About Our Center

 

We believe that each child has innate social, physical, and intellectual talents, which can be cultivated by an environment in which they are loved, respected and encouraged to explore the world and allowed to grow in social grace, inner discipline, and joy.

 

​Parents need childcare they can trust with well trained, dedicated and caring staff, age appropriate activities and a safe environment in which their children can grow and develop. Chiquitos Child Care is that place. Children are given the opportunity to explore and learn about themselves and the world around them with guidance and support from our exceptional staff

 

At Chiquitos we specialize in Spanish immersion learning and childcare services. We are a small program, licensed for 12 children, that offers quality learning instruction in a family environment with individual attention given to each child. Established in 1990, we have been offering quality childcare for over 20 years.

 

The goal and vision of our center is to provide fun learning programs for children with high quality standards. We offer a safe, loving and nurturing environment for young children and their families. Chiquitos is a community builder, and family friendly environment with high quality instruction, learning, and a strong foundation for the Spanish language. To top it all off I believe strongly in well-balanced nutrition and home-prepared meals for the children.

 

 

 

About the Owner

 

My name is Erika L Noltimier, and I am the owner and founder of Chiquitos Childcare. I came to the United States 28 years ago from Colombia, South America. I come from a large family of both Catholic and Jewish descent, raised with love and discipline. As a young woman I worked for my family's businesses in Colombia. Our family owned businesses in clothing manufacturing, children's recreation, and marketing.

 

I have a degree in Early Childhood Education from North Seattle Community College. I have been licensed by the state of Washington for 22 years. Over those years I have continued my education, accumulating more than 300 additional hours of training that includes Montessori, and Reggio philosophies of child development. This field is constantly changing and in order to promote the best learning experiences for young children it is important to keep up with these changes. In addition I have passed all state regulation reviews, background clearances, and have first aid and CPR training

​Our Staff



When hiring a new teacher to support my program I look carefully at the qualities that this new staff member will bring to our program. Education, love for children, patience, flexibility, and a wiliness to learn are some of the most important qualities I am interested in.

 

In order to be hired an employee must meet all basic state regulations, which includes passing a criminal background check. Once he/she becomes part of our staff, they go through orientation and training based on my programs philosophy and standards.

 

As a staff member, he/she will be held up to the guidelines, philosophies, and standards that our program is based upon. Each employee will have a minimum of 20 hours of early childhood education training, first aid and CPR training, background clearance, and will receive continued training throughout the time that he/she is part of our staff.