WOODBURY, MN (WNN) – A new Spanish immersion child care is opening in Woodbury this summer with room for 140 children. Casa de Corazon is opening its first location in the east metro at 7805 Hudson Rd. Casa de Corazon, founded by Natalie Standridge in 2002, has six other locations in the Twin Cities metro and three in Wisconsin.

The business cares for infants from six weeks old to six years old. At Casa Corazon, the caregivers do not speak English with the children. They converse only in Spanish. “We have teachers from all over Latin America,” said Daniel Laux, director of marketing, Casa de Corazon. “Every month we celebrate one country as ‘country of the month.’ We do crafts from around the world. We build an inter-cultural community.”

There is already one Spanish immersion child care center in Woodbury, Alma Flor Ada, at 8420 City Centre Dr. The Spanish immersion early learning academy serves children from 24 months to kindergarten. According to its website, the business embraces a 90/10 model for its Spanish immersion program expressed this way: “This means that your little one’s teachers will speak Spanish 90 percent of the time and English 10 percent of the time.” WNN staff were unable to reach Alma Flor Ada representatives for comments. 

Independent School District 833, which serves a majority of Woodbury students, offers a Spanish Immersion Pathway from kindergarten through high school. Nuevas Fronteras in St. Paul Park is the K-5 site. Principal Sandy Saucedo-Falagan explained. “Exposure to language is always a benefit. Especially a targeted language, like our program. A new language expands one’s world in all perspectives.” Studies have shown that a different language uses more of one’s brain. It enables different problem solving and thinking skills. There is a benefit of learning a different language at a young age.

Casa de Corazon’s Woodbury franchise is owned and operated by Jansel Hernandez. Hernandez moved to the U.S. from the Dominican Republic over 10 years ago. He started out as a teacher’s assistant and has worked closely with Standridge as a project manager.

“I chose Woodbury because it is a happy place. There is a lot of growth, new businesses, new houses,” Hernandez said. 

During a tour of the building, Hernandez pointed out separate classrooms for each age level as well as a big multipurpose room for indoor play and an outdoor playing area. There is a washing machine and dryer on site to wash cloth diapers.

Like other Casa de Corazon locations, there is a commercial kitchen on site.The center serves organic food and locally sourced ingredients: vegetables from the farmers’ market, local dairy supply to provide breakfast, lunch and snacks to the children. “This is a big selling point for us. It is built into the cost of our program,” Laux said. 

Casa de Corazon in Woodbury is planning an open house for June 30 from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.