Kiddie Academy Hosts Grand Opening Event

After opening on Sept. 4, a new Plainfield daycare will celebrate with a grand opening event from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.

Kiddie Academy, 13703 S. Route 59, offers education-based childcare, according to husband-and-wife owners Saj and Sunny Rizvi.

“We have a full curriculum,” offering programs for children ages six weeks through 12 years old, Sunny said.

“The demand now is for school-based care, not a daycare,” she added, saying Kiddie Academy’s “Life Essentials” curriculum prepares children for elementary school.

“The curriculum really gives them a solid foundation for what they’re going to encounter in elementary school,” Sunny said.

The Sept. 22 grand opening celebration will include a petting zoo, bounce house, balloon artist, face painting, refreshments and prizes.

Kids will have to opportunity to play at Kiddie Academy’s three secure playgrounds while parents learn more about the new facility, which currently has 20 children enrolled.

While the Plainfield location is the third franchise owned by the Rizvis, Kiddie Academy was founded in Maryland as a family business in 1981. Today, there are more than 100 locations nationwide.

Director Stacey Scholl said the facility currently has seven staff members. That number could grow to as many as 30, depending on enrollment.

All Kiddie Academy staff members hold degrees and some are certified, Sunny said.

“We really look for teachers that are in this not as a job but as their career,” she said, adding the couple’s children have all attended Kiddie Academy. “It’s very close to our heart.”

Kiddie Academy offers full-day care, before- and after-school programs, summer camp and school vacation programs.

“[We offer] pretty much whatever the community needs,” Sunny said, adding the academy also provides transportation to District 202 schools.

She said the “Life Essentials” curriculum contains a character component, as well as an educational component.

“It’s broken up in monthly units and weekly themes,” Sunny said.

Parents who can’t make it to Saturday’s grand opening celebration can still check out what the new facility offers.

"We have an open-door policy,” Saj said, adding tours are available for interested families.