Growth at Promega: From Daycare to Employee

The red roof of Woods Hollow Child Care center peeks out over the prairie swale at the Promega Madison campus.
The red roof of Woods Hollow Child Care center peeks out over the prairie swale at the Promega Madison campus.

Woods Hollow Children’s Center is a prominent feature on the Promega Madison campus, due not only to the building’s distinctive red metal roof, but also the sights, sounds and energy that emanate from it. Playground laughter echoes across the prairie, little ones with their teachers stop in to explore the art at the Promega gallery, children and scientists alike share the meandering paths between lab, manufacturing and office buildings.

The fully accredited child center for children 6 weeks to 10 years old has been part of the Promega community since 1991 when the company built and began financially supporting Woods Hollow, making it available to employees as well as families in the surrounding community. (Promega employees do not receive a break in tuition, but they are given priority for admission. And Promega funding allows Woods Hollow to keep operating costs down while also being able to hire top teachers and offer them competitive wages.)

During its 27 years in operation, the center has served more than 2000 families, many of those with multiple children. It is natural to assume that someday perhaps at least a few of those kids would grow up to work at Promega.

Meet Promega Distribution Services Specialist, and Woods Hollow alum, Tyler Kalish. Continue reading “Growth at Promega: From Daycare to Employee”

My Daughter Hates Circle Time

My daughter has been in a learning center environment for all of her early years. One hallmark of that environment—something that happens in every class she has been in since age 2—is “circle time”.

Circle time is an unquestioned tradition of early childhood education in the USA. A Google search of “circle time” on the web quickly produces a host of curricula, sites with songs for circle time, and suggestions for circle time activities for toddlers. Even early childhood educator forums discuss the topic in great length.

However, at the risk of being labeled an educational heretic, I am going to ask some questions about circle time. Where did it get its start? What is the empirical evidence that circle time actually accomplishes the things that everyone says it does? It possible that circle time, this so honored educational tradition, also may be a mechanism for crushing creativity? Continue reading “My Daughter Hates Circle Time”