Daycare Selection

A couple of weeks ago, I finally went on a daycare finding hunt. I called up the places I was interested in to make appointments to visit the facilities and, unlike in April when I did the same thing but didn't follow through, I actually went to visit them.

- A YMCA was the first place I visited. I didn't realize that it was basically almost walking distance to my house (a major pro). It seems nice, if a bit shabby. It was a bigger place, several classrooms accommodating kids of all ages. The person who showed me around was the secretary not the director, so although she kept asking if I had any questions, I couldn't think of any. She seemed a bit intimidating, so I really couldn't think of anything to ask. Also, since this was the first place I visited, I had no frame of reference.

- A few days later I made appointments at five different centers:

Two of them (one in Takoma and one on Georgia Ave.) I barely slowed down to check them out. The Takoma place was basically a house converted into a small daycare, but the whole property was in a heavily wooded area that it just seemed very damp and dark, without any sunlight. (Who knows it might have been nice inside, but I didn't bother to check.). The place on Georgia Ave. was in such a terrible location, on a very busy portion of Georgia in a very ugly building, that didn't seem to have a playground. I initially had suspicions about that place, because when I initially called up the places I rated them according to their phone manner. I rated this place poorly. The woman on the phone seemed irritated and tired. Unlike all other places which stated that I should come to visit to see their facilities and learn about their schedule, the woman just rattled off weekly payment rates and hours of operation.

One place I couldn't find. It seemed like it should've been a big place, i.e. easily spottable. I was actually initially most excited about this place because I got good recommendations about the company that runs it (Kinder Care), it seemed like it would be convenient for Andy to get to work (it was in Beltsville) and the woman on the phone seemed really nice and enthusiastic. But I couldn't find it. However, this ended up being fine because I decided that it's location, well the general vicinity of the location, would've been a bit too far out of our way.

The fourth place I went to visit, which was actually the first place I saw that day, was really small. (It was adjacent to a local elementary school, but I forget it's name. It was a school off Dennis Avenue.) The director, a really young woman, seemed really nice and knowledgeable and interested in her work, but the entire place was basically one big room, divided into different areas to accommodate different age ranges. The woman kept talking about "classrooms" for different age ranges, and I kept looking for different rooms. Then I realized that she was actually referring to this one big room (which was some 500 sq ft big) and the fact that the room was partitioned into three separate areas, which she called classrooms. And I kept thinking, "no way, this is way too chaotic and how do these kids get any downtime."

The fifth place was the daycare at the St. Paul Methodist Church on Grubb Road. This one was the winner. While I waited to talk to the director, I spent time with one of the teachers who was cleaning up her classroom. The teacher, a woman in her early twenties, was the poster child for a daycare/preschool teacher. She was so enthusiastic, bubbly and peppy that she would be rather annoying in any other setting than this preschool setting. She was perfect. I also liked the director. An older woman from Guyana, I believe. (At one point, I asked her where she was from and she said from South America, from xxx country, which is near Venezuela and Brazil. Since I thought she said Panama and was trying to figure out how is Panama in South America, I must have had a perplexed and blank look on my face. When she added Venezuela and Brazil to explain it better, it threw me even more for a loop trying to place Panama next to Brazil. But coming from a small country myself, I can relate to the woman, always need to explain and justify the location of your country of original and still dealing with people's blank stares and utter ignorance of what you're talking about.)

The director explained about the school and the fact that she places a lot of emphasis on early literacy (i.e. reading) sat well with me. Also the facilities seemed nice and spacious. I also liked the big grassy and sunny yard/playground. The yard actually had no shade, which I would prefer a bit, considering that Ivan's so fair that he's almost transclucent, but I'll take sunny over damp any day.

The daycare also has a slot for December, which is perfect. Ivan would start three days a week at first, and then once he turns two in February, he'd go full time (although I thought to myself, maybe we could keep him at three days even at that point.)

After I left, I realized that she never took me around to show me the classrooms, like other centers had done. Granted I didn't ask; I forgot. I may ask to go back and visit the classrooms with Andy. However, my lenghty chat with the bubbly teacher and the fact that Jade's Isabella goes to that daycare makes me feel confident enough that it's a good place.

The following week I also visited the daycare at the Silver Spring Presbyterian Church, which is also highly regarded. The coordinator for toddlers (Grizelda) showed me around. It was a bigger place. It had a similar feel to the Y. Well organized and run, but slightly run down (I think that's probably the case for all daycare centers.) I liked it and would've considered it but they may maybe have a slot in March; otherwise it would be next September. In other words, regardless what I thought of the center, it's not really an option.