Iowa

It's every where - the concern that there is simply not enough good child care out there. And it's true. There is still the same old basement care, and the warehouse place, and my favorite, "wait till he's older to teach, meanwhile we'll keep him 'young'" place.

Yesterday a young woman with a four year old walked into the Garden School. "He wants to read. He's sounding out words," lamented his mother. "Every place I've been said he has to wait to learn. He has to put his desire on hold for the sake of age grouping."

"Nonsense," said Miss Molly. We don't group by age, we group by desire to learn and ability. If he's ready, he's ready.

Early childhood is not college - I was reminded of that last week. It's early childhood, and EC is a place where children's minds expand. You can't do that by sitting on the children.


Leaders Briefed on Child Care Issues

Washington Evening Journal, Washington IA

Speakers at a presentation in Ainsworth yesterday focused on the importance to
the Washington County business community of quality childcare and early
childhood education and what area businesses can do to help remedy the shortfall
of childcare services in the county.

Concerned citizens, including representatives from local businesses, educational institutions, churches and government, including the mayor of Washington, attended "Child Care: It's a Business Issue," held at Marr Park.

"Every child carries its own blessing into the world," a Yiddish proverb read by the moderator, Julie Grotewold, set the tone for the event.

Grotewold, assistant superintendent of the Washington Community Schools District, outlined the problem that exists in Washington County and in the entire state of Iowa. She said that in Iowa 78 percent of all parents, either the only parent or both
parents in the household, work outside of the home full time. Currently, the
childcare providers in Washington County are able to serve only 59 percent of
children aged 0 to 5, Grotewold pointed out.

The featured speaker, J. Barry Griswell, began his presentation by asserting that the problem in Iowa stems from placing the focus on fixing problems that already exist, rather than proactively preventing problem kids and adults from emerging in the first place.