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Two-year-old Ava plays dress-up Thursday morning with the help of graduate student Jamie Geary. Ava comes to the Infant Development Center in the mornings.

'Quality means cost' at UA child care centers

By: Lindsey Pruitt

Posted: 3/26/08

UA students with children can rest assured knowing there is a quality child care program on campus, said the director of the UA Infant Development Center and the UA Nursery School.

Vernoice Baldwin has worked as director of the centers for 12 years.

"Our programs are high quality; they are both accredited by NAEYC - National Association for the Education of Young ?Children," Baldwin said.

There are two primary sources of care at the UA - the UA Infant Development Center and the UA Nursery School.

The Nursery School enrolls preschoolers ages 3-5 and the UA Infant Development Center takes infants and toddlers ages 3 months to 3 years, Baldwin said.

The Nursery School is a preschool that enrolls 16 children Monday through Thursday in both the 8:15-11:30 morning session and the 12:15-3:30 afternoon session.

The Nursery School has been a lab school for children and UA students for more than 60 years. The ?program was originally located in the basement of the Home Economics Building but is now located at 16 South Duncan Street.

The Infant Development Center began its operations in the '70s. It is located at 536 N. Leverett St. and operates 7:30 a.m.-4:45 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 7:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Fridays. There are places for seven infants and 12 toddlers at the center.

Employees at the UA child care centers include full-time teachers, part-time graduate assistants and students.

The three teachers hold master's degrees, and the six graduate assistants are working on their master's degrees, Baldwin?said. Work-study students are hired based on experience, the degree they seek and demonstrated skills. All employees must have a minimum of 10 hours training each year.

Students majoring in child care or education can gain experience through both programs.

UA child development practicum students and child guidance students spend six and two hours respectively in the lab each week at the Nursery School and Infant Development Center. Students who observe and interact in the Infant Development Center typically are majoring in human development and elementary education, but there also might be students majoring in business, psychology or other subjects, as well, Baldwin said.

"Most of the children belong to faculty and staff because the cost is so expensive," said Misty Gittings, a 28-year-old student with a 2-year-old son at the Infant Development Center.

"I don't have any other friends that?use UA child care," she said.

The cost of the Nursery School is $800 a semester, and the fee for full-time care at the Infant Development Center is $200 a week, Baldwin said.

Baldwin said quality means cost, and Gittings agreed.

"I think the IDC is the best," she said. "I wouldn't take my son anywhere else. Everyone there is so caring and great."?

Both programs have curriculums based on the needs of the different ages of children.

The three main goals of UA child care are to provide observation ?opportunities and practical experience for students, research opportunities for faculty and students and developmentally appropriate and enriched experiences for the children, according to the child care Web site.

"Materials and activities are planned to give children the opportunities to experience learning using all their senses," Baldwin said. "Infants will observe their surroundings, work on moving their bodies, bond with educators, paint and manipulate toys. Infants may also play musical instruments, listen to music or play outside in ?sand and water."

The toddlers do some of the same things as the infants, but their activities are expanded to meet their needs. Toddlers often play with puzzles, participate in dramatic plays, use play dough, participate in group singing and reading times and have lots of outdoor play.

The ?preschoolers also engage in self-selected play times. They may choose from the sensory table, the science center, the music center, art, ?blocks, puzzles, dramatic play, reading, computer, woodworking or outdoor playground activities.

The Nursery School children engage in a project approach to learning.

"We have cracked open a coconut, made fruit pies, observed trees in the summer and fall, eaten paw-paws, visited the construction site on Duncan Street, watched ?different birds eat from our bird feeder, mailed letters to parents, experimented with properties of water and made ?thank-you cards and get-well cards," Baldwin said. "Every day is a day for discovery and learning."

The Nursery School is "committed to building and maintaining ?relationships with parents who are the most important teachers of their children," according to the Web site.

"We recognize that families strongly ?influence children's growth and development and wish to join that partnership with them through participation in ?parent-teacher conferences, parent meetings, field trips, home visits and any other communication deemed important for the child," according to the Web site.

Baldwin believes in and encourages the development of both centers, she said.

"The University of Arkansas laboratories - Infant Development Center and Nursery School - provide quality programs for ?young children and give UA students the opportunity to observe and interact with children," Baldwin said.

"In addition, master teachers and graduate assistants model for and mentor the UA students as they gain experience and insight into ?quality early childhood programs. Students, teachers, children and parents serve as teams working together to make ?the programs what they are," she said.