Child Care Provider Spotlight

Summer will be here before you know it and if you’re like most parents, you’re probably thinking about the best summer camp for your children. While you still have some time, you shouldn’t wait too long because many camps are already full. Most parents freak out when thinking about summer camp research, but have you thought about child care and preschool summer camp?

I know what you’re going to say:

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As a child, I pretended that I was a teacher and told everyone I was going to be a teacher one day.  As life would have it, I ended up obtaining a business education and working in the financial accounting and auditing world for 15 years.

When I became a parent, I found out how challenging it was to find reliable high quality child care. 

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I was planning on staying for one year when I first arrived to the US as an au-pair. Well, it’s now been 11 years and I never returned to Colombia. I met my husband during that first year as an au-pair, got married and we now have 3 children. Being an immigrant hasn’t been easy, it was a struggle for me to learn English.

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Every child grows up with a dream of what they will become when they enter the working world. From Kindergarten, we learn about adult life through Career Days, Take your Child to Work Days, and of course, our families and neighbors. For me, it wasn’t the parents in my classroom telling us about their careers, but the teachers who I looked up to the most.

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One of the most beautiful relationships in life is that of a child and his or her grandparent. Unfortunately, many children these days miss out on this special relationship due a diverse range of factors, including distance, and early loss of their grandparents. For nearly 25 years, Merritt Academy in Fairfax, Virginia has provided students with a unique opportunity to develop a special relationship with a “grandfriend” through our Seniors and Students Together Intergenerational Program.

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My daughter was only 2 days old when her father left us. I was totally alone. My entire extended family lives outside of the United States and I wasn’t sure of my options. It was quite frightening.

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I always had passion for learning and exploration.  These two personal traits often got me in trouble with my elders, when I was a child.  As I got older, the spontaneity of my actions had to change to conform to the responsibility of the adult world; however, the love of that curiosity stuck with me till this day. 

I started child care because I believe every child needs a safe, nurturing and a challenging environment where they can learn and explore.  Few of the preschools and child care programs that I visited prior to opening Kiddie Academy of Ashburn were run with a primary focus on business.  It bothered me a little bit not because it was wrong, but because the focus has shifted from quality and personal care to enrollment by the numbers. I remind myself and my management team and staff every day that we are here for the children and their families, and our passion for what we do should never cease. Indeed, the impression we leave on these children is what is going to form and shape their future.  What an extraordinary feeling, but also what a great responsibility!

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