Infusing Culture And Education At Willow

Behind the door of a simple storefront on Trapelo Road, 20 joyful young children spend the weekdays playing, learning and appreciating their cultural roots.

They show up at the Willows Bilingual Child Care Academy at 8 a.m. and stay busy with a variety of activities until their families pick them up at 6 p.m.

"Quite a few of the children don't want to leave at the end of the day," said Ann Qu, director of the academy and day-care center.

"They feel comfortable here and don't want to part with their friends," she said.

Belmont has a fairly large Chinese population, Qu said, and many want their children to learn Chinese along with English that is what the academy provides.

"Some of the families are fluent in Chinese, some are second-generation but they all want their children to practice the language – along with English – and to know about their culture," she said.

"Often, when children go to an English-speaking day care center, they come home only speaking that language and don't feel they need to learn Chinese."

At Willows Bilingual Child Care Academy, the children – ages one and a-half to six – learn both English and Chinese and are engaged in a busy routine that includes table activities where they put together puzzles, count beads, scratch letters, pour water and sort items from glass cups to learn counting; English lessons that include math, writing letters; Chinese and English show and tell where they bring items from home and describe what they are and what they mean; music and dancing; playing in Pequossette Park; naps, resting and meals; as well as special activities such as arts and crafts on Monday, drawing on Tuesday, music on Wednesday, yoga and Chinese dance on Thursday and water play on Friday.

Unlike most child care centers that aim to just keep children safe and occupied, Qu said, the Willows Bilingual Child Care Academy teaches them skills suitable to their ages and instills a respect for the Chinese culture. She and three other teachers comprise the staff at the academy and day-care center.

"We want their day to be colorful and educational," Qu said. "Our philosophy is to teach them by allowing them to do things – touching, playing, engaging."

The children learn best by actively doing things, Qu said. "Touching and playing allow them to fully engage in activities and help them learn the basics more thoroughly than if they were just told things without an outlet for participating."

She studied law in China but, after moving to the Boston area and having two daughters, began to study education and philosophy for nurturing the needs of pre-school children.

"My experience as a mother led me to this type of work because I realized how important it was to me that my daughters (ages 6 and 4 1/2) learn both English and Chinese," Qu said.

"If they understand the meaning of their culture, they will feel more comfortable when they go to school, knowing that children are all the same, no matter where their families are from."

The majority of the students at Willows Bilingual Child Care Academy are Chinese, Qu said, although there are also those from Korea and other Asian countries. Most who attend the academy are from Belmont but students also come from surrounding communities such as Winchester, Watertown, Newton, Waltham and Cambridge.

By the end of the year, Qu said, Willows Bilingual Child Care Academy will open a second center in Lexington.

Qu feels it's important for children from Asian families to attend a day-care center where their native language is spoken.

"When children are young, it is hard for them to go to a completely strange environment," she said. "Here, they are comfortable because they hear the language many of their families speak as well as the one spoken in the country where they live."

For additional information on Willows Bilingual Child Care Academy, email Ann Qu at willows.childcare@gmail.com