Daycare center now operating in Chestertown

CHESTERTOWN | Over the last several weeks, life has become less stressful for a number of working parents in northern Warren County — as a new childcare center has begun operating in Chestertown. On Feb. 5, Small Tales & Early Learning Daycare began accepting preschoolers, and their room for toddlers and infants opened about a week later. The daycare center is located in rooms of the town of Chester Municipal Center formerly occupied by a Warren County Sheriff's Office substation and the county's local mealsite, according to Small Tales' executive director Michael Dittmer. "We're happy that we can provide both early learning as well as general care," he said. Small Tales' staff members focus on youngsters' language development, basic motor skills and vital daily routines, Dittmer said. He said that Small Tales follows a curriculum developed by Purdue University titled "Early Learning Matters." The approach promotes skills linked to school readiness and life success with developmentally appropriate teaching strategies, and mixes child-initiated learning experiences with staff-guided activities, according to Purdue literature describing the program. The curriculum provides 50 weeks of varied activities and tasks that build life skills and self-reliance while accommodating children's differing interests and developmental levels. Small Tales staff members guide children's social and cognitive development while providing a wide variety of educational experiences, according to Dittmer. "We're taking the 'whole child' approach, combining learning and play," he said. The Chester Municipal Center is considered an ideal site for a child care center, as the building already hosts the town library, a gymnasium/auditorium, and a large fenced-in recreation field behind the town-owned facility. Small Tales Daycare is an incorporated non-profit organization overseen by a board of directors that includes area community leaders and educators. Its headquarters and initial site, operating since 2015, are located in Warrensburg. For years, Chester community leaders including now-former supervisor Craig Leggett had sought to establish a daycare center in Chestertown. Leggett's initiative of a comprehensive multi-community survey, conducted about a year and a half ago, yielded responses indicating that establishing a daycare center in Chestertown was very important for northern Warren County residents. Since then, Leggett and the town of Chester board worked with various community organizations to establish a daycare center, and Small Tales subsequently committed to opening their second center in Chestertown. Now retired from his town CEO role, Leggett said that the daycare services not only help out parents, but also support area communities' vitality and economic development. Present Town of Chester Supervisor John Mayday offered his thoughts on the new center's operation. "It seems like the daycare (center) is running well," he said. "Parents seem happy." As of Feb. 23, Small Tales in Chestertown was accepting new enrollees.

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Daycare center now operating in Chestertown

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