A single tear clung threateningly to Brayden's cheek as his daddy walked out the door as if it couldn't decide whether to fall or not.
He heard his teacher say he couldn't eat his apples and oatmeal if he was crying, but watching his dad walk away was always so sad.
"Brayden's sad," 2-year-old Olivia lisped, her cheeks bulging with apple slices.
Her white-blonde braids bounced in assent to say that sometimes she gets sad too when her mom and dad drop her off.
She swallowed her mouthful. "But Sophia's my friend."
And that makes all the difference.
At Baby Gator, the child care center for the children of UF students, faculty and staff, everyone is a friend.
Little victories are celebrated - like when Sophia dumps her milk cup out by herself or when Kelsey waits her turn - and instructions are given with love.
The 270-or-so students at the three facilities on campus are taught to listen, to share and to wash their hands often.
In addition to their set curriculum, students from 6 weeks to 5 years old learn sign language and a smattering of foreign languages.
In August, they learned about animals. September's theme is "All About Me."
The children are divided into four age groups. Tiny Gators are 6 weeks to 10 months old, Little Gators are between 10 months and 30 months, Growing Gators are 2-and-a-half to 4 years old, and Future Gators are between 4 and 5 years old.
The children are split up between three centers on campus: one on Newell Drive, one on Village Drive and one by Lake Alice.
Baby Gator's relationship with the university has its benefits. Many parents are faculty members and have expertise they are more than willing to share with their children's classmates.
"The university is extremely supportive of us," said Pam Pallas, the director of Baby Gator.
When the program was doing lessons on the ocean, a deep-sea diver came in for the day to show kids his scuba equipment and shark teeth, she said.
This university support played a major part in Baby Gator's recent expansion which is still a work in progress.
In June, UF purchased the Children's Creative Learning Center building on Museum Road for an expansion of the program. On July 5, 83 students from the Village Drive center were moved down the street to the newly opened location, dubbed the Lake Alice center.
Renovations of the building are ongoing to convert space into classrooms and are expected to continue through early October.
The Lake Alice center will eventually take all of the students from Village Drive, as well as about 40 new children.
"I love that we're able to do so much for children and families," Pallas said. "I love being able to provide a safe place for parents to bring their children and know that they'll have an exceptional day."
That day starts around 6:30 a.m. when the first kids come bouncing through the door. Teachers, like Miss Ashley Evangelista and Miss Caitlin Holmes at the center on Newell Drive, serve breakfast provided by Shands.
On Thursday, the Little Gators had palm-sized bowls of oatmeal, red apple slices and small glasses of milk.
Breakfast lasts until about 8:15 a.m., when most of the students have been dropped off for the day. After breakfast is a little bit of playtime while the teachers call kids one-by-one to apply sunscreen and bug spray.
Ms. Sonia Castro calls everyone to the rug and starts reading "Why Should I Share?" while Miss Nika Lorenz whirls silently around the classroom, pulling out markers and puzzles for the next activity and sending kids one-by-one to use the bathroom and wash their hands.
The day flies by; the lessons and structured centers are punctuated by playground time and hand washing, lunch and tooth brushing and, of course, nap time from about noon to 2 p.m.
Parents come to pick up their children by about 6 p.m., and then the teachers can go home to get ready for the next day.
When asked what she liked about her job, Miss Caitlin didn't hesitate.
"The kids," she said. "The kids make it worth it every day."
