FREE SPEECH ZONE | CHILD respects Seward’s children

When compared to the sounds of Franklin Avenue’s continuous heavy automobile traffic, the squeals and laughter of children are often drowned out in the playground area behind Bethany Lutheran Church. As a girl tags and screams “You’re it!” to her fellow playground competitor and as a little boy twirls in rapid circles while “playing spaceships” with his chums, it’s clear that the children of Seward are having fun in this well-supervised area. However, what may not be as easy to grasp is the level of professional, research-based dedication Creative Hours In Learning Development (CHILD) maintains while caring for our children.

Essentially, the mission of CHILD is to provide a high-quality, nurturing child care program that “promotes cognitive, social, physical and emotional development.” With this mission in mind, CHILD offers children the chance to develop in their own way, at their own pace, in a safe and-above all-respectful environment.

In this environment, a child remains in constant conversation with his/her peers and teachers.
The emphasis on research-based methods regarding childcare is what makes CHILD so unique. According to Director Alice Journey, MA, LP, children are cared for according to National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)-accredited methods that have been researched and proven successful across the United States. Also, Journey reported that approximately 75 percent of the teachers have earned a bachelor’s degree in childhood education. The level of expertise and professionalism with which these teachers start with is, therefore, an asset to the program as professional standards are maintained and stability remains a constant.

When a child enrolls in this daycare system, he/she is encouraged to grow through a variety of educational activities. Whether it’s playing outside on the climber, or whether it’s experiencing pre-reading, pre-math, scientific, and/or artistic classroom sessions, preschoolers enrolled in CHILD are very likely to be heard and to develop comfortably in their own ways.

CHILD began as a daycare program for Fairview employees in the late 1960s. The University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview has proudly continued it’s support of this Seward program located in Bethany Lutheran Church for the last 29 years. According to Journey, CHILD “helped write the book– when the State of Minnesota was writing the law for the general licensing process of child care centers, they consulted CHILD as a model program.”

As a founding mother of CHILD for the last 30 years, Journey has seen the program transform from its location in Fairview to its current home in Bethany Lutheran Church. As the program expanded, Journey reports that the neighborhood has provided the children with a broader perspective of community. For example, the teachers often take the children of age on walking tours in the neighborhood to experience a community that Journey finds “very rich” in its culture.

To receive more information about CHILD, as well as how you can enroll your child, Contact Sarah McGuire smcguir2@fairview.org or Alice Journey ajourne2@fairview.org in the CHILD office or call 612-672-2526.