It's been said that it takes a village to raise a child. Here is our village:
Constance Johnson a.k.a. “Granny”- Director
Constance Johnson had a 20 year gratifying career in the international distribution field working for several major corporations which provided her with excellent organization and leadership skills and experience in administration. When the company moved from the Chicago area to Oregon, she decided to take an early retirement to garden and spend more time with her three grandchildren. That decision turned into a full time profession as a licensed family child care provider in 1994. She says "This Is the most satisfying, rewarding job I've ever had. The organizational and administration skills acquired in my previous profession helped prepare me for the work that I now do in the child care field." She has taken many Early Childhood Education courses at Triton College and continues to attend classes, workshops and seminars in the field of early child education and development. She's taught at Wilbur Wright College; been a mentor for American Business Collaboration for Quality Dependent Care; and an advisor to new day care centers and many family child care homes. She's served as the Vice President and President of the West Suburban Home Day Care Association and sits on the board of several corporations and associations. She's been the Membership Secretary of Illinois Association for Family Child Care (Illinois AFCC), a state wide family child care advocacy group, and Treasurer of the Association and is currently the Vice President of Illinois AFCC. Constance enjoys grandchildren, traveling and reading.
Mrs. Olivia Alvarez - Infant Care Giver and Cook
Mrs. Alvarez was born in Mexico and lived with her maternal grandparents. In 1974 she came to Chicago to live. She's a mother of two sons and a grandmother of girls and boys. In Miss Olivia's free time, she loves to read and take walks, but most of her time is spent attending soccer games and practices with my youngest son. Not only does Miss Olivia teach the infants and pre-toddlers Spanish, American Sign Language and helps them with their large and small muscle development but she's also a fantastic cook and has introduced us to many of the foods from her birth country.
Dawn Ferencak - Artist and Art Instructor
She works in a variety of mediums including pastels, acrylics, oils, watercolors, collage, clay and more. Her works are abstract in nature. Her art is influenced by the works of some of her favorite artists, O'Keefe, Picasso, Klimt, Kandinsky and others. Dawn's work has been collected nationally and internationally, yet she remains an easily assessable artist open to new ideas and exploration. She makes art daily and enjoys working one-on-one with her clients. Dawn has been working with children from Granny's Corner Child Care for 4 years. She loves making art with children. She incorporates art history and field trips into her fun and creative curriculum. Dawn believes that we can find art in our every day lives, and encourages the children to explore and discover the world of art whenever possible.
Miss Patrice Lewis
Patrice enjoys music, reading and spending time with her family and friends. "Miss Patrice" attended school and received a certificate to become a professional cook. She plans to return to school to pursue a career in law enforcement.
Ms. Mary McMullen -
Toddler & Preschool Care Giver
Mary McMullen received a computer programming degree from Northwestern Business College. Ms McMullen worked for several years at a local security company until her son was born. She was a stay at home mom until coming to Granny's Corner in 2006. “Miss Mary” will take courses in early childhood education starting in September of 2007. She loves to skate, read and take long walks.
Ms. Felisha Reed - Toddler & Preschool Care Giver and Teacher
Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois is the mother of a 17 year old son, Jeremy, two cats “Socks & Petey Wheatstraw” and godmother to several. “Miss Felisha” has loved and taken care of children most of her teenage and adult life. She decided to make a career of it about three years ago. Ms. Reed decided to do what she loves for a living, which is nurturing and teaching children the early learning skills they need to be productive individuals throughout life. Miss Felisha's hobbies are reading, scrap booking and swimming.
Mrs. Ileana Sharon - Infant Caregiver and Spanish Teacher
Maritza Ileana Pineda is originally from Guatemala City in Central America.Since coming to Granny’s Corner Child Care four years ago, she’s taken child care classes at Concordia University and other workshops and seminars. Ms. Pineda is the Spanish teacher at Granny’s Corner as well as the infant caregiver.She states I'm thankful to God that He’s blessed me with this exciting work.He allows me to show the infants and everybody here the love of God. Ileana enjoys going to church and shopping on the week-ends.
Amanda Wilkerson - Assistant
Amanda helps in the office and enjoys reading and playing with our children during the summer months and when her school is closed. She brings a ready smile and willingness to help wherever needed.