This past weekend, families flocked to the Carlos Museum for what has become an annual event -- a two-day festival called "Passport to the World." Formerly called "B.C. Fest," the event is partially funded by the Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Fund Museum Collections Accessibility Initiative and offers hands-on art activities, demonstrations, music, food and a variety of other events. Last year, children were busy creating African masks and jewelry; this year's theme of "A Greek Odyssey" brought athletic events, traditional Greek food, and a variety of art projects such as creating chariot models, oil lamps and musical instruments.
Charles Spencer, associate manager for youth and family programs, said that the kids' workshops on Saturday mornings bring out a lot of faculty and staff children, and many times the parents stay and participate as well. Workshops coming up in the next few months include "French Oil Painting, With Class" on Oct. 28, which will feature a recreation of a painting class at the French Academy and a viewing of the exhibition "French Oil Sketches and the Academic Tradition;" "Central American Gold Sculpture--A Rich Tradition" on Nov. 18, where children and families will view some of the museum's delicately crafted gold work, then design and build their own versions; and "Jewel of the Nile--Ancient Egyptian Beads and Scarabs" on Dec. 9, where children will learn about Egyptian jewelry, then create their own.
Children who attend these workshops also receive a kids' newsletter called "Columns" every two months which contains articles, games, puzzles and information about forthcoming events.
One-time events for children sponsored by the museum include those such as last year's four-hands performance of "Peter and the Wolf," followed by an Easter Egg Hunt, in which more than 300 kids participated.
The museum also sponsors Culture Camp, a day camp that runs for six weeks during the summer. The Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest grant funds a total of 36 scholarships to this camp, which offers kids the opportunity to learn about world cultures through sports, games and various art projects.
Offering much lower child-to-teacher ratios than required by law (Georgia law requires at least one teacher for every seven infants; at Clifton the ratio is 1:4.), the center operates under the philosophy that "children learn through play and that play is children's work." Tuition is paid through payroll deduction, and a sliding scale is offered to faculty and staff families with an income of $39,000 or less. (Since the subsidy is considered an employment benefit, it is not available to students.) The fees for families earning less than $22,000 range from $57-$66 per month; families earning more than $39,000 pay $114-$132 per month.
Faculty and staff looking for other child care alternatives may use a childcare referral service offered by Human Resources through Corporate Child Care. Corporate Child Care will provide a listing of centers, schools or in-home care providers within a specified geographic area.
Gloria Riley, benefits specialist in Human Resources, used the services of Corporate Child Care. "It was my first child, and I had no idea where I was going to send him to preschool. They provide you with a printout that tells you the rates, the ratios, whether they serve meals, cleanliness, who the owner is, who the director is, when they were established, whether or not they're certified. They can give you a computer printout for any area."
Through the University's Employee Discount Vendor Program, employees can take advantage of discounts at a variety of childcare providers such as Children's World Learning Centers, La Petite Academy, Kiddle Kare and Edu-Kare. Discounts are also available on services from EF Au Pair and OSB Inc., which provide in-home child care.
For those families interested in using the sports facilities on campus, P.E. Center membership is available to spouses and children of University and hospital faculty and staff.
--Nancy M. Spitler