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A Child's Place LLC
Whole child development through play.
Certified Family Child Care CF504674
503-936-4676
4100 SE 72nd Ave, Portland, OR 97206
Sherree Tatum, owner & teacher
A Child's Place, LLC
has an opening for one toddler
born between 9/2/2023 & 9/1/2024
to join two toddlers in a 2029 kindergarten cohort.
Care available five days/week, 8:00-5:00 pm.
Tuition based on family size and income, ERDC accepted.
This cohort will grow to four toddlers during 2026, then add two more in 2027. This stable group will grow together until kindergarten start in September 2029.
These two children began attending at age 4 months in 2024 and are great friends and playmates. They will continue in care at ACP until kindergarten in 2029. These photos were taken during summer and fall of activities in 2025.
Wearing safety glasses and playing in the sandbox.
Daily outings to neighborhood parks.
Reading a favorite book.
Making a game of moving gears from wall to fridge.
Why choose A Child's Place?
Your child will flourish, surrounded by young friends sharing interests and growing together under the guidance of an expert teacher, in an environment designed to encourage development in all areas. Social skill, emotional awareness and communication are areas of special focus. Early childhood and kindergarten readiness standards are met.
Shaking some towels, like a kid does.
Pouring sand and watching to see what happens.
Words spoken by each child in context without prompting during 2025.
Having fun together.
See what kids in the 2020 cohort did (building, puzzles, books, hints),
read what parents write,
see inside ACP and
read about teacher qualification and teaching methods.
Please look closely at the following pictures and videos from the 2020 cohort.
what kids can do
Look what little kids can do!
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Develop independence, competence, confidence and cooperation
Children intrinsically want to develop independence and competence, learning best when:
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following their interests,
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choosing within a range of challenges,
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having many opportunities for unpressured practice, and
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struggling a little with a minimum of careful and thoughtful help.
Watch these two-year-olds cooperate to complete a 24-piece puzzle, using sophisticated problem solving and social skills. See these two children show initiative and confidence, and celebrate their success!
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Use language and develop literacy
Hearing and viewing complex picture books every day that includes conversation within the group about the text teaches language arts and critical thinking skills. We read one or more books every time the children ate: during breakfast, morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack. Book choice rotated among the children, based on a chart the children understood.
Teacher-led reading of We're Off to Find the Witch's House by Mr. Kreb.
Child-initiated reading of a favorite book from home, Dynotrux.
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Functional arithmetic and mathematics
We know that young children who learn functional counting skills have a solid basis in math. Tace has negotiated receiving five cars from Paulo's train. Does she get all five?
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Develop learning strategies (pointing, repetition)
Children initiate learning, apply strategies, and practice.
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Creativity and imagination
These children demonstrate cooperation and active listening within creativity and imagination, as well as admirable patience and persistence. These characteristics flourish in a safe space with freedom to play without adult judgements.
Song creation, as seen only this once at school
Best practices encourage each child to gain skills while offering minimal support and maximum encouragement
The coats? Life preservers, so the kids can "Save the babies!"
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Challenge
Children choose increasing levels of challenge if offered an opportunity to do so without adult pressure.
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Solving problems
Children observe, integrate and use the strategies in use around them. Sometimes, all a kid can do with that mischievous feeling is take it and move away!
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Having fun!
These five children are truly friends, kind and honest with each other, enjoying shared interests and history.
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Community-based activities celebrate the opportunity for each child within a group of learners within a larger community to have positive experiences and make acquaintances and friends.
Making the acquaintance of kind kids at Marysville K-5 during the summer. These school-age children generously shared beads with these young children.
Confidently getting tickets at OMSI.
Happily riding the bus.
Attentively listening at the Holgate Library's Storytime.
Building together.
Helping a friend.
Sharing a view.
Sharing an experience.
All of this play and activity focuses on encouraging young children to develop an intrinsic joy of learning. Young children cared for at A Child's Place develop and increase their social, emotional and problem-solving skills, so necessary for positive relationships and success at home and school, and in the community.
parents say
What parents say...
Comments (6)
Physical space
physical space
The building at 4100 SE 72nd was fully remodeled including electrical and plumbing in 2016.
This planned infant and toddler space means new materials (toys, cribs, mats, etc.) created by reputable manufacturers held to the highest safety standards.
The remodel included commercial vinyl, drywall and paint, a new kitchen and appliances, bathroom and heat pump for heating and cooling.
New windows make the children's space light and open.
teacher
Why choose teacher SherreeTatum to care for your child? Years of experience, education, professional development certifications, all relative to teaching young children.
A Child’s Place opened in May, 2017 and successfully cared for toddlers and preschool-age children. The success of this care is evidenced in many photos, videos and parent testimonials. A Child’s Place closed in March of 2020.
A Child’s Place, RF523759, reopened on March 18, 2024 as a registered family childcare with a focus on infants and toddlers. A Child’s Place is now licensed as a Certified Family Child Care, CF504674, held to even higher standards.
