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After 37 years, The Tot Spot, a beloved New Canaan daycare, closed its doors Friday with the retirement of founder Barbara Skibitcky.
The town resident opened the program in 1989 out of her own home, starting with six children and a mantra she has carried ever since: Respect the child. Generations of New Canaan families say she built something truly special.
“I feel very proud to have been a part of the community, helping the community all over these years, and knowing so many wonderful families,” Skibitcky told NewCanaanite.com.
What started as a six-child licensed home daycare, run by Skibitcky and a new friend named Karin King who offered to join her, grew steadily into a 12-child program and then a 16-child licensed center.
“As we got bigger, we improved and we improved,” she said.
From the beginning, Skibitcky insisted on having two adults in the classroom even though the state only required one.
“I don’t think it’s a great idea to have continually one person,” she said. “I really think the state should change the law on that.”
The program’s curriculum blended Montessori, Waldorf and Reggio Emilia philosophies into something Skibitcky considered uniquely her own, with a heavy emphasis on art, nature and conversation.
“We can just pick out what we like the best from each one and mix and match,” she said. “We’ve got something unique.”
One of the program’s most distinctive features was its art curriculum. Children as young as two years old learned to recognize the work of Jackson Pollock, David Hockney, Robert Indiana and others, reading the artists’ names and discussing their lives and techniques.
“They know Jackson Pollock is very free art and splashing paint to make his point of view,” Skibitcky said. “They know all about David Hockney. They can recognize the art, they can read the artists’ names, and then we start reading books about their life.”
The art focus grew, she said, simply from listening.
“With conversation, children open up and their minds just take in so much,” she said. “The questions just kept coming.”
Families described the effect in their own words. Jen Kennedy, whose children attended Tot Spot, said the art education alone was remarkable.
“The fact that our young children could tell others about the works of Monet, Pollock, and O’Keeffe is still amazing to us,” Kennedy said. “Tot Spot gave our kids a safe, happy and inspiring foundation that we will always treasure.”
Melissa Guster, whose three children all attended, said she never worried once she found Tot Spot.
“My kids would come home talking about famous artists like Picasso and Matisse,” Guster said. “She really challenged her students to learn, explore, and grow. What Ms. Barbara built is so much more than a daycare. She created a place where children feel loved, supported and challenged.”
Elizabeth Buckner, whose children attended and who also served as the program’s school nurse, said the teachers built resilience as much as they built knowledge.
“They allowed them to figure things out without doing it for them, whether it was a puzzle, falling, or working through big feelings,” Buckner said. “They didn’t eliminate adversity, they helped them work through it. While attending Tot Spot, we noticed my son was struggling, and they were incredibly supportive when we were going through the process of diagnosing speech and language issues.”
Buckner said her professional experience gave her a particular appreciation for what Skibitcky built.
“As a former school nurse, I saw firsthand the difference in the students who came from strong programs like Tot Spot,” she said. “They would come home so proud that they had learned a new skill, a new project, a new song, or read a new book. I knew they were in loving and caring hands.”
Sicily Bennett, whose three daughters attended Tot Spot, said the art education stayed with her children long after they left.
“I brought my girls to the Met in NYC and remember them naming the artists as we walked by paintings,” she said. “Ms. Barbara created something truly special. Her love of nature and art shaped so much of the magic of Tot Spot. She understood how precious these early years are and created a place that celebrated childhood rather than rushing it.”
Janna Ritzcovan, whose two children also attended, recalled a small moment that captured who Skibitcky is.
“One day I forgot to pack lunch,” Ritzcovan said. “Barbara simply made my son pasta. She didn’t make a big deal about it, she just took care of him. Those moments showed how much she genuinely cared about the children.”
Skibitcky’s partnership with Karin King, who joined near the beginning and served as head teacher for most of the program’s life, was central to everything.
“I would never have done it without Karen,” Skibitcky said. “It meant everything.”
King, who is now an early childhood education consultant, described their bond in simpler terms.
“We are sisters,” she said. “Not really sisters, but we truly became sisters for good, bad, indifferent, whatever. Most times we didn’t even need to talk or verbalize. We knew. We’d walk in the room, look at each other, and we knew.”
King said she handled the curriculum and education side while Skibitcky managed the operations, but over the years Skibitcky grew into a full educational partner.
“She just blossomed,” King said. “Her confidence level as far as curriculum and philosophies, just because she had no background, just took off. She said she wouldn’t do anything else.”
King credited Skibitcky’s enthusiasm as one of the program’s defining qualities.
“When she gets enthusiastic, you can’t help but join her,” King said. “She would get just as excited looking through a book about Gustav Klimt or Miro. True excitement.”
Asked what she wants people to know about what Skibitcky built, King did not hesitate.
“Barbara has thrown her heart and soul into the Tot Spot, the children, the families and the program,” she said. “She is one of the most astute, observant educators that I have ever come across. Her devotion extends far beyond the work day. She takes everything to heart. She is truly the heart and soul of early childhood.”
King said the lasting bonds families have maintained with Skibitcky long after their children left say everything.
“Miss Barbara’s program left such an impact that those children and those parents still come back after all these years. Her devotion has created this unbelievable bond with the entire community in New Canaan.”
A standout memory from 37 years, Skibitcky said, was becoming an American citizen about two years ago after more than 40 years in the United States. She brought the children along on the journey.
“When I was learning and talking about the different states, the children were learning with me,” she said. “When I came back with my certificate, they had a surprise party for me. That probably stands out as a very proud moment.”
Skibitcky, who is originally from England, also noted one addition to Tot Spot that became beloved in recent years: Romulus, her daughter’s dog, who has spent several days a week at the program since 2020.
“Some children and even parents who were worried about dogs in the beginning have all fallen in love with him,” she said.
Kennedy said what Barbara built went beyond the children she taught.
“Barbara created a place where you never have to worry for a single second,” she said. “A huge testament to what Barbara built is that many local mothers, including me, who are teachers chose to send their own children to Tot Spot. That speaks volumes.”
Skibitcky said she plans to stay connected to families and to New Canaan. She will offer her services at Town Hall and the New Canaan Library, tutor children in their final year before kindergarten, and continue visiting with former students, some of whom return to see her when they head off to college.
Skibitcky said what she built over 37 years was never just a program.
“What I hear over and over again is that they feel like they’re part of a community here,” she said. “All my families are friends with each other. I don’t know how that happens, but it does. And that’s like magic.”