Retired teacher finds new niche to work with kids

By: JEFF FRANK - Staff Writer
Editor's Note: North County is filled with people who volunteer their time to help others. This is the story of one of those volunteers. | Sunday, June 12, 2005 8:54 PM PDT ∞

ESCONDIDO ---- Working with children is nothing new for Peggy Fruechting. A preschool teacher for 20 years in Santa Clara before retiring to Escondido with her husband, Fruechting quickly found herself volunteering as a reading tutor and room "grandmom" at her granddaughter's school. An outing with that same granddaughter brought her to a bigger volunteer opportunity.

Walking along Grand Avenue, they spotted the just-opened Escondido Children's Museum in a small, temporary storefront space.

"I came through the door and thought, 'What a neat place.' The person at the desk asked, 'Do you want to help? We're short of volunteers.' That was it," said Fruechting.

Since then, Fruechting has made herself an indispensable member of the children's museum's corps of volunteers. Moving on from working at the reception desk, Fruechting now plans and coordinates the special Saturday programs at the museum's expanded home in Studio 1 at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido.

She also played a big role in developing the museum's current math exhibit, built around a giant abacus the museum obtained when a San Diego computer museum closed down. She helps plan other exhibits and is what museum director Katie Ragazzi calls, "The keeper of the off-site collection."

That's a fancy phrase for organizing the museum's storage facility and keeping the materials in the museum's closet in order.

"One woman came up to me and asked, 'Are you the cleaning lady? Every time I come here you are cleaning the same room,' " said Fruechting.

"She's the collections manager, not the cleaning lady," responded Ragazzi. "She knows where every single item is in storage. She does the behind-the-scenes work that literally helps us design the exhibits with material donated by other museums and created by volunteers."

It is with the special programs held at 1 p.m. every Saturday that Fruechting makes her biggest contribution. She creates unique hands-on lessons every week, often tapping the knowledge and skills of other museum volunteers or outside experts to lead the programs.

Among recent offerings was a building project with materials supplied by Home Depot, a visit from Project Wildlife with some backyard creatures, presentations of the food pyramid, germs, and the cultures of Korea and Mexico.

David Loring "The Bugman" was scheduled to bring out a collection of insects on Saturday. Future programs include making visors and seashell picture frames, Japanese braid-weaving and how to make a worm box.

The special programs are included in the museum's regular admission fee.

"Home Depot donated work benches and orange aprons," said Fruechting of one of the recent exhibits. "Now they call it Home Depot corner. The kids have so much fun there."

The variety of lessons reflects Fruechting's approach to educating children, carrying over from her years of teaching preschool.

"I've never been an advocate of paper and pencil (lessons)," she said. "Kids get to have fun (at the museum). Of course, they learn something while they're having fun."

Fruechting is a strong advocate for volunteering.

"We're filling a need. There is never enough money around," she said, "Volunteers fill a niche. They help do the things you can't afford to do."

And working with children is an added bonus.

"I love it. Old schoolteachers never really retire," she said. "It keeps you young. Working with kids is the best thing in the world."

Her contributions are certainly appreciated by Ragazzi, one of the museum's two paid staff members.

"On a scale of 1 to 10, she's a 10. She's the kind of person who enables a museum like this to happen," said Ragazzi. "Peg is one of those people who will do what 10 others take on. What makes Peg stand out is she takes on bigger programs that take time to develop. ... She's just a bundle of energy."

Contact staff writer Jeff Frank at (760) 740-5419 or jfrank@nctimes.com.

To volunteer with the Escondido Children's Museum, call Joy Johnson, (760) 233-7755.

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