For more information about Buttons & Bows Learning Center, visit www.buttonsandbowslearning.com, call 540-820-6081, or email buttonsandbowslearning@gmail.com. Public business address: 315 South Dogwood Drive, Harrisonburg, VA 22801. Service area: Harrisonburg
Business & Innovation · Business feature
At Buttons & Bows, early learning begins with room to explore
The Harrisonburg childcare center pairs age-specific classrooms with a faith-based approach to children’s daily development.
Learning to pull on a jacket, exploring early science and practicing the small hand movements that will eventually support writing are all part of early learning at Buttons & Bows Learning Center in Harrisonburg.
The daycare and preschool serves children from birth through the years before kindergarten. Located at Harrisonburg First Church of the Brethren on South Dogwood Drive, it partners with the church and operates as a religious-exempt program. Its approach combines exploration and play with Christian teaching and attention to children's social, emotional and physical development.
Owner and director Julie Shank oversees the center, including enrollment and staffing. Assistant director Victoria Arguello brings more than a decade of childcare experience, while assistant director Jenna Allman combines a background in social work with more than five years in childcare. Their work spans both the classroom and the relationships with families who rely on the center.
The programs are divided by developmental stage. Infants have their own room, followed by toddler and two-year-old groups. Preschool includes separate classes for three-year-olds and for four- and five-year-olds, giving teachers a way to tailor activities more closely to the children in front of them.
The center's program descriptions give a concrete picture of that progression. Toddlers work with puzzles, books, songs and simple craft projects. Two-year-olds add activities such as water tables and art while practicing handwashing, dressing and other growing skills. The preschool rooms include early literacy, simple science exploration and fine-motor activities.
Movement is part of the day as well. Children play outdoors when conditions allow; the gymnasium provides another option when the weather keeps them inside.
For families, the center brings several early-childhood stages into one setting. Its focus is on helping children move from one to the next with familiar routines, age-appropriate activities and relationships with the adults caring for them.
