Meet Mary Munoz of Tiny Smiles Childcare in Keller

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mary Munoz.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Mary. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Hey! My name is Mary and I moved to Fort Worth from Bogota, Colombia. I wanted to live the American Dream for myself and to give my family that same opportunity. I earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology but knew little-to-no English which truly limited my job search. As school started and my daughters began to learn English from their teachers, I followed suit and learned from my daughters.

I began working at a home daycare and was able to bring my youngest daughter Michelle who was just two years old at the time. I absolutely loved the flexibility of being able to watch my daughter while working. Shortly after, I decided to open up my own childcare.

The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services was extremely helpful throughout the entire process. After months of intense training and preparation, I was licensed. With new kids in the house, it took a bit of getting used to for my daughters Ana, Jennifer, and Karen. As the business grew, they began to love the kids and became the world’s best helpers!

We’ve hit so many milestones in such a small window of time – I gave birth to my second youngest daughter Nicole, we purchased a new home, and the business was going steady. We built our home with both the family and business in mind; building a gorgeous 6-bedroom home with spacious lounge areas and an oversized living room that peaks over the kitchen top for the daycare. With the new house brought new memories, new families, and the American Dream that I’ve worked so hard for. It has been an amazing thirteen years.

As the years went by, my daughters grew older and became part of the business. Everyone had a different role and playing those roles has inspired my children with their career choices. Ana, the oldest, who handled our business plan, went on to graduate with a Bachelor’s Degree in Human Resources from the University of North Texas. My daughter Jennifer who was one of our bilingual teachers for five years graduated from Texas Wesleyan University and is now a High School teacher, and my daughter Karen is a proud Wildcat at the University of Arizona and is a Biology major with an Organismal Emphasis and minors in Plant Science.

I am extremely grateful for my wonderful husband Rafael who is the Senior Director for Latin America and travels most of the year for the Bible League International. Through the jetlag, he is always up for doing our bookkeeping and continues to support me in my ventures. He has been my rock during this process of becoming an entrepreneur and a mom of six.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with Tiny Smiles Childcare – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
We are a bilingual childcare home. We take care of and teach ages 0-4 years old. We function like a childcare center in the sense that we do indoor and outdoor activities, we teach them preschool basics, etc., but we have our at home atmosphere. Our children all learn Spanish and English, are spoiled and loved on like they were our own, they get our delicious traditional Colombian home cooked meals, and are in a safe childproofed environment. Our open space is set up with interlocking foam flooring over our carpet for safe play, we have a large yard with picnic tables and sports equipment for when we go outside, and we also have a home garden that the kids have helped create and maintain. We are extremely proud of the love that our children receive and the amazing little people we help create. It’s rewarding to see how much they can learn and become in the short 3-4 years that we have them here.

So, what’s next? Any big plans?
We have juggled the idea of expanding into a center for a couple of years now, but it is truly a big decision. In this business you have to be extremely selective with the individuals that you choose to be part of your team. Children are so precious and we have our bar set very high. It would also be tough to find a location that our current parents would feel comfortable adding to their commute. There is a lot to think about, but it’s definitely something on our to-do list.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.tinysmileschildcare.net

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