Beginnings
When Kari Sanders and her husband Travis could not find child care in the area to meet their needs, they decided to make a change. Both were working full-time at odd hours and Kari’s mother sometimes had to come over at 4:30 in the morning to watch their children. “We fought our way through it,” says Kari. “I thought, there has to be something better than this.” So together, they ensured that there was. Kari and her husband opened a certified family child care program, and “Scribble Dibble Day Care” opened in 2008. But it was a year later, when they began working with YoungStar, that things really got going.
Stepping Stones
With the financial and technical support YoungStar provided, Kari and Travis restructured their home to include sectioned, well-planned play areas, shelving with materials to promote positive play, an outdoor climber, and much more. Kari went back to school with the resources available to her through YoungStar, in an effort to improve the 2 Star rating her program earned. She is now working to complete her E-Child Associate’s Degree, and states that the positive changes they have made to their learning environment, and her ability to go back to school is thanks to YoungStar. “I love the concept of the tools [YoungStar provides] and how to plan for your business,” says Kari. “They help you evaluate where you are and where you need to make those changes. I have learned so much and it has been a wonderful experience.”
Looking Forward
Kari and her husband are hopeful that with the changes they have made in the environment and curriculum at Scribble Dibble Day Care, and as Kari completes her education, that they will continue to move up in Star levels. Short-term, Kari hopes to refinish their basement area to create an even larger play and learning area for the children in her care, and to “finesse” the knowledge she has cultivated to “affect children’s outcomes by teaching them what they need to live life successfully.”
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