The Child Care Business Podcast
The Child Care Business Podcast
Season 5, Episode 11: How Centers, Teachers and Families Benefit from Enrichment Programs, with Megan Bowling
Looking to boost enrollment and stand out in a competitive market? Enrichment programs might be the game-changer your child care center needs.
Megan Bowling is the director of franchise development at Stretch-n-Grow, a well-known children’s fitness business with 125 locations around the world. In this episode, she shares how child care centers can benefit from offering enrichment programs and how to market them to parents! She describes how these programs benefit children's physical and cognitive development, support teacher retention through much-needed breaks and create compelling differentiators that attract modern families.
Megan also shares practical strategies for selecting the right enrichment partners, marketing these programs effectively to current and prospective families as well as avoiding common implementation pitfalls.
Whether you're considering your first enrichment program or looking to expand your offerings, this conversation provides insights to help you make informed decisions that benefit children, teachers and your bottom line.
In this episode, you’ll learn the following (with timing outlined below so you can fast-forward to the parts that most interest you!):
- (04:11) Physical, cognitive and social benefits for children
- (10:32) How enrichment programs support staff retention and well-being
- (17:05) Marketing strategies to attract and retain families
- (22:40) Choosing the right enrichment partner for your center's culture
- (28:15] Common mistakes to avoid when implementing new programs
- (33:50) How to position your center as the top choice for parents seeking comprehensive early learning experiences
To learn more about Megan and the work that her company does, visit www.stretch-n-grow.com.
Hello, everyone, and welcome to the Child Care Business Podcast. My name is Leah Woodbury. I'm the head of content here at ProCare Solutions, and I am happy to have you all join us today. Today we're thrilled to have Megan Bowling with us. She's the director of franchise development at Stretch Grow. It's a well-known children's fitness business with 125 locations around the world. And today she's going to talk to us about how childcare centers can benefit from offering enrichment programs and how to market them to parents. So welcome, Megan. Thank you so much.
SPEAKER_01:I'm so excited to be here.
SPEAKER_00:Oh, we're great. We're so glad to have you. So we always like to start these podcasts by getting a little background on our guests. Can you tell us how you became involved in children's enrichment programming and chose it as your career path?
SPEAKER_01:Sure. So, and I always laugh a little bit when I tell this story because I was quite literally born into it. My mom, Jill, and my dad, Bob, they had me at a later age. And I have seven older sisters and one brother.
SPEAKER_00:Wow.
SPEAKER_01:Yes. And some of my siblings struggled with health issues, with weight issues. And so when my mom found out she was pregnant with me, she really started to research how to set me up for success and how to implement healthy habits at a very young age, even at that preschool age. And what she found was there really weren't any structured physical education programs in the preschool environment. And so the idea for themed adventure activity fitness program was born. And then my dad was a sales guru. And so he went out in Galveston and tested it on the preschools there. They all said yes, and they began franchising a year later. So I taught classes all through college. And then I went and worked a couple corporate jobs and then ended up back into the family business, missing the kids and the fun, and just our industry is the best. So came back to it in 2016. That's when I started a franchise here in St. Pete, Florida. And then in 2019, unfortunately, my dad passed away. And I stepped into his role in leadership and kind of it, it all kind of happened, especially because of COVID. And I was able to really relate to the franchisees because I was going through everything they were going through in my franchise. And so from there, I've stepped into leadership and just love what I do. I love getting to work with my local center directors and then all of the center directors that I get to talk with in our franchisees. So feel very blessed to be here.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, you're carrying on what your parents wanted for you. So that is that's such a great story. Thank you. Thank you. So let's jump in and start with defining what an enrichment program is, specifically, you know, in a daycare, a childcare, I mean any ECE setting.
SPEAKER_01:So an enrichment program is a specialty program. It's really an add-on. It's to enhance the center's curriculum. And it's often really different than those four learning objectives that we normally see in the childcare setting. It's going to be things like music, dance, sports. Um, I've seen manners programs. There's all sorts of different enrichment programs, but it's going to be really a different special program and often taught by a specialist or a trained instructor in that enrichment topic.
unknown:Okay.
SPEAKER_00:So which programs do you find are the most popular? Is it sports or dance or something else? And how does that change that popularity change by age group?
