I officially opened the late '40s licensed as a 'family day care.' We even had foster kids for a while."

 

"Then the war came along. I was taking care of a number of children, running a day-care center in my home, charging $2 a day. I officially opened in 1944 licensed as a 'family day care.' We even had foster kids for a while."

 

By 1949, World War II was long over and the youngsters were still dropping by. "My own children were 9 and 12 by then, and tired of having kids playing in their bedrooms," she says. "So we built the school in the rear. In 1981, it became a nursery school, per state law."

 

Not unlike the one-room schoolhouse of the past, this year-round facility has one classroom, a kitchen and bathroom. The four-person staff teaches, supervises, and fixes snacks and lunches for the 24 children each day. In summertime, two swim instructors join the staff. " They're high-school kids with lifesaving certificates. Sometimes they leave our lessons and go to their lifeguard jobs," Peterson notes.