Anna's Bananas Daycare & Preschool

Handing out shovels, hard hats and bananas, Anna Achtenberg broke ground on Tuesday, Sept. 2, on the new site for Anna’s Bananas Day Care and Preschool in Farmington on Highway 3.

Located a few blocks away from the current Anna’s Bananas at 901 Elm St., the new Anna’s Bananas was designed by Miller Dunwiddie Architecture and is being built by Terra General Contractors. The larger daycare and preschool will offer 14,038 square feet of indoor space, with 13,000 square feet of outdoor playground space.

The new Anna’s Bananas will have more space for classrooms, a poured-rubber outdoor playground, indoor gym areas, a dance studio, private nurseries and preschool suites.

PHOTO: The ground was broken this week at the site for the new Anna’s Bananas Daycare and Preschool that will be built off Highway 3 and open in February 2009. Pictured are center director Katie Cook (left) and owner Anna Achtenberg (right) who are both singing with preschool children at Anna’s Bananas in Farmington. The preschool girls are Arina Amundson, 4, and Lacie Cook, 3, and the boys seated are Chance Hilgardner, 4, (left) Matthew Lanes, 5, and Josh Wooton, 4. Photo by Kara Hildreth

Now employing more than 70 employees, the new Anna’s Bananas will hire 20 to 30 employees once capacity is full.

Blogging about the construction progress of the new daycare at www.annasbanas.com, Achtenberg wrote: “When I was at the site today, I whispered to the land soon you will have hundreds of dancing feet and giggling children to keep you happy and you will never be lonely again.”

Anna’s Bananas has been in Farmington since 1999.

“As parents, we love our children so deeply, and we need the peace of mind that we’ve found a center where the staff truly cares about our children,” Achtenberg said. “At Anna’s Bananas, this is absolutely the peace of mind you’ll get for your son or daughter.”

Achtenberg’s husband Dave helps her run the business. They have four children, Ashlee, 18, Vince, 15, and twins Beau and Braxton, 11 months old. Achtenberg started out as the director of “Lil’ Rascals daycare in Farmington nine years ago and a year later bought the daycare center. Anna’s Bananas moved to its current location in January 2004 and grew from caring for 50 children 200.

Three years ago Anna’s Bananas opened a second daycare and preschool in Burnsville.

With a business motto of “Your family is our family,” Anna’s Bananas strives to offer a place for “children to be surrounded in beautiful classrooms that are safe, luxurious with educational offerings as a priority,” Achtenberg said.

Preschool children learn to write their names and form letters and numbers.

The demand for childcare in Farmington is growing each year, she said.

“Even though the economy is crushing, it really helps Anna’s Bananas,” Achtenberg said, “because some stay-at-home moms can’t stay at home anymore and so they need child care. And because housing is so expensive, Farmington still is an affordable community to live in and some families from the city are moving out to our area where they can afford to live.”

Even though we’re a large center, we’re still very personal, and it’s very important for us to keep up with the family. Staff, children and parents all share those close relationships where every little thing is a big thing.

“Being that we’re not a large franchise company, I as the owner can still recognize every family’s name and every child’s face and all the children are very close to my heart.”

The entry way at the new school will have a 200-foot vaulted ceiling to accommodate two indoor gymnasiums and a dance studio with hardwood floors.

“We’ll have so much space for movement, dance or hip-hop classes,” Achtenberg said. “The sky is the limit to what we can provide.
“There’ll be natural light in every room and more space for infants and three separate classrooms for newborns, crawlers and walkers.”

The school-age room will have more space for play, computers and a bar area for snack time, craft time and a place for homework.

“The playground area is going to be amazing, with separate areas for preschool and school-age sides,” Achtenberg said.

It will also have bike trails.

Babett Larimer will become the curriculum coordinator at the preschool and daycare. Larimer will be in charge of coordinating lesson plans and arts and crafts projects.

“The kids will learn numbers and letters through language, sensory, arts and will have many special guests,” Achtenberg said.

“(Babett) will really put a lot of energy in to it. She’s so excited.

“I’m proud of the remarkable teachers that work for our company, as many of them have been a part of our family for many years.

“I’m so excited. It’s like expecting a baby. It’s my baby, all the planning. This is my third stop and my last stop down Highway 3.”

Anna’s Bananas Day Care and Preschool is expected to open in the Spring of 2009.

Comments (1)

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written by Mrs. G, September 11, 2008

If words such as this do not grip your heart knowing someone really cares about kids… then what is there in life? Anna - I wish I had children to send to your daycare as I know they would be loved as well as your own children are!-
re: Achtenberg wrote: “When I was at the site today, I whispered to the land soon you will have hundreds of dancing feet and giggling children to keep you happy and you will never be lonely again.”
“As parents, we love our children so deeply, and we need the peace of mind that we’ve found a center where the staff truly cares about our children,” Achtenberg said. “At Anna’s Bananas, this is absolutely the peace of mind you’ll get for your son or daughter.”