Our Kids & Company Smart Tech centre is located directly beside the University of Calgary campus in the Smart Technologies building. Most of the children in our child care centre have parents who work upstairs at Smart Tech, which coupled with our welcoming community, creates a natural family-like environment. Everyone knows one another by name, and families are regularly engaged with our centre activities. At Smart Tech, our children love to learn using our interactive Smart Boards in the preschool rooms and adore playing in our huge playground outside. We often visit the pond nearby where our children love to feed the ducks and play in the open green space.
We know children who sing, dance and explore music regularly perform better in academic settings and tend to have higher self-esteem and social skills. That’s why we believe in introducing it at an early age and run a daily music program that involves interactive songs, rhythmic expression, games and movement. At this centre, we are also affiliated with Together with Heather Music. Heather and her musicians join us each week – on rotating days so our part-time children see them – bringing along age-appropriate tools like shakers, rattles, ukuleles and more. With a background in musical therapy and a successful career in creating children’s albums, this partner complements our music program perfectly. https://rattleandstrum.com/together-with-heather-music.
We have visitor parking and also a road side parking where parents can park for drop up and pick up.
Meet The Director
My name is Kelley Hodson and I am the Centre Director at Kids & Company Smart Tech location. I attended Mt. Royal University and obtained an ECE Diploma. I have worked in the child care field for over 35 years and started with Kids & Company in 2008. I knew that it was my passion to work in child care from the age of 12 when I started taking care of children in my church nursery.
My husband and I have been married for 22 years and are proud parents of a transgender teenage son, Keegan. Each summer, my family camp’s together each weekend. In the winter, I do a lot of reading.
I have been with most of the Smart Tech staff for many years and know them very well. They know that if they need my help, I will be there for them, and I know that they will do almost anything for me. I love that we have other Kids & Company centres in the city to draw ideas, information and support from. Kids & Company’s mission fit my own — prioritizing high-quality, flexible care to support working parents.
Now that you know a bit more about me, I would love to meet you! I hope you come to visit our Smart Tech centre and see for yourself how Kids & Company can provide the right care and education for your child.
At Kids & Company, we work with your family to ensure that the transition is a smooth one. Before your child’s first day, we’ll provide information on what to expect. We’ll create an integration schedule that is right for your child and every day that your child is in the classroom, you’ll receive a daily report that lets you know how your child’s day was. You’ll also be able to see him or her on our in classroom web cameras. The Centre Director will even send you an email before the end of the day if your child has a special “wow” moment that day.
Toddlers learn best in the context of relationships within small groups. There are fewer distractions and children’s activities are more focused. In Kids & Company toddler classrooms, our small groups allow very young children to make connections, form caring relationships, and learn to understand other children.
All two-year-olds examine everything they see, hear, feel and observe in an attempt to make sense of the world around them. In our preschool programs, Kids & Company teachers interact, observe and interpret the interests of preschool students to encourage further discoveries by planning activities and investigations that expand your child’s learning.
Kids & Company develops and fosters the potential in every child through an enriched, nurturing and safe early learning environment. At Kids & Company we believe in learning through play.
Kids & Company runs comprehensive kindergarten programs designed for children who are 4 or 5 years old (junior and senior kindergarten age) to prepare them for Grade 1. Using emergent curriculum techniques to adapt to the children’s’ interests and skills, we set a foundation of early literacy, numeracy, artistry, and the construction of relationships and ideas. Kindergarten programs are integrated into full-time child care to provide convenience and continuity.
