Honored day-care

provider feels like teacher,

nurse, social worker, mom

Grausam named

Childcare Professional of Year for county

By RACHEL WEDDIG

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- Dressed in a patriotic, American witch costume for Halloween, complete with the American flag witch hat, children couldn't help but smile when they saw New Ulm resident Kathy Grausam on Halloween.

Grausam was named the Brown County Childcare Professional of the Year and was officially recognized at a banquet this past Saturday.

Grausam learned in March that she was named the Childcare Professional of the Year and rode on a float with some of the children she cares for in the Heritagefest parade in July.

Grausam became involved in day care 25 years ago. She went into day care after her husband's grandmother moved in with them.

"I was home with Grandma and my kids when people would start to call, asking if I would take care of their kids while they went to the store. Then it turned into watching their kids while they went to work," Grausam said. "I decided not to go back to work at 3M and have never been sorry."

Children flock to Grausam's house, 612 S. Minnesota, for Halloween. Her yard is decorated with goblins and pumpkins while Halloween and patriotic songs fill the air.

"When you live next to Kathy, you expect to be busy on Halloween," said Grausam's neighbor, LaVonne Reitter. "But that's OK. I enjoy all the children."

Grausam has several photo albums filled with pictures and mementos from events with her day-care children. Grausam takes the children on trips to "South Park," or what she calls, "Creek Park," behind Schell's Brewery, has them parade around the block dressed for a wedding, takes them on fishing trips to Sleepy Eye Lake and has them bake cookies with her.

"I feel like a teacher, a nurse, a social worker and artist -- basically I feel like a mom," Grausam said. "I love my house, I love to cook. We have the hard days though, like in the spring when we have rainy and muddy weather combined with dogs and kids."

The selection committee accepts nominations for child-care providers that have been in business for three years, are a member of a child-care organization and promote children's advocacy and children's rights.

After the nominations, the child-care provider receives a questionnaire that includes a roster of the children they care for and parents' names. The selection committee then randomly chooses three to five parents to send a questionnaire to about the provider.

From the questionnaires, the committee makes a final decision.

"All providers are definitely worthy of this award," said Brown County Childcare Professionals President Lynn Rowley. "Personally, I know Kathy, and when you walk into her home, it's like what's she doing now?"

On Halloween, visitors to Grausam's home on Halloween are greeted with ghosts and goblins on the porch and once inside, miniature Halloween houses are displayed, along with other Halloween memorabilia. The day-care children are dressed in various costumes running around laughing and playing and "bobbing for apples."

The children who Grausam takes care of each day, care for her as well. When Grausam's collie died, she received a "sorry" note from one of her day-care children.

When the children she takes care of graduate from high school, she includes something they made while in her care with their graduation card.

"You can always walk into Kathy's house and she always has something on her stove, whether it be hot soup or lard," Rowley jokingly said. "All of her day-care children are treated as if they were her own."