Plymouth Child Care Center Gets New Name
There is a gap between the need and options for child care in Minnesota. A Plymouth child care center, with a brand new name, is working to grow what it offers in the meantime.
Bright Beginnings Academy, formerly known as Little Newtons, officially changed its name this month. Jessica Sylvester, vice president of operations, said this comes a few years after the center changed ownership and redefined its core values.
“I think the biggest thing was that around us, everything is changing. The demands are higher and the expectations are growing,” Sylvester said. “We wanted to make sure we were matching innovation with what the world is asking of us, in terms of child care expectations.”
The Bright Beginnings Academy building in Plymouth first opened as a child care center in 2009. Other locations will remain Little Newtons for now. Sylvester said they want to see how things unfold at the Plymouth location first.
In the Classroom
In a toddler room, you can really only expect organized chaos. That fits right into Bright Beginnings’ curriculum for children.
“We are going to learn blues today, right?” said teacher Sam Lanhart to her class. “Do we want to paint with our hands, or do we want to paint with paint brushes?”
Lanhart handed out brushes, but many of the kids opted to use their hands. Throughout the painting session, the teachers handed out different colors of paint. The curriculum the kids follow is called Frog Street, which Sylvester said allows them to grow through play and classroom learning.
“It focuses on cognitive, physical, social-emotional development,” Sylvester explained.
Like the toddler class where students weren’t afraid to get their hands dirty. Or their clothes, tables or faces, for that matter. Luckily for them, that’s encouraged.
“You know what? Get dirty. I’m OK with it,” Lanhart said to the kids.
Kids at Bright Beginnings Academy work with blue paint.
As need for child care grows statewide, Sylvester said the space that Bright Beginnings Academy has at its Plymouth location could help be part of the solution.
“The blessing of having such a big school is that we do have room to grow, right?” Sylvester said.
Bright Beginnings is holding an open house to celebrate its rebrand at the Plymouth location on March 22 from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. Sylvester said there will be a bounce house, door prizes, treats and tours.
