Testimonial 9

To Whom It May Concern:

We would whole-heartedly endorse Shelley Stackpole’s in-home day care.  Shelley cared for our daughter Mia from Nov-2003 through Sep-2004, until she was two and a half years old.

We had originally expected Mia to be with Shelley until she was age three (and ready to join her older sister in a local Montessori school), but Shelley’s caring and supportive environment accelerated Mia’s developmental growth, allowing Mia to join the school program several months ahead of schedule.

This is all the more impressive when you understand that Mia was adopted from China at 18 months of age, and had only been home in the US for two months before beginning care with Shelley.

Mia is our third child to experience in-home day care, and never before have we had a child who, on every Monday morning, would be so consistently upbeat about “going to Miss Shelley’s.”  It is impressive when someone else allows your child to feel so comfortable, entertained and constructively challenged that going there is perceived solely as a positive.

In our eyes, Shelley’s best attributes in caring for our child are:

• Sincere Caring- recognizes each child’s individual characteristics, and effectively builds a nurturing bond with each
• Child Development- understands that every child learns differently, and provides a wide variety of stimulating physical and mental activities to help each child grow at their own pace.
• Flexibility- Highly adaptable to each child’s moods and needs, and very capable in working with parents through challenging efforts such as potty training
• Discipline- understands how to use positive feedback to guide a child’s behavior, and is utterly consistent with the children when it comes to acceptable behaviors
• Open- takes the time to communicate the child’s daily experience, so working parents can stay abreast of everything their child experiences

It was heart-warming to frequently find our daughter snuggled with Shelley at the end of the day, reading books.  The normal transition was to receive a child full of smiles and excitement, telling stories of what a fun day it had been.

While we already had a plan to move Mia into a Montessori program before we even started at Shelley’s, we would have been extremely comfortable continuing care with Shelley for much longer.  She provides a wonderful environment that is simultaneously nurturing and constructive for a child’s growth.

Shelley is warm, honest and caring person, and an excellent partner for parents in need of a day care option in their lives.  Please feel free to contact us if you require any additional perspectives.

Sincerely,

Linda & Doug Brown