Sharon is the second one from the right with her classmates helping to spread the word about childcare provider appreciation day.
If you visit Sharon Hoppe, she might have a hard time finding a big seat for you. Most of her seats are for the children at her in-home family child care and the 4’11” chuckee wearing child care provider doesn’t mind. Sharon’s been doing this for over 50 years so small chairs fit right in at her home.
Sharon says she started just by helping a friend who needed help. The friend liked the way she raised her children and said she wanted Sharon to watch hers. After that the families multiplied. “How do you say no to a family who needs help,” she asks.
Sharon then went back to school to get the requirements to be a licensed provider after her group of children grew. As a licensed provider she needs to take continuing education every year and recently took a series of Wisconsin Early Learning Standards training with Family & Childcare Resources of N.E.W. where she met interesting people and enjoyed sharing ideas with other providers.
She is used to caring for others after caring for both her parents and her husband when they fell ill. She really believes in putting caring in family child care. “It’s not a job; they become your family,” Sharon says.