FREDERICK FAMILIES \\
Childcare programs also provide EDUCATION , SOCIAL BENEFITS
BY GINA GALLUCCI-WHITE
Every year at about the end of May , Sheeba Mathew , owner of The Goddard School in Frederick , puts together a slide show for the annual kindergarten graduation ceremony .
Many of the children have been at the school since they were 6 weeks old , in the infant program , and the pictures show the kids progressing from inquisitive babies to precocious toddlers to prepared students .
“ It is amazing ,” Mathew said of the transformation .
The ceremony also presents parents with artwork the children have created throughout their time at the facility . Mathew has seen the children learn the importance of socialization and how to share . These are just a few of the many benefits she has seen from her years in childcare .
Many working parents must find childcare options through local schools , in-home centers or relatives . Facilities known as learning centers are called that because staff are trained with education backgrounds , follow a set curriculum geared toward achieving developmental and academic milestones and do assessments and conferences with parents .
“ I think a lot of people ’ s perception is that we are babysitting , but we are not a babysitting service ,” said Diane Thomas , director for the KinderCare Taney Avenue location . “ We are completely in a different realm from that and I think a lot of people still look at childcare as babysitting . ... It is a learning environment . I think that is the big thing we like to get across . We are always doing anything above and beyond to meet the children ’ s needs and help them develop . There is a purpose behind just about everything that we are doing with children , even if we are just sorting through clay . I think a lot iSTOCKPHOTO . COM / FATCAMERA
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