Kiddie Academy of Kennesaw, the new Atlanta-area franchise location of nationally recognized Kiddie Academy^® Educational Child Care, is now open and offers a curriculum that exceeds all Georgia Early Learning and Development Standards (GELDS). The independently owned and operated franchise location also emphasizes the importance of outdoor play as one of the first child care facilities in the area with interactive water features and canopied play structures housed on an 8,638 square-foot playground.

"Because several of the child care facilities in our area are over a decade old, we saw an opportunity to bring in updated child care amenities and playground equipment that can't be found nearby," said Payal Anand, owner of Kiddie Academy of Kennesaw. "Our goal is to help foster a love of learning and playing outside in the children we serve."

The state-of-the-art Academy, owned and operated by Payal and Ajay Anand, held its grand opening event on July 27. Payal, formerly a pediatric nurse of 12 years, and Ajay, a financial advisor, are from Smyrna. As parents of two children, they knew the importance of outdoor play as part of a high-quality early childhood education program that encourages the social, emotional, physical and cognitive development of young children.

Kiddie Academy's systemwide Life Essentials^® curriculum outperforms all early learning standards outlined by GELDS in the areas of physical development and motor skills, social and emotional development, approaches to play and learning, communication, language and literacy, and cognitive development and general knowledge for children from birth through preschool. Kiddie Academy of Kennesaw is licensed to offer its curriculum to 187 children in the Atlanta area.

"Throughout my career as a pediatric nurse, I knew I wanted to continue to work with children in an impactful way. Now I'm able to help develop children in all areas and then watch them thrive," said Anand.

The 10,000 square-foot Kiddie Academy of Kennesaw is equipped with nine classrooms, a full on-site kitchen with all meals included and more. The Academy has brought 20 jobs to the community.

For more information, visit kiddieacademy.com/academies/kennesaw/.