Lynn Sanchez reads to her children —from left, Ruben, Julian and Diana — at the center in Menlo Park.

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Parents, kids learn together
FACILITY HOPES TO ESTABLISH LENDING LIBRARY

lynn Sanchez is such a fan of the Child Development Center that she could hardly wait for her son Julian to turn 18 months old so he could be enrolled there.

The 23-year-old single mother also had sent her older children, Ruben and Diana, now in kindergarten and first grade, to the programs in East Palo Alto and Menlo Park. ``They learn more there than at a day care home,'' Lynn says.

With her toddlers in a safe environment, Lynn attended job-training classes in the same building, occasionally peeking through the parent-observation window to make sure they were OK.

``Child care is one of the things that worry parents the most,'' says Johnnie McGuire, director of the center, which has been providing care to children of low-income parents since 1966. She says the center, which offers free or low-cost child care, focuses on developing the children's skills and sense of independence.

Meanwhile, their parents expand their own horizons at Opportunities Industrialization Center West (OICW), which offers vocational training and many support services, including the child care programs. About 3,000 clients build their job skills each year at the Menlo Park facility, striving to enter or rejoin the workforce.

``We try to be a one-stop center. It makes it easier, so we don't lose students,'' says Marc Santuccio, a development specialist at OICW.

The educational experience would be richer for both parents and children if the center could establish a lending library, so parents and children could bond and build reading skills together at home. Each donation of $15 (15A) will help stock the shelves.

An awning for the preschool patio ($5,000) (15B) also would be a plus. A gift of $50 (15C) would help protect the kids from the elements while playing outside. When trees were cut down last year to make room for a soccer field next door, it left the area without shade and kids scrambling beneath tables and the playground slide to seek relief from the sun.