Much research focuses on the importance of encouraging development in all areas during the first three years of life.The younger the child the more important the quality of the care. To achieve the best outcomes requires the best practices based on this research.
At A Child’s Place these practices are evidenced by the teacher’s Oregon Registry Step 11 and based on:
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teaching experience as a certified teacher with endorsements in math and science;
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knowledge gained earning an MS in Early Intervention/Early Childhood Special Education (EI/ECSE) in 2016;
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experience working as an EI specialist and as an ECSE preschool teacher for children with developmental delay, most often a communication delay;
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four years of experience with toddler and preschool age children in the prior iteration of this childcare;
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observing and interacting with other highly-qualified professionals in EI/ECSE, child development specialists, childcare providers and teachers; and
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the highest quality of professional development, particularly:
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Positive Discipline's Teaching Parenting the Positive Discipline Way V2 with trainer certification and
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Hanen SPARK Communication™: Coaching Parents to Use Hanen Strategies with trainer certification.
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We know infants are born with personality and temperament. These are individual characteristics caregivers acknowledge, accommodate and encourage if a child is to flourish, acquiring both competence and independence. This support is a fluid effort as children grow and develop. One reason to provide high quality childcare is the urgent focus on encouraging children to achieve their highest potential. Another is more personal: the joy of knowing a child, to watch each charming, funny, bright toddler grow in that intensely challenging journey to become independent and capable. To participate in that journey is a gift for the caregiver.
Best practices require safety be the first priority. To that end, the program will meet or exceed all requirements of the Department Early Learning Childcare Guide for child safety, safe sleep, health and sanitation, nutrition, rest and activity.
Beside physical safety, emotional safety at the childcare requires the caregiver achieve a safe and trusting relationship with the family and child. This relationship must be based on respect: for the child, both body and spirit, as a unique being, and for the parents as competent adults who know their child best.
To those ends, conscious design of this infant/toddler program determined:
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physical space, open with varied spaces to play alone and with others while under constant supervision;
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daily schedule and routines organizing and structuring the predictable happenings of the day, with flexibility to meet the needs of participants and attend to the unpredictable;
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a range of activities and play, using toys and equipment that may initially require teacher scaffolding for safe and satisfying use;
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communication as a foundation of relationship, with calm, encouraging words and gentle hands a constant when interacting with children as a responsive adult;
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all aspects of the day are immersed in interaction, using the best of communication and inter- and intra-personal strategies, social/emotional awareness, and Positive Discipline strategies to avoid and solve problems;
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establishing open and positive relationships with families, founded on a shared knowledge of the best caregiving practices; and
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a requirement for families that parents attend a free parent training, online or in-person, taught by this certified teacher using Positive Discipline's Teaching Parenting the Positive Discipline Way.
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Sherree has taken excellent care of our baby from the very beginning. She strikes the perfect balance between being very thoughtful and safety conscious while remaining calm and flexible. On the practical side, Sherree is extremely reliable and highly organized. We also admire her drive to always further her knowledge about childcare and early childhood education. We are so glad to have found such an amazing caregiver and child-raising partner!
We were so lucky to have our son start his pre-schooling with Sherree at A Child's Place! Sherree is steady, calm, caring and truly magical with young kids. She is extremely knowledgeable about child development and puts great intention into creating an age appropriate environment for play and learning. A Child's Place is fun, safe, predictable and promotes creativity, problem solving, independence, teamwork and healthy social/emotional relationships. There is a wonderful outdoor area for playing and exploring nature and Sherree often takes the kids to nearby parks or the library. We are excited for other families to benefit as we have!
It’s hard to put into words how lucky we feel to have our daughter start her early years away from home with Sheree. It really was a great experience for everyone involved. Sheree proved to be more than a teacher but also a mentor and friend right at the perfect time.
We feel very fortunate to have had our daughter in Sherree's care. The way she guided and taught the children, while also giving them freedom to play and explore, was amazing. She truly cared for each kiddo and was 100% invested in them & our families. Her yard was a beautiful place for kids to safely explore and she went out of her way to give the kids new and enriching experiences on a regular basis.
My daughter has such fond memories of her time spent with Sherree. Everything she did with the children was so intentional, from the garden she created to the safety goggles during sand box playtime. The sense of calm and structure she provides allows the young child to flourish. My daughter grew so much socially and emotionally during her time there. We just felt so lucky that this got to be our daughter's first childcare-school experience outside of being with her Aunty one on one. Sherree also provided me some guidance and tools on how to teach emotional balance when our daughter was turning three and having those toddler moments. She is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to early learning and child behavior. The transition to care outside of our home as a new mom really scared me, but I had a good feeling about Sherree... and it all turned out be correct. We couldn't have asked for a safer or more caring person to nurture our daughter in those early years. We're so thankful for our experience with Sherree!
-Courtney Jones
We appreciated the thoughtful care that our child received during their time at A Child’s Place. Sheree fostered a safe and loving place where kids were empowered to learn, flourish, and try new things. We especially appreciated the play based exploration in the huge garden, and the mini adventures the kids with go on.