High quality child care can be found in local neighborhoods, according to members of the Santa Barbara County Child Care Planning Council and First 5 of Santa Barbara County.
To share that message with local families, the Child Care Planning Council and First 5 recently launched a website, qualitychildcaresb.org, that lists high quality child-care providers in the county. The site acts as an information and resource network for parents, child care providers, and other community members.
Some of the information on the site includes tips for parents on how to select a child-care provider, guidelines for child-care training and licensing, and links to child-care organizations throughout the county.
Along with the website launch, the Child Care Planning Council and First 5 hosted a conference and tour of child-care facilities on March 20.
“We want people to see that there are plenty of high quality child-care providers in Santa Barbara County,” said Karin Dominguez, event coordinator and Child Care Planning Council chair.
Local officials, educators, and other community members visited a variety of facilities, including public and private preschools, in-home child care centers, and after school programs.
At Rice Preschool, one of nine state-funded preschools in Santa Maria, individuals on the tour watched children participate in “free choice” activities. Students chose from a collection of learning stations that focused on specific subjects, such as reading, math and science, and the arts.
“We have a great staff that provides children with lots of hands-on experience, which is so important at this age,” Rice Preschool teacher Julianne Silva later told the Sun.
“I think high quality education is about giving children as many opportunities to explore and develop as possible,” said Silva, who team teaches morning and afternoon classes with fellow educator Monica Chavez.
Silva said that many people in the community, parents included, don’t realize how many opportunities children have to learn. Often everyday tasks—playing with blocks or even cleaning up after playtime—can be used to develop language skills or to teach children about shapes and numbers, she said.
This article appears in Apr 2-9, 2009.