THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, November 5, 1996 TAG: 9611050022
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ELIZABETH SIMPSON, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 120 lines
ONE DAY LAST WEEK, 3-year-old Michael Pollard sent a cow to the moon and introduced him to a purple monster.
He accomplished this feat on a computer at his day-care center, with the help of Computertots instructor Janet Peck.
``Slide the arrow over and put it right on the cow's nose,'' said Peck, as Michael's tiny fingers slid across the giant yellow tracking ball of a computer mouse made especially for children.
``I want the monster,'' he shouted before clicking on the purple ears of a wide-eyed creature peeping out of a manhole.
Michael is one of 600 students Peck and her team of computer instructors teach on a weekly circuit that takes them to day-care centers in Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk and Franklin.
The company's ``have computer, will travel'' philosophy is one that a growing group of entrepreneurs are adopting as they respond to a changing children's market.
Since many working parents don't have time after work to ferry children to lessons, instructors and other children's entertainment companies are meeting the children halfway: in child-care centers.
``The number of child-care centers has increased exponentially across the country, so it follows that those types of businesses have increased as well,'' said Barbara Willer, spokesperson for the National Association for the Education of Young Children. ``Entrepreneurs are responding to changing demographics and changing trends in family life.''
The companies are also changing the nature of the day-care experience by offering an array of lessons, including computer, dance, gymnastics and tennis. While some parents may see the added fee of the lessons as an unnecessary, and prohibitive, boost to child-care cost, others are signing up.
Parents see the lessons as a way to give children extra instruction they might not have time for in the evening, and also as a way to liven up their children's day.
``Zachary looks forward to Computertots all week,'' said Jennifer Jenkins, whose 4-year-old son attends Thalia Lynn Baptist Church Kindergarten and Child Care Center. ``I think it's been his main motivation in learning the days of the week because he wants to figure out what day they're coming.''
Computertots, a Northern Virginia company that has franchises across the country, began offering lessons in South Hampton Roads about four years ago. Children 3 years to kindergarten age are taught half-hour lessons once a week, for $30 a month. Computer Explorers are more advanced classes for kindergartners to children 12 years of age.
``It's convenient for parents because it gives their children an extra activity, on site, without taking them someplace,'' Peck said.
For centers, the traveling activities add another dimension to the day-care day, which can be used to promote the center's offerings.
``Parents want to involve their children in all these types of activities,'' said Susan Pollack, director of Children's Harbor in Norfolk. ``But when they get home, they're frazzled, the kids are frazzled. This allows them to take lessons where there's less pressure.''
Last week Michael and Katharine Winters, 3, who attend Children's Harbor in Norfolk, created a story with Peck by clicking on different characters of a story and adding elements as the story progressed.
``Millie likes to ride a ----,'' the computer said while showing pictures of a flying carpet, a bathtub, a canoe and a spaceship.
The children chose a spaceship, and the story continued.
``One day Millie traveled to ----'' said the next words on the computer. The children chose outer space over the jungle, the city or an island.
``When Millie got there, she ----''
Michael asked for a monster, which leapt out of a hole and waved to Millie the cow.
``A monster!'' Michael chortled.
In another day-care center last week, Nancy and Mark Cronce rounded up 12 children and led them to a star-studded bus in the parking lot of the Thalia Lynn Baptist Church Kindergarten and Day Care in Virginia Beach.
This is the Tumble Bus, a mobile gymnastics center with carpeted floors and walls, padded mats, a balance beam, a springboard and an array of other gymnastic tools.
``OK, are you ready?'' said Nancy to the children, who stood along the periphery of the bus. ``Stand up tall! OK? Clap those hands. Jump it out.''
The children stomped their feet on the floor, and stretched their hands up in the air to the beat of ``Ghost Busters.'' Then they crawled through a tunnel at the end of the bus, slid across padded mats, and somersaulted down a mat. Then the children circled back, walked across a balance beam, and ducked in the tunnel again.
``OK, let's do the spider walk now,'' Nancy yelled out. ``Walk those feet up like a spider.''
The children grabbed hold of a parallel bar, walked their feet up the side of the bus and flipped themselves over the bar.
``Beautifully done!'' Nancy said.
Nancy has a gymnastics studio in Virginia Beach, but about seven years ago she realized the potential of the day-care market. She started traveling to centers, packing her equipment in the back of a Jeep.
Then she heard about a company in the Midwest that converts school buses to mobile gyms. Two years ago she bought one, and now serves about 300 children, at $25 monthly per child, in Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Chesapeake and Portsmouth. Husband Mark is her assistant.
``Child care is our biggest draw,'' Nancy Cronce said. ``Parents like the idea of children burning up energy while they're in day care.''
Other businesses, such as photo studios, child finger-printing services and children's entertainment also are taking their shows on the day-care road.
Gayle O'Neal, who owns a children's entertainment company called Spellbound in Chesapeake, said that during the summer she takes her petting zoo, ponies and Moon Walk to three or four day-care centers a week.
``Children like animals, and parents like to hear what they did that day,'' O'Neal said. ``So if a day care can bring in something new and different that kids talk about, then that helps out the center.''
Day-care centers either pay for the cost through tuition or activity fees, or charge each child a fee to participate.
While the various activities available at day-care centers have grown over the years, entrepreneurs say they aren't tripping over one another. Not yet, anyway.
``There's a lot of day-care centers out there and a lot of children,'' Cronce said. ``I haven't had a problem signing up kids. I think there's room for all these extracurricular activities.'' ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]
MOTOYA NAKAMURA
The Virginian-Pilot
Janet Peck of Computertots teaches Katharine Winters, 3, and Michael
Pollard, 3, how to use a computer at Children's Harbor in Norfolk. by CNB