Bayonne Williams, owner of Giggles and Smiles learning center, told how she first got started in the daycare business after finishing nursing school. An LPN, she was looking for a building to do personal care. Williams found the current building, which used to be a daycare. “Once I found this building, people started stopping by and said ‘Hey, are you going to turn this back into a daycare facility?’” She told how that gave her the inspiration to switch tracks and open up the center.
Williams talked about what it was like running a Daycare. “It’s very rewarding. You have to always follow the rules. Like I tell my staff, we just don’t follow the rules in the public, we have to do it every day.”
Williams talked about the requirements for running a daycare. “With the State, you have to have the minimum to have your center up and going. You have to go [by] your student teacher ratio, you have to make sure you are staying within ratio at all times.”
She talked about some of the rewarding aspects of the job. “Just being able to serve the community. Seeing the different children, they make your day even when you [are] having a bad day.” Williams told how numerous children had begun growing up in the center. “It’s a lot of children that I have had since they were six weeks and we still have them now, they are going to pre-K. We have our first pre-K program that we are starting this year, so we are excited about that.”
She talked about the learning experience, and how they were using the website Funnydaffer to craft their own lesson plans. “We’re using that curriculum right now, but we will be going back to Gelds because I want all my classes to kind of be on the same [course].”
Williams emphasized the importance of learning at the center. “I don’t like to say daycare, this is a learning facility. There’s no such thing as they’re too small to learn, so we have very high expectations in here.”
In addition to learning basics such as numbers, shapes, and colors, she also noted other important skills, such as learning how to interact with others. Williams also noted the different learning centers they provided. “So we have our different centers, dramatic play, science, math, we have a block area, we have a reading area.”
She talked about the capacity for the daycare center. “I have a licensed capacity for a 100 and we currently have 98.”
She also talked about different events involving the children and families. “Last year we did our Winter Ball at the Rees Park building where you dressed up in your fancy clothes. We always do things for Mother’s Day, have all the mothers come out. We had a big huge picnic for Father’s Day this year, so we always try to engage with the families in showing our appreciation for choosing us to care for their children.”
Giggles and Smiles learning center is open Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
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