Ms. Dina has lived in Framingham her entire life, growing up as the oldest girl in a family of seven children. She was always with her younger siblings and other kids in the neighborhood, taking care of them. She also raised five children of her own! It was a natural progression for Ms. Dina to build her own home daycare because of her familiarity and comfort with children. When she started her daycare in Framingham back in 1992, women were increasingly working outside of the home, and so the demand for daycare programs was growing. As the landscape of family child care has changed, with the development of the EEC and more, Ms. Dina has grown and advanced with it. She keeps up-to-date on trainings and courses every year, along with what nutrition and development improvements are being made.
What Ms. Dina loves about children is the new discoveries that they make every day. “They make it new for me too,” she says. She remembers recently when a 1-year-old in her care saw snow for the first time, and that she so enjoys participating in the children seeing something for the first time. “It never gets old,” she says. “The first year of life is so packed with development and is so special, it’s a delight to watch.”
Ms. Dina likes the home-like feeling of her program, especially in how a young child bonds with her almost like a grandmother. She believes that in the very beginning of life, it’s important to have people the child can trust around them, and many parents have remarked that the daycare is like a second home for their children. Ms. Dina truly cares for the kids like family.
Ms. Dina’s experience makes her daycare unique in that she has been in the field for so long, plus has raised her own children, and has seen all of the changes throughout the years. She is very comfortable with kids and again has a deep passion for watching their development and participating in it. She loves arts and crafts, play-doh, and using workbooks to teach the children the alphabet and more. Her favorite activity is painting. She lets the kids lead the play as much as possible. “We recently gathered rocks and painted them because that’s what the kids wanted to paint that day!” Ms. Dina says. She believes hands-on activities are the best. “The kids get to think with their hands and mold things.” This, along with water games and more, develop their sensory skills. She’s also proud to say that the curriculum matches with seasons and holidays, giving the children time to reflect on some of the values and principles inherent in different times of the year.
In her home, she has a large sunshine-filled room with a wraparound deck off of it, where the children play mostly. There are shelves with toys, little kitchen sets, tables and chairs for crafts and snacks, and couches for story time. There is also a fenced-in backyard where they can play, weather-permitting. The dining room is separated for napping, which is important to Ms. Dina because the separation allows the children to recognize that that room is not for play. Ms. Dina’s home is also easily accessible by public transportation, with the Natick and Framingham train stops nearby.
Ms. Dina is excited to be partnered with NeighborSchools to be able to reach a wider range of people and let others know about her experience working with children. Under Massachusetts law, Ms. Dina’s Family Childcare has been open as a licensed Family Child Care through the Massachusetts’ Development of Early Education and Care (EEC) since 1992. The EEC mandates strict licensing requirements, which include background checks, home inspections, and safety trainings and certifications. By partnering with NeighborSchools, Ms. Dina will continue to receive expert advice in marketing and operating her business.
Ms. Dina is open for new enrollments! Get your application in soon as not to miss out on this daycare’s limited availability. Click here to learn more!
