God's Little Tikes Childcare sees changes

Zanita McCrory touches up the paint in one of the preschool room at Fountain of Life Church.
Zanita McCrory touches up the paint in one of the preschool room at Fountain of Life Church.

Like almost everybody else around the world, the COVID-19 pandemic caught God's Little Tikes Childcare a little off guard.

The facility had already been considering some renovations, so administrators decided to make certain they weren't surprised again by incorporating some physical changes as they worked on the facility, said Pastor Troy McCrory, of Fountain of Life Family Worship Center.

His wife, Zanita McCrory, will step in as director of the child care facility. Kate Smith is Little Tikes' new managing director. She's been with the program for about 15 years.

"Parents will be seeing familiar faces when they come in," Troy McCrory said.

What may not be familiar shortly is the physical look of the facility, he said.

The child care facility, which is to be rebranded as "New Beginnings at the Fountain," will be repainting all the classrooms and hallways. Classrooms will feature colors that support learning, McCrory said.

"Studies have shown that different colors stimulate different parts of the brain," he continued. "Some are intrusive, some are more calming and some are nurturing for education."

The colors can influence how children learn or react with other students.

Existing colors in the classrooms include "Nickelodeon Orange," "Nickelodeon Purple," and one that is Cardinals red. There's nothing wrong with Cardinals red, McCrory said; we all love the Cardinals.

"Some of the bolder, brighter, harsher colors can create anxiety, stress out children. We're going with more soothing colors, like lavenders, teals," he said.

There will be a new sensory walk down one hallway. Decals that stick to the floor may look like bear or wolf tracks. Each has different textures. The hall may also include "hopscotch areas."

Walls will include items like water spigot handles that click when they are twisted, interactive toys that may slide up and down the walls, and push-buttons that may create sounds or turn on lights.

"They're not loud enough to be disruptive to classes. Plus, most of the kids are in the hallways about the same time," McCrory said.

Other decals to be placed on walls will have different textures, such as fur.

The facility will have new curricula for all learning levels, including newborns.

Some of the older preschool children are doing texture, touch, feel and experience exercises. They are also to do zippers, buttons and shoe-tying. Timers in bathrooms will play music (the birthday song twice) to teach them how long to wash their hands.

Preschool children will begin learning basic coding on computers.

"That's amazing to me," McCrory said. "One of the things they're teaching them in preschool is sign language."

McCrory said he's had to learn from the children as they signed to him.

Part of one of the larger rooms, beginning this week, is to be converted to a library for some of the older after-school students, McCrory said. However, some of the preschool curricula also will use computers in the library during the day.

Some classes will have touch-screen boards.

"In time, my hope is to have tablets that will connect to the screens from students' chairs," McCrory said. "But they can be expensive."