New Child Care Center Opens in Edgewater

Mary Beth Duthoy, Melissa Fullerton and Kenneth Graham.

A new child care facility opened in Edgewater last week. JoyKids Learning Center will accept children two to five years of age for its full day program, which will be in operation year round.

The facility, at 35 Mayo Road, is hosting an open house on Monday from 8 a.m. to noon. At 9 a.m., they will have a ribbon-cutting with dignitaries from the community.

The school is housed in the church facility at Joy Reigns Lutheran Church next to Edgewater Fitness. Melissa Fullerton is the center director and she said that the school will follow a state-approved curriculum.

Dinosaurs! (by the bucket) are a fun toy for little fingers.

“We will take a whole child approach, nurturing the children emotionally, socially, physically and spiritually,” Fullerton said.

There will be a teacher and helper on staff each day, working in two shifts, morning and afternoon. They will open at 6:30 a.m. and run until 6 p.m.

Until a few years ago, there was a preschool operating out of the space, which was then known as Parkwood United Methodist Church. Parkwood merged with Mayo United Methodist Church in 2010. Joy Reigns purchased the property from Mayo-Parkwood in 2011 and had a long-range goal of reopening the school.

But then a Joy Reigns parishioner, Kenneth Graham, approached Fullerton and wondered aloud why they should wait. The two then decided that they didn’t have to wait. Fullerton, then employed by a childcare facility in Millersville decided to step out on her own and open the school with Graham.

Since November Fullerton and Graham have been organizing the necessary paperwork with the county and Maryland Department of Health to get the center open for business.

Fullerton said that she likes the location, especially since there are only a few full-day facilities in the area—outside of home-based child care.

Reopening the facility would be another option for parents, Fullerton said.

She said that the church and school were able to buy some of the furniture from Parkwood’s old childcare facility, and she said that parishioners helped by stocking the room with playthings and the necessary equipment and supplies.

Outside, they found the perfect spot for an outdoor play yard. It is entirely fenced in, and  the door of the childcare room opens directly onto it.

Fullerton said that they will only accept full-time students, but noted that they do not have to be potty-trained. They are licensed for 16 children between the ages of two and five.

The outdoor play area is ready for the children.

They will be working with the High Reach state-approved curriculum. Teacher Mary Beth Duthoy will be leading the morning shift with Graham as the teacher’s assistant. Fullerton will be leading the afternoon shift with Lenore Liller, a teacher’s aide.

The cost is $205 a week for two year olds, payable by debit or credit card, with a $5 discount for cash payment. Older children will be $185 for debit/credit cards and $180 for cash. They do not accept checks.

The school opened with a couple of children on Friday. They will accept students until they have filled all 16 slots.

Check out the Open House from 8 a.m. to noon on Monday, 35 Mayo Road in Edgewater. You can browse the facility, ask questions and pick up the necessary enrollment paperwork.