Caldwell County Smart Start celebrates childcare providers

LENOIR, NC (April 7, 2017)…On Thursday evening, April 27th, Caldwell County Smart Start held a celebration for all the child care providers in Caldwell County. This celebration was held at the JE Broyhill Civic Center and honored those who work with preschoolers in our county and support early childhood education. The celebration also coincided with “The Week of the Young Child.”

There are 5,000 preschoolers in Caldwell County and Smart Start is dedicated in getting those children ready for school. The “first 2,000 days of a child’s life are important” and Smart Start is here to “empower you to do what you do” as quoted by Seth Nagy of the Cooperative Extension and Smart Start Board Member.

The guest speaker for the evening’s celebration was author and illustrator, Lori Nichols. Mrs. Nichols is the author of the children’s book series, Maple. In her books, she draws on family and nature and hopes “in a small way I can play a part in your day.” Mrs. Nichols told the story of how the Maple series came to be which was a delightful story of her childhood and of raising a family. Just as a maple tree has growth rings, Mrs. Nichols experienced growth rings in her life. She was taught the joys of reading and art at home from her parents, both were teachers. Her father taught high school English and her mother was an art teacher, that was “generous with her art supplies.” Another growth ring she experienced later on in life, was becoming a mother. She and her husband would plant trees for their children. As the trees grew, so did their children. “Having, raising, and watching children grow” has been instrumental in the growth of Maple. She has passed on her love of reading and art to her children and to many others. Mrs. Nichols has written four books in the Maple series and has illustrated numerous others such as the ORQ. book series and No, No Kitten.

Mrs. Nichols was also involved in Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library when her children were young. This program is a great way to share the love of reading with small children and start that early literacy foundation. Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library was started in 1995 and asks that each child be read to 15 minutes each day. It was brought to Caldwell County last year to provide books for children, ages birth to 5 years. If you know of a preschooler that would like to enroll into this library, please contact Smart Start for more information.

Childcare is a necessity for most parents and every parent wants the best start possible start for their little one. Caldwell County has provided a way to help make this possible through Smart Start. For more information about Smart Start or making a donation to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, check out their website at http://www.caldwellsmartstart.org/.

Many thanks to the Teresa Branch, Michael Smith and the other Smart Start board members for including the staff at the Caldwell Journal in this evening of celebration.