JEFF GRANIT staff Concetta Zappia (l), the new owner of Kids Workshop in Millstone, meets with Donna Napolitano, the previous owner, at the Sweetmans Lane preschool on May 19. MILLSTONE — A longstanding township business that has impacted the lives of numerous community children is changing hands.

Kids Workshop, nestled in the heart of Millstone on Sweetmans Lane, has paired a warm, nurturing environment with a creative child-centered curriculum to enable the scholastic, social, emotional and physical development of local children for 18 years. This year, owner Donna Napolitano has decided to retire.

"I thought Kids Workshop was going to have to close," Napolitano, of Millstone, said. "Parents were very upset that this institution would no longer exist in Millstone, but Concetta came along, and I hope she does well."

Jackson's Concetta and Michael Zappia, who have two children, Joseph, 5, and Michael, 8, have purchased Kids Workshop and want to maintain the services it has offered to the community for so many years. Concetta has nearly four years in the child care industry in both the classroom environment as well as office administration.

"I would like to keep it the way Donna was running it while adding my own touch to it," she said, adding that one of the first changes she will make is opening earlier and closing later to provide before- and after-school child care.

The business is currently open from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Zappia will have business hours from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Kids Workshop's focus has always been teaching children ages 2-6 to learn through play and discovery in a child-centered facility with an age-appropriate curriculum, and Zappia plans to maintain that focus. Teachers will continue to use music and movement as teaching tools. Children will continue to create art and crafts and gain an introduction to Spanish, sign language, the alphabet and counting, according to Zappia.

"We also think life skills are so important, such as learning how to socialize and get along with others and how to conduct themselves within a group," Napolitano said.T

he business offers a toddler class for 2-year-olds, which provides an introduction to preschool and focuses on parent and child separation. The tyke class for 3- year-olds pays close attention to socialization and offers teacher-directed activities geared toward developing sign language, Spanish, music and movement, and skills.

The prekindergarten class for 4-yearolds helps children develop skills in preparation for kindergarten with themerelated activities, group discussions and experience charts. This class also offers sign language, Spanish, beginning sounds, writing, number recognition, money and grouping lessons. Introduction to Italian will also be offered as an option. Children also read stories and act them out.

The business also offers a summer camp that provides children with activities based on a different theme each week. For example, during one week, all activities will have a seashore theme. During summer camp, children must bring their own lunches, but they will be provided with a snack and juice on a daily basis. Children will have playtime in both the outdoor playground area and air-conditioned

rooms. At the end of each school year, Kids Workshop holds a graduation ceremony at the Millstone Township Primary School on Schoolhouse Lane. This year, graduation will take place at 10 a.m. on June 13. "This year I want to invite all former

Napolitano said she has seen many community children grow up since she moved to Millstone 30 years ago and started substitute teaching in Millstone and Roosevelt schools.

"Some of the parents that send their children here I taught when I used to teach in the schools," she said.

Napolitano said she has mixed feelings about retiring.

"I'm very relieved to a degree about letting go of all of the responsibility, but feel a tremendous sadness about not seeing the children every day," she said.

She said many community members have asked her what she plans to do now.

"I'll continue on living and enjoying it," she said.

As for Zappia, she is "very excited" to get started as the new owner of Kids Workshop.

"I've been spending time getting to know the families, decorating and putting my own touches on the school," she said.

She will host a grand reopening of Kids Workshop from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. July 18, when parents and their children can receive a tour of the facility, meet the staff, learn more about the programs, and enjoy light refreshments. There will also be giveaways for the children, and attendees can enter a drawing to win a special discounted tuition rate for one month.

For more information, visit www.kidsworkshop.biz or call 732-446- 8656.