MANCHESTER, Pa. (WHTM) — A new independently owned daycare called First Place Learning officially opened its home to children on Jan. 30, and is now accepting enrollments.

First Place Learning is owned and operated by two Pennsylvania natives, Laura and Chad Bryant. According to the Bryant’s, First Place Learning’s main focus is being able to offer quality, individualized care in an at-home environment for children two months to four-years-old.

Laura Bryant, who grew up in Pottstown, attended Albright University and received her bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education – additionally, Laura is certified to educate children up through the 6th grade.

“I have been in the child care field for a while, and I always wanted to work with younger children, and to have my own daycare center,” Laura said.

Her husband Chad Bryant, who is the business side of First Place Learning’s operation, has a degree in Criminology and has a background working in social services. According to Chad, he worked for a number of years with behaviorally challenged children during his time at Hoffman Homes for Youth in Littlestown, Pa..

Back in Nov. 2022, the couple decided to begin renovating the basement of their home to eventually act as an at-home school/ daycare center. The decision to open their own daycare was made because of growing concerns regarding their own child’s daycare experience – especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Since COVID, a lot of retirement age workers left, which is one of the things that left many daycare centers short staffed. It felt like we couldn’t count on anyone to give our own kids better child care,” Chad stated. “So we had to ask ourselves, what do we want for our kids?”

First Place Learning believes that because they are focused on creating a smaller, at home environment for children, they will be able to pick up the slack were other daycare centers fell off in terms of cleanliness, teacher to parents communication, and individualized care. Furthermore, First Place Learning prioritizes smaller class-sizes in order to guarantee that each of the children’s needs are met.

Currently, First Place Learning offers three different programs for the children throughout the day, which consists of:

1. STEM
2. Sign Language
3. Music & Movement

First Place Learning is now accepting enrollments for all-day child care, and if you are interested in learning more about rates or other information, you can either go to the contact page of their website, or you can message them on their Facebook page.

First Place Learning is located at 350 Hollyhock Dr., in Manchester and is operational on:

• Mondays – Fridays // 6:30a.m. until 6:00p.m.

“I have wanted to do this for a very long time, and this is my chance to give back to the community by providing quality childcare,” Laura concluded.