Perhaps you are familiar with Brightpath Early Learning & Childcare Centres; you’ve driven past, heard the name somewhere or have a friend of a friend who sends her/his children to the Centre. I recently toured the Millwoods Brightpath location to see what makes Brightpath Centres unique.
I must say walking into the facility I was impressed with the measures that were in place to keep the children safe; there is a button on the wall (out of a child’s reach) that must be pushed before entering and exiting the building, and the Director’s office is the first thing you see. I was greeted by the BrightPath director, and Assistant director and was given a tour of the entire facility.
Prior to having children, I had completed the Early Childhood Development program at Grant MacEwan University and spent many years working in the field with young children. When I walked into the Millwoods BrightPath centre I immediately noticed the walls were decorated with the certificates and qualifications of each staff member along with the licensing and accreditation certificates for Millwood Brightpath Early Learning & Child Care Centres and this made me as a child care professional, and as a Mom very happy.
**It is my understanding that a childcare facility in Alberta must be fully licensed to operate however, the accreditation certification is a higher level of certification that is not required for a facility to operate. The accreditation process is quite lengthy and is only rewarded to child care centres that follow all of the requirements.**
BrightPath Philosophy
“BrightPath is an innovative provider of early education. We continuously examine new ways to bring the highest quality of care and development to our children while providing convenience, service and value to our families. With partnerships in curriculum, nutrition, technology and recreational fitness programming, BrightPath is committed to providing families with the very best care, programs and child development Canada has to offer.”
What I learned about BrightPath:
When I toured the Millwoods BrightPath Early Learning & Child Care centre, I had the opportunity to explore each room and learn more about the program.
- The children are separated by age and each age category has their own room, age appropriate toys/furniture & learning activities.
- BrightPath has a full time, on-site cook who prepares a morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack and a pre-dinner snack at 5 pm (for whoever is still in the centre). The majority of the meals/snacks are freshly made from scratch with the exception of crackers, raisins, etc.
- There is a Baby Room, Young Toddler Room, Older Toddler Room, 3 year old room, 4 & 5 year old Room, and out of school care.
- Each room follows a schedule that is appropriate to the age group and is similar to the other rooms to allow an easy transition for children who “move up” when they are old enough.
- The babies and toddlers have a designated nap mat along with their own sheet & blanket so that they have an opportunity to nap each day.
- All of the BrightPath locations use a “Frog Street” program to encourage learning in the room. Each room has an age appropriate Frog Street book that outlines the daily theme and suggestions on how the childcare providers can carry out these themes. I was told the goal of the Frog Street program is to encourage learning in the room and in the centre overall.
- The focus of BrightPath is to offer more than just child care; the children are engaged and learning while having fun and eating balanced meals.
- All of the children spend time outside everyday! Currently the children are able to access an enclosed patio that is separated by short walls. If your child has a sibling in a different room they would be able to see each other during outdoor time.
- The older children (four years and up) go on occasional field trips outside of the centre.
- Children can attend BrightPath on a full time or part time basis, with the option of five days a week, three days a week, or two days a week.
Due to privacy concerns I was unable to take photos when Children were in the room so I only took the two featured above.
Locations in Edmonton & Area
There are various BrightPath locations in Edmonton & Area; for more information on each location, click the name below.
West Henday (Opening early 2016)
Book an Appointment
Overall I was very impressed with the BrightPath program, layout and staff at the Millwoods Centre and I would suggest you book a time to walk-through the BrightPath location closest to you when you start the search for child care. The whole process of finding child care can be vary daunting but the staff at the BrightPath Centres are available (by appointment) to walk you through the centre and answer any question you may have.
**I was compensated for this post but the opinions expressed above are my own.**