Home is where lots of heart is, says second-generation Modesto caregiver

There’s a new playmate in the group. Only 14 months old, Aziel says little and stays shyly in the background. But the other kids have adopted him and on this day he happily sits in a stroller, propelled around the backyard by 3-year-old Stephan.

“These little ones see these older ones, and it just develops their confidence,” home child care provider Karen Elmore said, watching the kids play. The mix of ages and families is one of the advantages of home-based care, she said.

For 30 years Elmore has nurtured and trained children through a program of Modesto City Schools, and is the district’s only second-generation provider, said Mickey Boelter, head of MCS child development programs. The district serves 160 children in 23 home settings and is expanding its network in west Modesto through a collaboration with the city of Modesto and the King-Kennedy Memorial Center.

Elmore not only provides home child care, she is a product of it, growing up in the home-based Modesto City Schools child care program run by her late mother, Nina Cody.

“She was just a pioneer in early education. She did the centers. She taught the children. It was her passion,” Elmore said. “I’m a copy of her.”

It is a passion she shares. “Kids see things we don’t see. It’s a neat experience to see life through their eyes,” she said, gazing around at children scooping and pouring colored rice in a large bin. Across the home’s paved courtyard, young artists in smocks painted bright blue lines and splotches.

“You see a big difference with family care homes,” Elmore said. “They start younger and build that solid bond. They leave here more than ready to flourish and succeed. The empathy’s there because they’re with the little kids,” she said.

For families looking at home child care, she advises considering basic things like cleanliness and organization, but paying particular attention to the kids already there. “Look at their interactions, adults with the children,” Elmore said, “That can tell you a lot if children are happy and playing.”

The Elmore family cars sit on the driveway, taking second fiddle to the classroom with tiny kitchen and pint-size bathroom that fills the garage. Anything breakable is out of reach. Soaps are locked away. The toilet lid is always down as a safety measure. Plugs always covered.

On lower kitchen shelves, plastic measuring cups stack up and pan lids nest. Elmore uses the homey setting to add an academic twist to regular family activities. “They can pull out the measuring cups while I cook. I think that’s the beauty of family child care,” she said.

Child-size tables and chairs, cubbies and wall art have replaced the usual garage clutter. One wall is lined with bookshelves, filled mostly with hand-me-downs from the Elmore children. “My two boys always knew, if they asked for a book, they always got a book,” she said with a chuckle.

Besides fun times, Elmore and her two assistants evaluate children’s progress, looking for academic or social skills that need work and filling out written goals for each child each week. A chart of feelings with cuddly dolls helps kids communicate when upset. Gadgets that call for using pincer grasps help develop fine motor skills.

“There are so many misconceptions of child care. People think we’re baby sitting, but there’s so much more,” Elmore said. “Everything is intentional.”

But the long days – 6:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. – of planning and playing pay off.

“I can see the difference that I make in them,” Elmore said, looking around at her charges. “It’s so rewarding. I look forward to waking up to start my day.”

This story was originally published March 27, 2015 at 10:00 AM with the headline "Home is where lots of heart is, says second-generation Modesto caregiver."