Hello my name is Annette McDonald.  I started Second Recess to provide childcare to school aged children.  I wanted to provide a safe loving and stable place for children to come and be themselves, where everyone is included.  I have 20 plus years of teaching and childcare experience.  I started my teaching career in 1997 right after graduating from college.   I taught for a short time in Massachusetts and then settled in North Carolina.  I left teaching when I got married.  I continued to tutor and work with children.  This provided me time to have my family. I now have a 11-year-old son. I returned to childcare in August of 2023 when Second Recess was created.  I wanted to provide a safe place where parents could bring their children and not worry who was watching them.  I wanted to provide a space where children could play and learn and have fun and interact with other children.   We added Sophie the therapy pig to our family in August of 2025.  Sophie comes to Second Recess daily and interacts with the children.  She loves belly rubs and scratches.  She also loves pulling toys and books off the shelves.  The children enjoy her company every day.  She does tricks and flop over when scratch so she can have belly rubs.  She will do anything for a snack.  She is a very loved addition to our family.