SPEAKER_01:That's a great question. So we offer, and I'm speaking on stretching group, but a lot of the enrichment programs, so we are we offer our programs two different ways. We have a center-wide model, which is where we partner with the school to offer the programs, and then we have our voluntary parent-paid model, and that's where the parents sign up for the program, still at the child care center, but it's optional. So for our center wide program where everybody participates, hands down, our fitness program is the most popular around the world. Every week we're going on a different adventure. We might be going to the moon or the beach. So it's really fun. And even the teachers sometimes jump in and get some exercise. But then on the voluntary parent paid programs and a lot of the other enrichment programs that we see out in the field are going to be dance or soccer. We see a lot of soccer. For us, dance is our most popular parent paid program.
SPEAKER_00:You know, and we were talking about this a little bit before when my kiddos were in um were in childcare, it was they did soccer and they did dance. And it was so great that they could do that during the day. And it was something else that, you know, I didn't have to run run them to afterward, but I'm I'm getting ahead of ourselves. But it was much appreciated. So, how do the the children benefit from these types of programs?
SPEAKER_01:Well, there's multiple different ways. So, first of course, we know active kids learn better, right? And exercise is there's hundreds of studies that show that exercise improves how children learn. And then also, of course, depression, anxiety, and mental health. So that's one of the biggest benefits is getting active. Um, NASPE recommends 60 minutes of structured physical activity, and that's structured. And while running around on the preschool playground is so important, so is actual structured physical activity. So um that is a huge benefit, is that they get to move and exercise at school, which also can result in better naps, right? And so help them, which the teachers appreciate as well. And so better naps at school. But then even further than that, what I love and what is so cool to see is how they learn to love physical education and taking care of their bodies. So it's so much more than just going out there and throwing balls around or kicking balls around. It's teaching them why do we brush our teeth? Why do we need to take our nap? Um, why do we need to take care of our bodies? And of course, we know that that preschool age group, their little sponges, they're learning so much. They're gonna carry those values with them for the rest of their lives. And so, for example, we teach muscles in our programs. So our four-year-olds can name their major muscle groups, and often their parents can't even do that. So it's so many benefits for the children. And then what you just said, most parents are working, right? We we see that a lot of children who are in a childcare setting, their parents are working, or maybe they're from a single parent home and that parents are working. And so the idea that after work or after school they that they're gonna go and take a sports class or take a dance class becomes really difficult for parents to do that in the evenings to have at their school. They get to try sports that they maybe never would have tried. They get to try dance, maybe they never would have, or gymnastics, whatever it is, that maybe they never would have had the opportunity. And then also in our lower income schools, we sometimes see that those children would have never had that opportunity because often enrichments at the school can be more affordable than maybe at a studio or something. So lots of benefits for the children. And that's really, of course, our mission is to get kids moving.
SPEAKER_00:And you were talking about benefits for teachers as well, of beyond those good nap times, which are so precious to us all. Um, what other what other benefits are there for the teachers at a center?
SPEAKER_01:Absolutely. So the the teacher benefits are one of the things that I love the most. And I really hope that that any of the ECE leaders that are listening to this will look at enrichment programs as a resource to them after this. And one of the biggest benefits is the teacher breaks. So that center wide program that I mentioned earlier, where everybody participates, that's 30 minutes where the teacher is not the star of the show for a little bit. We can take a class, we can take them on their adventure of whatever the program is, and that teacher can wipe the tables down or just sit down if she needs to. Some teachers throw on their tennis shoes and exercise with us. So the teacher breaks have been huge, and really we've seen that a major lift in that since COVID. A lot of our schools will bring us in two or three days a week so they can get those teacher breaks. So it helps with staff retention a little bit. And um, and then also enhancing the curriculum. So that gives the teachers an opportunity to take pictures or send their parents home pictures of what they're doing in the class. So it enhances the curriculum and add-on to what the teacher is already teaching.
SPEAKER_00:Okay. So the children are benefiting, the teachers. Um, let's talk about another way that centers can benefit too. If a center offers enrichment programs, how can they use that as a competitive advantage to attract new families?
SPEAKER_01:All right. So, well, there's been some studies, and parents, millennials, and Gen Zs, they care a lot about what their children do, and all parents care a lot about what their children are doing at school. But millennials care a lot about experiences for their children. And then Gen Z, they care a lot about that their child is prepared for the next step, right? And so we are providing an experience at a school that the children would not normally get. And a lot of the childcare centers that we work with are limited on the field trips that they can take. Transportation is an issue. Um, finding places that are age appropriate are an issue. And so bringing in an enrichment provider and specialist brings that field trip to them. So the parents get excited, and that helps set you apart from your competition. If a child is, or if a parent is touring multiple child care centers and one is offering a bunch of different enrichment programs and another isn't offering any, uh, that's gonna matter to the parents.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. So any tips for marketing these programs, um, whether to current families or as part of um a marketing outreach to bring in bring in new families to the center?
