We have a winner in Kiddie Academy’s “The Moment I Knew…” Photo Contest. Following two months of gathering entries, and thousands of votes, the judging committee chose a photo of a child demonstrating self-reliance as the winner of the Facebook® photo contest. The photo depicts Jackson Barker learning to swim. As the first place winner, the family will receive a free year of Kiddie Academy tuition, valued at up to $10,000.
Jackson’s mother, Julie Anna Barker, described the parenting moment she captured in the picture as follows: “That was the moment I knew that my son was becoming self reliant, when after months of instruction and gentle encouragement, he swam unassisted for the first time across the swimming pool. When he reached the side, we celebrated the success together, both filled with a huge sense of pride.” The photo was one of the top ten contest entries that demonstrated the values included in the Kiddie Academy curriculum. Other photo entries demonstrated compassion, generosity, loyalty, kindness, caring and patriotism.
“Character education is an important part of Kiddie Academy’s curriculum. We created the photo contest to celebrate the impact parents have on the lives of their children,” said Claire Haas, vice president of education, Kiddie Academy. “This program encouraged parents to indulge in a moment of reflection and give themselves a pat on the back for successfully navigating their critical responsibility of growing our future leaders, thinkers and doers.”
Although the contest was open to all parents to win a year of free tuition for their child at their local Kiddie Academy, the Barkers were already a part of the Kiddie Academy family.
In fact, Julie Anna and Matthew Barker of Centreville, Virginia have been sending 4-year-old Jackson and his twin sister, Emily, to Kiddie Academy of Centreville for the past 18 months. The couple chose Kiddie Academy because of the organization’s philosophy of education-based childcare and learning through play. “Kiddie Academy is perfectly aligned with what I want for my children, with a great mix of educational activities that reinforce the values we teach at home. My Kiddie Academy has helped to make both of my children more confident and self-reliant, as shown in the photo we submitted. The academy also provides a great sense of community, which is important for working mothers like myself.”
Background
Character Education is one of the four pillars of Life Essentials®, Kiddie Academy’s educational philosophy. Every day, Kiddie Academy employees contribute to providing children with a solid foundation of skills and knowledge that will help them become successful students and citizens. The Character Education program reinforces the Kiddie Academy commitment to the development of the whole child by concentrating specifically on the development of social and emotional skills.
