ANNISTON ARMY DEPOT, Ala. -- The depot's Child Development Center offers care to children from infancy through the fifth grade and is accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children.
The center currently has openings for all age groups.
The staff's focus is creating the right learning environment for each child and for many of the employees it is a lifelong mission.
"I've always wanted to work with infants and smaller children," said Kim Casalini, the lead child and youth program assistant for the infant and toddler rooms at the center. "It's rewarding to watch the children progress from class to class, watching them go from taking their first steps to graduating pre-kindergarten."
All children at the CDC have an individual development plan, which lays out goals for the child to achieve that year and the practical steps which can be taken to achieve those goals.
Even the infants Casalini works with have IDPs. For them, the goals mirror the growth stages and movement objectives for the age group.
The center utilizes Creative Curriculum and Teaching Strategies Gold, a research-based curriculum featuring exploration and discovery as a way of learning.
The program develops confidence, creativity and lifelong critical thinking skills in children.
"The program helps the caregivers understand developmentally appropriate practices and how to offer nurturing daily routines and meaningful experiences which meet children's strengths, interests and needs," said Nyoka Johnson, the CDC's coordinator.
The infant classes have a ratio of one instructor for every four babies. As the children grow and "graduate" to the next class or age group, the realistic expectations and ratios grow with them.
The toddler class stresses structure and communication for its students.
"They model and imitate what they see us do and say," said Henrietta Johnson, one of the center's child and youth program assistants.
She and the staff keep a meticulous schedule for the students -- ensuring the same activities occur at the same time -- and model the behavior and actions they want the children to emulate.
"They will start off not knowing to take their plates and empty them," said Johnson. "A few months later, they are doing it."
Communication is key because many of the toddlers can't talk or can only say a few words. The staff begins by teaching them some basic signs, which help the children communicate their wants and needs.
As their speaking skills improve, the children learn the alphabet and numbers in preparation for the reading and math skills they will develop in the preschool and pre-kindergarten classes.
The instructors come to the program from a variety of child care backgrounds.
Johnson began working with children as a teenager, teaching Sunday school and vacation Bible school classes.
After leaving the Army in her 30s, she rediscovered her love of teaching children and has served on the staff for child development centers for the Air Force and Army.
Casalini worked in a pre-kindergarten program at a daycare center for many years. She was one of the first hires for the depot's CDC, being selected in 2007 while the center was still under construction.
One of the center's newest employees is Amber Howell, a child and youth program assistant.
Howell earned her bachelor's degree in Elementary Education in 2012 and began work at the CDC earlier this year, in January.
Being an assistant, she floats between all the classes, serving as an extra caretaker in the nursery for the infants, an extra set of eyes and hands when the older children are working with art projects or running around on the playground or in the gym.
And, just like the other instructors, training as she goes by giving each child the attention they need.
"We can't push them developmentally," said Howell. "They have to develop at their own rate."
The CDC employees know the development of the child depends on their schedules, time and learning at home as much as the center.
To that end, they work with parents, keeping them abreast of their child's progress through quarterly parent-teacher conferences and other discussions as issues arise.
For students in the Oxford area, even after they begin kindergarten, the center is there to help them continue to grow and learn -- with before and after school care which includes breakfast, transporation to and from school, after-school snacks and homework assistance.
"I want the parents to be able to focus on their job, knowing their child has the best care," said Casalini.
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