A Spoonful of Sugar

Mary Poppins to begin consultation next month

For many years, the Crayon Box, located in Marsh Hall, has nurtured and cared for children ages 0-5 years. Offering not just daily childcare but a foundation for future academic learning, the Crayon Box provides developmentally appropriate programming in a cheerful, fun-filled environment.

Recently the idea was presented to bring in a highly qualified individual to offer Crayon Box-specific training, rather than sending staff to outside training events.

“We were thinking kind of along the lines of Super Nanny,” says Kristy Conklin, director of the Crayon Box, referring to a popular cable television show where professional nannies enter a home to help parents improve their child-rearing skills. “We were looking for someone who has taken care of children, and successfully advised their parents, for many years and has experience in a variety of ages, families and situations.”

Their initial query returned dozens of applications, from which Conklin set up numerous interviews, coincidentally all scheduled for the same day. However, something strange happened on the morning of the scheduled interviews.

“I had just arrived at the office and noticed that several of the interviewees were already outside waiting for their appointments,” she recalls. “As I hung up my coat and straightened my desk, I heard a whirling of wind outside the window.”

Conklin remembers going to her office window and watching debris whip around in the sudden strong gust, which disappeared as quickly as it started.

When Conklin opened the door to invite in the first of the interviewees, she found only one applicant where minutes before there had been a group. Confused, Conklin peered up and down the sidewalk outside Marsh Hall, but no one else was nearby.

“Since the one remaining applicant seemed very respectable and well-put-together, I invited her in,” says Conklin. “I noticed, in particular, her very unique umbrella with its parrot-head handle.”

The applicant’s name was Mary Poppins, and her resumé was, according to Conklin, “practically perfect in every way.” The most notable item listed was her previous experience with a well-known British family in the early 20th century.

“It seems crazy that someone could have possibly cared for children 100 years ago and yet still be viable to care for them in today’s world,” says Conklin with a shake of her head. “But the results of her intervention with Jane and Michael Banks are irrefutable and her reputation is impeccable. We couldn’t let this opportunity pass by.”

In the end, Poppins was hired by the Crayon Box to do a complete Andrews-specific training for the Crayon Box staff connected with each age group.

Her month-long consultation begins May 1. Some items on her training list include kite-flying, horse racing, Step In Time and precise measuring of a “spoonful” of sugar.