We believe children learn best in a nurturing environment where the staff and the parents are partners working together to meet each child’s developmental needs.

The Children’s Programs are designed to serve young children from 4 months of age up to kindergarten entry. The classrooms are staffed by child development specialists and students. Each learning environment is set up to support the developmental needs of each child through indoor and outdoor sensory, language, social/emotional and physical activities.

Our program’s infant & toddler Lead Teachers, known as Specialists, are all PITC trained (The Program for Infant/Toddler Care) and follow a primary caregiver philosophy. Infants stay together as a group in the infant room until they are around 18 months of age. Then they move as a group with their caregivers to the toddler room, where they stay together for a year until moving on to the two year old classroom.

The year or two before a child goes to kindergarten they are enrolled in the preschool program. The preschool learning environments are structured into learning areas that facilitate social/emotional development, language skill development and other concepts to support school success and a joy of learning.

The Children’s Programs serve as a laboratory setting for Early Childhood Education students, or those in related disciplines, to do their supervised field training. The center is designed to support college students with a place to observe and interact with the children while developing skills to prepare for careers working with young children.

Most of the child care spaces are subsidized for children of low-income college students. On a space available basis, families whose income is considered over income for subsidized care pay the full cost for services. Please refer to the fees and schedule portion of this website for more information.

Children’s Programs Core Values

• Learning environments that are inviting and safe; that inspire curiosity and exploration; and are adapted to facilitate each child’s success
• A curriculum that is developmentally appropriate and emergent in response to the individual needs of each child
• An approach to teaching that facilitates problem solving and the development of self-help skills
• Diversity – understanding and accepting cultural and style differences; creating and sustaining an environment where it is safe to be who you are
• The primary caregiver approach which supports consistency and continuity of care for infants and toddlers
• Partnerships with each family built upon compassion and respect
• The importance of cognitive development because the years from birth to age 5 are the foundation that successful lives are built upon.