By DAVID DUPONT
BG Independent News
Maddi Pinkelman knows about the local child care scene. As a native of Bowling Green, she attended a number of centers in town while she was a child.
And after earning an associate degree in child development from Bowling Green State University, she’s worked in several centers.
Now she’s opening her own place, Silver Kid’s Learning Center. “I always dreamt of having my own little classroom,” Pinkelman said. She’s drawn inspiration from all the places she attended and worked at.
The center opened on Tuesday. It is located at 541½ W. Wooster St., accessible off Gorrell Avenue. It’s the former site of the Rainbow Cooperative Preschool. That the building has been a child care center made opening easier, Pinkelman said. The school’s number is 567-413-5009.
Though some folks may think a pandemic isn’t the best time to start a business, the demand for child care is strong.
“We’re finding that parents can’t get their work done with kids running around. That’s understandable,” she said.
On cue during the interview, the center’s telephone rang. A mother was inquiring about enrolling her children.
Silver Kid’s will offer something different, Pinkelman said. The focus will be on nature and play. “We believe being outdoors teaches a lot,” she said.
“When children are playing, especially young children, as long as you’re guiding them, they’ll learn from that. Their social and emotional skills are developed when they’re playing pretend and interacting with each other.”
They can learn lessons about nature and history. Once the pandemic is over, she looks forward to bringing in guests from the city Parks and Recreation Department and the Toledo Zoo.
Pinkelman is committed to keeping teacher to child ratios low. The center serves children from age 1 through fifth grade. The ratio for the youngest will be one teacher to four children; for toddlers it’ll be one to six; for preschoolers it’ll be one to 12; and for school age kids it’ll be one to five or six.
Parents have expressed particular interest in the school age program, Pinkelman said.
“Parents are really worried about what’s going to happen this fall with the virtual learning and hybrid going on. They’re worried because they have to work all day at their own jobs, and they want to come home and spend time with their children. But they don’t want to teach children for two hours and then send them to bed.”
The students at Silver Kid’s will have their Chrome books or other devices from school that they need to interact with their teachers. They’ll participate in their Zoom or video classes, then their teacher at Silver Kid’s will help them complete their assignments.
“When they get home, they don’t have to do that with their parents,” Pinkelman said.
The center follows the strict guidelines with more frequent hand washing, more spaced out while reading and writing, and teachers in masks.
“When we’re outside, we’re allowed to be a little closer because we’re out in the free air.”
At the start of the day, they do wellness checks. If one child has to go home, their siblings do as well. But Pinkelman said they work out financial arrangements so parents aren’t paying for days when the kids aren’t at the center.
Pinkelman said she launched her dream venture now because of her life circumstances. She and other teachers at the center she worked at previously were laid off.
She was already thinking about opening her own place, and many parents approached her and encouraged her and offered support
“There’s a great need in Bowling Green,” she said, noting two centers have closed recently.
“This is a calling.” The only reason to go into childcare is “because you have a love for children, a love for education.”
She says she plans to be very involved in the care, stepping in to help in classrooms.
“I love every aspect of it because I get to work with all ages, not just one class.”
The 2014 graduate of Bowling Green High School hopes to brings her love of theater and music that she cultivated there to the center. While in high school, she was in theater appearing in “Mary Poppins” and “Beauty and the Beast.” She also sang in choir and Madrigals.
The name of the center comes from a song. She and her mother both love the Simon and Garfunkel hit “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” and dedicate it to each other.
Her mother always called her “silver girl,” a reference to the line “sail on silver girl.”
“I thought of the name Silver Kid’s Learning Center because I want it to be a safe place for children to go, no matter what their home circumstances are or if they’re having a rough go of things,” Pinkelman said. “I want Silver Kid’s to be their bridge over troubled water.”
