Seaford children tap happiness

For My Happy Place Day Care in Seaford, every day is a celebration of Hispanic heritage. But to mark Hispanic Heritage Month, from mid-September to mid-October, there will be an extra focus on trying Spanish food, learning about other countries and mastering the Spanish words for basics like colors and numbers from one to 10.

Vicki LunaVictoria, her mother, Donna LunaVictoria and Vicki’s boyfriend, Christopher Hughes, opened the family business two years ago in a house on Seamans Neck Road. Donna’s heritage is Spanish and Mexican, and Vicki’s father is from Peru. Hughes is part Colombian.

Mother and daughter work at the day care full-time, while Hughes works there part-time. The trio is joined by employees Becky Flores and Tori Lamster.

During a week in August, children learned about Mexico for a unit on traveling around the world. “The kids really loved that week,” Vicki said. They snacked on tortilla chips and painted Mexican flags that they took home.

“It’s just nice that we’re able to bring that into our curriculum, because learning another language is so important,” Vicki said. She was a teacher in Brooklyn and the Bronx for nine years, and is certified to teach children from infants to sixth-graders. She also has a master’s degree and is certified to teach special-education students in the same age group.

“Along the line I’ve taught pre-K and kindergarten to first grade,” Vicki said. “So opening up a day care was something I always wanted to do.”

Because of her long commute from Franklin Square to Brooklyn, the timing was right to move to Seaford and open up the business, she said. She and Hughes moved there in June 2016 and opened the center that August. They decided on Seaford when Vicki said she liked the feeling of a small community.

“Ever since I moved here, everybody has been just so nice,” she said. “I feel like it’s a lot smaller than the other towns, and that’s what we really like.”

The day care is open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The center is licensed to have up to 16 children a day, ranging in age from 6 weeks to 5 years old. Currently, it has 12 children a day, from 9 months to 3 years old. A total of 18 children are signed up, but not every child comes every day. The center offers both part-time and full-time care.

LunaVictoria found most of her clients by advertising, and through local mothers’ groups on Facebook. “Right now we have a pretty long waiting list,” she said, “and we’ve only been open for two years.”

The day starts at 8 a.m., when most of the children arrive. Breakfast is served at 8:30, and “circle time” starts at 9, which includes going over the calendar, days of the week, shapes and numbers. Spanish is taught every day during circle time.

The children take a nap at 10 before eating lunch and then taking part in yoga, fitness and outdoor activities. Monthly themes are incorporated into the activities. October’s theme is fall and Halloween.

“Whether it’s painting, coloring or science experiments, we’re always hands-on learning,” LunaVictoria said. “It’s not just like a regular day care where they play all day. We do follow a curriculum.”

Parents receive a newsletter each month, and can also be connected with their children throughout the day through an application called Brightwheel. LunaVictoria sends photos of the kids to their parents through the app, and lists daily reports of their activities, including what they eat.

“It’s a really nice way to have that communication with parents, so at least when they’re working, they’re able to see their children with the photo,” she said. “They really appreciate that.”

The center also offers occasional “date nights” on Saturdays, when kids are kept busy there while parents are given some time to themselves at home. And in August, it held a preschool prom: The kids dressed up and attended a dance party.

LunaVictoria said that the center has built many relationships in just two years. “I tell people that when they come sign on, we all become pretty much like a family,” she said.