Woburn -- January 29 will be the last day for First Steps Early Learning Center on Warren Avenue.
Beginning in February, the space will be occupied by The Learning Zone, an early childhood company that has been serving the Boston suburbs for the past 20 years and currently operates centers in Belmont, Framingham, Waltham and Weston. The Woburn Learning Zone will provide care for 50 children ages one month to five years and is currently accepting applications.
Like the four existing sites, the Woburn Learning Zone center will be equipped with online cameras. Parents will receive a secure password allowing them to log on and check on their little ones from any online computer. Proprietor Melissa Ananias says that being a working mother of young children herself has influenced her approach to serving families. She founded the company not long after graduating from Boston University in 1994, but says parenting has taught her so much more than she learned in school.
“Once I became a mom, I understood what it’s like to get so little sleep at night and then get ready for work in the morning with kids next to you,” she says. “I also understood how scary the intense love you feel for your children really is and that most parent requests or concerns come from pure love and fear.”
More than anything, Ananias says, she wants parents to feel comfortable and calm, knowing that their children will be safe and happy in her centers. “We understand that parents have so much going on, and sometimes they just need someone to listen and say that we get it and that their children will be fine.”
With local demand for center-based care so high, Ananias expects the Woburn center to be fully enrolled before it even opens. More than 20 families have already contacted her about new center, she said. In addition, some children will be transferring to Woburn from her other sites to be closer to home or parents’ work places.
Besides seeking new students, the Woburn Learning Zone is also accepting applications from qualified early childhood educators.
For more information, visit thelearningzoneonline.com.
