VALDOSTA — Images of exploration, imagination and education decorate the walls and clutter the rooms of Tickle Me Pink Daycare and Learning Center.

Tickle Me Pink is a family-owned business located at 252 St. Augustine Road that focuses on teaching the youth for which it cares. It also has a Brooks County.

A former educator for Newton County School System, owner Pamela Carter purchased the facility from her mother five years ago. It has been operating for 20 years.

Carter said the daycare is not a babysitting service but rather a place where children from infancy to 12 years old can learn and grow. 

“Looking at education with the earlier ages really made me understand just how important this time of their lives are,” she said.

Tickle Me Pink employs six lead teachers and six teacher’s assistants, and the curriculum encompasses skills to assist all learning, including reading and development. Getting the older children to think more in depth is a priority for the learning center utilizes, according to Carter.

“Teachers take time to ask them open-ended questions when they’re in play…getting them to think and getting their imagination flowing more so than with them just playing with no real interaction,” she said.

Lead Infant Teacher Joy Kelsaw has been with the business for three years. She said babies are able to learn, as well, even at a young age.“Even though they’re infants, never say never because they can do it,” she said. “I put my trust in them, and I tell them you can do it to give them that confidence.”

Kelsaw said she reads to the babies, allows them to discover items by touch, lets them examine colors and is continuously talking to them.

Learning healthy eating habits is also a priority at Tickle Me Pink. To aid with this effort, Carter said a $1,500 Farm to Early Childhood Education grant was received last December from Bright from the Start.

“With the grant, we’re able to purchase materials and resources for the classroom,” she said. “We can use it for training for our staff; we can use it for field trips for our children.”

Tickle Me Pink has largely used early childhood education to increase the kids’ awareness about fruits and vegetables by taking them to farms and buying some of the produce to take back to the learning center.

While exploring the local farms, children learn about the specifics on produce such as origin and care, Carter said.

The early childhood education grant has also been used for a program called Fresh Marts, a pretend grocery store settings for preschool children. “It has the fake food and everything … They’re going through the enactment of being in the grocery store with mom or dad or whomever; and then, they know exactly what they’re eating,” Carter said.

Sitting in the back of the learning center is a garden, planted by the preschoolers, growing tomatoes, peas, beans, collards, okra, cantelope and watermelon.

Carter said students carry lessons home with them about nutritional eating they’ve experienced at her center. Visit ticklemedaycare.com for more information about the daycare.  

Amanda Usher is a reporter at The Valdosta Daily Times. She can be contacted at 229-244-3400 ext.1274.