Teachers, children and parents will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the MTSU Child Care Lab with an open house from 4-6 p.m. Thursday at the lab on Womack Lane on the MTSU campus.
Since its inception, the lab has cared for youngsters ages 3-5 and has served as a laboratory for students, typically those who major in nursing, early childhood education, social work, psychology or speech and hearing.
“We always keep a waiting list, and we usually have around 20 names on the list,” says director Nancy James.
Initially, the lab cared only for students’ children. Later, it expanded to serve children of faculty and staff. James would like to add more types of service in the future.
“It would be nice if we could have some kind of evening program,” she says. “It would also be nice if we could expand into the infant-toddler area because there’s a big, big need for that.”
One indication of the lab’s growth is its recent partnership with MTSU’s Confucius Institute. A teacher shares her knowledge of Chinese culture and language with the children for a half-day Monday through Thursday as the child care lab teachers instruct her in the nuances of an American child care setting.
“We found out quickly that, whatever their first language is, they pick up the English language quickly,” James says of the children’s response to the new instruction.
The 30th anniversary child care lab celebration is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served. For more information, contact the lab at 615-898-2970 or e-mail James at njames@mtsu.edu. |
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