SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — Parents in the Sioux Falls area will soon have another option for preschool and childcare.
A business owner and teacher is opening an in-home preschool is just a matter of weeks.
Brianna Munce will start welcoming children at the Preschool Nest on August 24th.
It’s a preschool for kids ages 3-5 with an extended daycare option.
“I love working with kids, especially early childhood because you get to be the one to teach them all the daily tasks…how to zip your coat, how to tie your shoe, how do we handle big feelings?” Munce said.
Munce is one of many South Dakota recipients of a Child Care Expansion and Startup Grant, federal money made available through the American Rescue Plan Act.
The money helped Munce buy furniture, toys, and cover some startup costs.
“So I was able to get a lot of hardwood, solid wood, hopefully pieces that will last a while,” Munce said.
“Seed money is very important,” State Representative Linda Duba said.
At the same time, State Representative Linda Duba says there’s more work to be done at home to find long term solutions for childcare challenges in South Dakota.
“We need incremental baby steps. We need to have policies around early learning and child care that start to make sense for South Dakota and figure out where we can carve out funding and what we can do with businesses to incent them. It’s not going to be easy. There are no easy solutions to this problem,” Duba said.
For now, Munce’s dream is coming true with the upcoming launch of Preschool Nest.
“There’s such a need in the Sioux Falls community for more preschool and daycare options, and I look forward to meeting that need by being a two-in-one,” Munce said.
Sign up for Preschool Nest is underway, and Munce still has slots available for kids.
Munce says she’ll be able to have up to 12 kids in one day, but because she has full-time and part-time options, more kids will likely be registered.
