2014

One of the ramifications of operating a high-profile parenting website is a constant stream of email about new parenting products or services. Many are interesting and things in which I think our users might be interested. Some are not. Then, there are a few, a very few, that just blow me away. Cheryl Zandt's idea for "Junior's Clubhouse" is one of those. Described as "a state-of-the-art indoor playground and movement studio for kids", when I saw what was planned for Junior's Clubhouse, my reaction was "heck with the kids, I want to play there".

Zandt has identified a location in the Mount Vernon Triangle neighborhood in downtown DC and drafted plans for a rainforest-themed play area divided between sections for babies and older kids (up to age 12). To raise funds for securing her lease, Zandt has been running a campaign on Fundable.

The Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center is an educational entity located at the Smithsonian Institution that provides full-time, part-time and weekend programs for children aged 3 months - 6 years.

Parents are important too.

Besides being an educator for the Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center, I am also a mom. And I know all too well, what it is like to be unsure of oneself as a parent. That is one of the reasons we have set up our programs at the Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center with the parent in mind. Another reason; YOU are your child’s first teacher. How you interact with your child can have a significant impact on their early development. So we want to help you develop skills that can be used in your everyday life. Whether it’s our weekend workshops or our two-day/week toddler program, Smithsonian Early Explorers, we make our museum visits about the family as a whole. Often we ask parents to lead simple activities in the galleries that could be used in other situations. For example, we might ask infant/toddler parents to find all the boats in a gallery space or simply describe an object. Preschooler families might be asked to create a story around an object or make a list of questions they have about an object. In both of these scenarios, we are encouraging independent thinking, literacy and providing time for you and your child to interact.

Any parent who has ever looked for child care knows how stressful and time consuming it is. That’s not surprising given that you’ll be entrusting your child to another person, often a complete stranger. About 44% of new mothers return to work within the first 3 months of giving birth and 64% return to work within the first year, thus requiring child care. Despite such high numbers, there are few child care resources made available to new moms and parents. So where do you look?

The hardest challenge is not knowing where to begin. Many turn to Google, or to friends living in their area. But every family is different and has its own specific needs, whether it’s budget, hours, teaching philosophy, or some other specific service they need for their child.

The following is a guest post from the Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center (SEEC), a museum-based early childhood program for children aged 2 months - 6 years of age and offering workshops (http://www.si.edu/seec/community) for local families.

Today’s families embrace all that the DC metropolitan area has to offer. At any given time, there are festivals, classes and fun activities that cater to families. The Smithsonian, one of DC’s most encompassing (and completely free) resources, is no exception. Over the course of the last two decades, museums have begun to offer more programming for children and families. As the national spotlight has focused on the benefits of quality early childhood education, the Smithsonian is working hard to accommodate this audience in meaningful ways. The Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center or SEEC, as it is known, is nestled in the Smithsonian campus with locations at the National Museum of Natural History and the National Museum of American History. Since 1988, SEEC has been incorporating museums into their early childhood curriculum and we are working with other Smithsonian staff, educators and parents across the globe to encourage early learning in museums.