Every quarter, we share a story about a child care provider from Clatsop, Columbia or Tillamook county who has received support from our Child Care Resource & Referral team.

We're excited to introduce you to Rebecca Real of St. Helens, Oregon. Rebecca opened Kids Corner three years ago and has been providing child care to infants, toddlers and preschoolers. 

In addition to helping her obtain her child care license, our team has connected her with business and leadership courses and provided technical guidance on topics like SPARK (Oregon's quality recognition and improvement system) and the Oregon Child Care Alliance.

We recently sat down with Rebecca to ask her about her work, what it's like to own a child care business in Columbia County and what's she's planning next for her business. 

For as long as she can remember, early learning has been close to Rebecca's heart. While her professional career did not begin in a classroom, her desire to teach and nurture children eventually brought her to where she was supposed to be.

Her journey into childcare began four years ago, shortly after purchasing her first house. After relocating to a more rural area, she encountered a common challenge many families face: limited access to quality child care. Having raised seven children overall, she was already familiar with the joys and challenges of early childhood. This led Rebecca to begin taking classes, and soon after, she opened her own registered home childcare program.

Rebecca’s favorite part is witnessing the children grow. Many of the children in her care arrive as infants or young toddlers, and she has the privilege of watching them develop into confident, curious learners as they move on to kindergarten. Rebecca shares: The relationships I’ve formed with many of my families will last for years to come.

Like many home child care providers, she faces unique challenges. Running a program on her own without employees or daily adult interaction can sometimes feel isolating. While she loves engaging with her young learners throughout the day, she admits that there are moments when she misses conversations and social connections with other adults.

At Kids Corner, the approach to child care is founded on the idea of play-based learning. Rebecca believes that meaningful play, creative exploration, and hands-on experiences are the best ways for kids to learn. She cultivates curiosity, independence, and a lifetime love of learning in a supportive setting by combining play-based activities with teacher-led instruction. In Rebecca’s words, “I help children develop essential skills such as letter and number recognition, problem-solving, fine motor coordination, and social interaction."

When I asked Rebecca, Can you share a favorite or memorable moment? " This is what she had to say: “One of my favorite experiences each year is taking the children to our local county fair during the summer. This year, I went with a group of five children, and we spent the day playing games, enjoying snow cones, and visiting farm animals like goats, pigs, cows, and sheep. The highlight was the butterfly exhibit, where the children were able to feed butterflies as they flew around and landed on us. It was a magical experience that was both fun and educational.

Rebecca envisions a long and fulfilling future in the field. She is excited about the possibility of expanding her program to a Certified Family Child Care Home, which would allow her to hire additional staff and serve more families within her community in Columbia County. She hopes to see additional funding opportunities become available, particularly to support home child care providers. For Rebecca, child care is more than a career—It is a vocation based on compassion, relationships, and a strong dedication to fostering children's success.