SPEAKER_01:For sure. And so any enrichment provider that you partner with should help you with this. They should have marketing collateral that you can use, videos, posters. When a parent walks in for their tour, you should have posters up that show that you have that program provided to you by the enrichment provider. Enrichment providers should make things a lot easier for you. It should be a plug-and play. And so they should provide you with flyers to go home and other marketing collateral. They also often will do meet and greets with the parents. We love to be at the back to school nights or any other event that the school is doing, and so outreach to the current families is important. And then with parents who are coming in or looking at your center, posting on social media that you have that enrichment program. Again, we provide videos, but you can also take pictures in your class of the program happening, and that's really powerful to showcase the different opportunities that the children will have there.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I always loved getting the photos. Um, my kids went to a center that used that used ProCare. So I would get those updates through our child care mobile app and see, you know, like, yeah, we did spend a little extra money for this soccer program and look at them have so much fun and learn these new skills. It was it was really great to see it and validating as well, you know.
SPEAKER_01:Absolutely. I think reschool as well, and I love I love it when I get those pictures.
SPEAKER_00:Yes. So, and we talked about this a little bit before like how do these enrichment programs affect retention rates at child care centers? Can you take a little deeper dive into that?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I think that we did touch on quite a bit on it, but um, as far as it retention for the children, so again, parents are looking for preschools that have all these enrichment opportunities. And so if a child is involved in, let's say, dance, for example, and they're working towards a recital at the end of the year, that's important to them, and that's important to the families that they stay and they're there for that recital. But then also that the enrichment providers are involved in the culture of the school and that they get to know them and the children love them, and so they they're like more likely to stay if they're involved in something like that. And we've seen that on just even the cognitive retention that memory is improved by exercise, and then also the teacher retention I mentioned earlier, too, that giving them that extra break can be a huge difference in their day.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. So, what do you suggest for center owners or directors who are wondering how to incorporate these types of programs into their center and into the into the days of the children they serve?
SPEAKER_01:I have a few suggestions, and I'm gonna go into that too in our webinar of how to pick the perfect enrichment program. But the first thing would be to look at your school's culture, look at what you want to offer and what your ideal enrichment provider will be like. And then look around. There's lots of different enrichment providers. Some offer one program, some offer multiple. Decide if you want to offer a variety of things, and then if you want to offer it through one enrichment provider to keep it simple, or through a different variety of enrichment providers. Then I would at your what are your competitors offering? Are they offering enrichments and what are they offering? And maybe what are the more popular enrichment programs in your area?
SPEAKER_00:Okay. And we'll end on what not to do for our for our final question today. Um, any common mistakes you see that center leaders should avoid when either starting or continuing this these types of enrichment programs?
SPEAKER_01:Yes, I I thought of one immediately. So often we will go and speak with center directors and they'll want to do a survey for their families about bringing the enrichment provider in, which is great. But my suggestion would be to involve your enrichment provider in that. Let them come in and do demos, let them help you with the flyer going home. It should not add any extra work on to you to provide this, these services. And so let the enrichment provider help you with that survey. Let them explain the program to the families. That way, if they have any questions, you're not bombarded with things. And it can just be a more smooth process for everybody.
SPEAKER_00:Oh, yeah, when you don't have to be the middleman. People are, yeah, see those specific questions. You're like, um, just go to the source right away. I like that.
SPEAKER_01:Absolutely. I've seen directors get overwhelmed in that situation. I think that let look at us as a partner and look at us as a resource. We are here to help you and help your school not add any extra stress onto you.
SPEAKER_00:Well, I think that's a great way to end our conversation. Megan, thank you so much for joining us today. Um, could you please let our listeners know where they can find out more about your website, about stretch and grow, um, any anything like that.
SPEAKER_01:Sure. Our website is stretchandgrow.com. You can look at our locations there and learn all about us and all of the different programs that we offer. It's just stretch, hyphen in hyphengrow.com.
SPEAKER_00:Awesome. Well, thanks again, Megan, and thank you to all of you who took time out of your busy schedules to listen to this podcast today. Um, we here at ProCare Solutions want to say thank you to the important work that you're doing every day to nurture and educate children. Um, if you do want to learn more about how ProCare can help your center with covering all the back end things like tuition collection, family engagement, the app, um, all of these things that can save you this time, um, we are at procaresolutions.com. Thanks again, everybody, and we will see you next time. Bye.