Learning Lessons: Selecting the Best Child Care Option for Your Family By Tanisha Turner
Selecting childcare is an agonizing decision for most parents. We know from research that the experiences children have in their first five years of life are critical to their intellectual, creative, physical, and social-emotional development. If that’s not enough pressure, the search for childcare often starts months before your baby is even born. Getting childcare recommendations from friends, family, coworkers, and your pediatrician is the natural place to begin your search. Their experiences will give you a good starting point. However, keep in mind that what they want for their child may not be the same as what you want for yours. Once you have a list of options, go through the following steps to help narrow it down: • Visit each provider’s website to learn more about what they offer. • Once you have developed a short list of top choices, call for more information. • If you like what you hear over the phone, schedule a tour. There is no factor more important to your decision than your impression when you visit a preschool or provider. Many parents can tell if a school is right for their family based on how they and their child are greeted, how the children attending are interacting, and how their questions are answered by the teacher or school director. Even if you have a strong gut feeling, there are a few key questions you will want to ask either over the phone or as you tour the provider. The whole experience of searching for childcare can be overwhelming, so it is a good idea to write down your questions ahead of time or keep a running list in your phone to ensure you do not forget to ask something that is important to you. Following are five topics that are important to ask about when evaluating your childcare options: • Early Learning Approach: You may be seeking an unstructured, play-based environment for your child; a more structured approach with guidance from teachers; or a balance of both. Know what you are looking for and ask the school or provider how the approach translates into the daily activities and classroom experiences. Continued on page 22
Community Spotlight: Farmacy – Grayson’s New Front Porch By Beth Volpert Johansen
The wordplay involved in naming Grayson resident Blake Hawkin’s newest venture, Farmacy, brings together two major components: farm fresh and community gathering. No stranger to starting a successful Grayson business, Blake is ready to bring something new and innovative to town. After several years with Hail Mary Pub, a Grayson favorite, Blake was ready for something different. “Farmacy allows me to stay in the food industry without having to do the cooking,” says Blake. “I still love to cook, but this way, I get to be the official recipe taster of all the wonderful locally sourced products – something I enjoy way too much!” Mayor Allison Wilkerson is thrilled with the idea of having another quality, communityoriented business in town. “Blake has a talent for bringing people together,” says Wilkerson. “His ability to provide a nice place to gather has been evident in all of his ventures in Grayson.” Continued on page 11
To Infinity & Beyond: John Brackett Brings Space into Education By Kristen Eleveld
When John Brackett was a little boy, he was fascinated with all things related to outer space. Since the NASA shuttle program began when he was ten years old, he grew up experiencing the excitement of manned missions and seeing the wonders that our solar system held. Now, as a parent himself, his love for exploring worlds beyond our own is still going strong, and he is spreading that joy to the community around him through NASA’s Solar System Ambassador (SSA) program. This program, which is designed to give more people an opportunity to learn about the International Space Station and other exciting endeavors related to space flight and the information learned from our explorations over the last several decades, focuses on making NASA more accessible to communities around the world. Brackett was uniquely qualified for this SSA program, which is made up of volunteers with backgrounds in science, education, and engineering. He has spent much of his professional life analyzing imagery and data for various missions into space, like probes and weather satellites. Most recently, he analyzed imagery sent back by Juno, the space probe currently orbiting the planet Jupiter, for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. These skills made Brackett a perfect candidate for becoming a Solar System Ambassador. It’s not easy to make it into the SSA program. One has to endure a lengthy application process and go through interviews and tests to ensure that he or she has the knowledge and skills required to educate the community about the programs under NASA’s direction. For Brackett, the appeal was in the opportunity to begin the education process young, as his own daughter became interested in Brackett’s job and skills. Continued on page 16
Jul ’21 Our Town Gwinnett
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