Little Blue Castle Childcare

Hello and thank you for considering Little Blue Castle for your childcare needs!

My name is Kathleen Moss, I am a licensed professional family childcare provider, and I run Little Blue Castle Childcare from my home in Bel Air, MD. I have two children of my own, and love what I do - providing small group care for young children, infant through school age. I became licensed and began providing childcare after my daughter was born, with lots of support from knowledgeable former providers and family. I returned to the workforce, and found juggling work outside the home with being a parent gave me a whole new perspective for what I wanted in childcare! My goal is to offer a warm, fun, and home-like experience to children, while making the experience for busy parents easy and enjoyable.

Ultimately, my work is about connecting parents with their child's experiences, and providing age-appropriate experiences that are unique, tactile, positive, and meaningful for the children in care. I believe that providing a safe and respectful environment - one which encourages empathy and independence, reaps it's own rewards in behavior and learning.

My philosophy as a caregiver is one which embraces a child's natural way of learning through play: a variety of hands on experiences, and both structured and unstructured time for creativity. I offer activities that stimulate motor skill, social, and self-esteem development. I view my position as one of a facilitator - I want children to experience things across the spectrum: small and large motor skills, easy and challenging, academic and life skills, activities with directions and open-ended free play. We explore early learning concepts with older children using a mix of engaging preschool curriculum materials. We improvise when we stumble upon a new fascination, and I love to see children engaged in their own self-created themes. We spend our time reading and being read to, drawing and doing crafts, listening to music, dancing and exercising, exploring outdoors, preparing meals, and creating themed dramatic play areas: all of these things feed a child's development and enjoyment in learning and creativity! I provide healthy meals and snacks inclusive to your tuition for care, and offer nutritionally balanced and diverse foods. I strive to teach children respect for themselves and respect and empathy for others through example and positive reinforcement.