About the Owner

Senta Johnson-Smith

Owner

Senta Johnson-Smith, owner of Sent Loves the Kids Child Development Center in Detroit, says she was inspired to open her own in-home childcare because “I absolutely love children and teaching them!” When her kids were little, their friends and other neighborhood children always spent time at Senta’s house. They loved it there and she loved having them. When one of the children commented, “Sent LOVES the kids”, she knew that would be the name of her business someday.

A former Early Head Start teacher and center director, Senta was ready for a change and wanted to provide a home-like setting for children while their parents were working. Having children in her home allows her the opportunity to do more one-on-one learning and provide the individual attention they need due to the smaller group size.

This is an excerpt from an article written and published in the Great Start to Quality Gazette(Oct. 2021)

Qualifications/Experience/Accomplishments

• Associates Degree of Applied Science in Early Childhood Education 2013
• Ordained Minister
• Adult and Child CPR and First Aide Certified
• On going Trainings in All Areas of Early Childhood Education
• 20+ years in the field
• Great Start to Quality Five Star Rating
• Early Head Start Lead Teacher
• Assistant Teacher
• Lunch Aide
• Field Trip Coordinator
• Director of Childcare Center
• United Way Video for Women of Influence (Feb. 2023)

Philosophy Statement

I believe that each child is an individual and as an educator I will value and develop each child’s strengths, interests, skills, abilities, and knowledge to extend their learning.

I believe that children learn through play. I will provide opportunities for children to explore, discover, create, and imagine. I believe in cultural diversity. I will celebrate the benefits of diversity with each individual child and enable them to understand and acknowledge differences. I believe young children are very concerned about themselves and the small world they live in: family and home.

However, each child is unique with different interests, backgrounds, and developmental stages. I believe every child should be taught self-respect, respect for others, and personal space awareness.

I believe the environment plays a major role in the success of an early childhood program. It should enhance the children’s interests in all developmental domains. I believe learning in an early childhood environment is done most successfully through stations that can be visited, explored, and revisited again and again. The environment should take into consideration the social skills, communication skills, physical abilities or challenges, and learning styles of the children being served. I consider families a vital aspect of my program. I believe it is the parent and teachers’ responsibility to co-teach the child.