Local Teka Catron, left, holds the hand of Amelia Schmitt, 2, alongside Makenzie Shmitt, 7, Hazel Cavender, 2, and Tyler Schmitt, 5, at the Snowmass Ice Rink in Base Village on Monday, Dec. 21, 2020. The group lives in Carbondale but come up to Snowmass to ski and skate. (Kelsey Brunner/The Aspen Times)
In Snowmass Village and the Roaring Fork Valley, an ever-changing supply and demand equation impacted by COVID-19 continues to mold the landscape of child care services. Some parents opt for a traditional model at the Little Red Schoolhouse, but others have turned to alternative options relying on family and friends or employer-run programs to meet the need.
Local Teka Catron, left, holds the hand of Amelia Schmitt, 2, alongside Makenzie Shmitt, 7, Hazel Cavender, 2, and Tyler Schmitt, 5, at the Snowmass Ice Rink in Base Village on Monday, Dec. 21, 2020. The group lives in Carbondale but come up to Snowmass to ski and skate.
Natalie Noakes is well aware of a demand for more child care in Snowmass Village.
“We hear all the time … ‘child care, child care, child care,’” the owner of Aspen Nannies said. Her service typically provides short-term babysitting services to visiting tourists, though in 2020 she’s seen an uptick in requests for long term nanny services.
This year, Noakes decided she would be part of the solution to a purported lack of child care options in Snowmass Village. Armed with a $10,000 grant from the state of Colorado and support from the Aspen-based Kids First child care resource center, Noakes tried to open a child care center for infants and toddlers in Snowmass Base Village with local employees in mind.