REDVERS—Rajveer Kaur Matharu's path to starting her home business, Kiddo’s Kingdom, the newest daycare in Redvers, has been interesting. Parents expressed interest before her first day on Dec. 16. The daycare has a capacity of 12 spaces.
“We moved to Canada in May of 2023,” she explained, noting that a job opportunity for her husband was the initial draw to Saskatoon for the couple. “I’m pretty excited that within this short period, I am opening my daycare because I never thought that I would be opening something of my own that soon!”
Teaching was Matharu’s profession, having obtained a Masters in Mathematics in India where she taught students in middle and high school settings. Upon moving to Saskatoon, she began working at the YMCA daycare until her husband’s employment brought the couple to Redvers. After that move, Matharu worked at daycares in Carlyle and Redvers before deciding to establish her own business out of their home.
“When I moved to Redvers, and I couldn’t find a job, and I thought about opening my daycare,” she explained. “But given that there are already two daycares in town, I was not very positive whether I should open it or not. But then later on, I came to know that there’s always a need for the daycare spaces.”
The demand for childcare is more than Matharu anticipated, not only in Redvers but also in rural areas around the town.
“I came to know that in the nearby areas, there are not many regulated daycare spaces, so there will always be a demand,” she said.
Kiddo’s Kingdom will be open from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on weekdays, with 12 spaces available for children ages 10 months to six years.
“I have a backyard. We actually will be putting up a fence, but it won’t be until May this coming year because of the snow,” Matharu said of the outdoor space available. “But during that time, I will be operating from my backyard and the kids can have their outside play in the backyard.”
As spaces fill, Matharu is planning on hiring an assistant in January, and reflecting on all the recent activity in launching the new business, she’s looking forward to what the new year will bring.
“I’m excited, I never thought I would be working with kids of this age!” Matharu said. “When moving to Canada, I was thinking of moving to a different field altogether, but I really liked working at YMCA, I really liked working with the kids, and now here I am opening my own daycare, so I’m pretty excited to meet new kids and make new connections.”
In addition to Kiddo’s Kingdom, Redvers also has two other daycares—the Redvers Early Learning & Childcare Centre and Busy Beez Child Care.
“We always need childcare in a community,” said Town of Redvers CAO Tricia Pickard, adding that a lot of communities see lack of childcare as a top reason keeping people away. “That’s what they’re saying is, ‘we just don’t have the childcare,’ and that’s maybe stopping people or swaying their decision to not move to town.”
For Redvers, the addition of Kiddo’s Kingdom will help address that need plus provide an economic spinoff as a new business in town.
