As a mom who worked outside of the home, I struggled with childcare questions. “Do I stay home with the kids or continue with my career and find daycare?” “Where do I find daycare?” “How do I choose the correct daycare fit for my family?” I am guessing these are questions many of our families have asked themselves.
Did you realize our very own West Central Area Schools is able to provide the solution to many of those questions?
We have two different childcare opportunities offered at West Central Area Elementary North; Wrap Around and After School Care.
West Central Area Schools is very thankful for the amazing childcare providers within our district, but realized there was still a need for additional daycare opportunities in the area and wanted to help in anyway that they could.
The Wrap Around Program is for 3 and 4 year olds and has a ratio of one staff member for every ten children. It is based on play because play is an important part of a child’s development. Students learn and practice their letters and letter sounds, numbers, days of the week, months and shapes, do a variety of art projects, dance and play outside. Because the program is located within the school building, students are able to participate in school assemblies and other special school occasions and it is a great program for the three year-olds who are in Little Knights Preschool because staff pick them up and take students to and from class, saving families the extra trip to school. The mornings consist of free play, morning meeting, music, work time, an art project, and recess. The afternoon consists of lunch, gym time (or outside depending on the weather), story, rest time, snack, free play and sometimes art projects and movies on special occasions.
WCA Schools also offers an After School Program. It was created so families could have a safe and fun option to care for their children for the few hours between when school and work end and because you only pay for the days you’re there, the program is easy and flexible for families that use it every day and for families that only use it a couple times a month.
School aged children through fourth grade are eligible for this program that runs from 3:30-5:30. Each day they do a different activity to start off the program.
Monday - art (either a project or just getting to color and create something of their own)
Tuesday - building time (blocks, legos, magnatiles, using any material that they can turn into a creative building/car/machine)
Wednesday - game day (board games, card games, bingo, puzzles)
Thursday - exercise (yoga, relay races, warm ups like hopping, skipping, frog jumps)
Friday - free play. We also get outside or go into the gym almost every day. Favorite activities are color tag, football, 4 square and hide and seek. Last year the After School Program started raising a garden and grew tomatoes and green peppers and the kids even got to take some home to cook with!
A family can easily enroll in these programs under the community education tab on the school website. When asked what the future plans for both of these programs were, the simple answer was, “To continue to grow and meet the needs of the families in our area.” If you are looking for a way to support these wonderful programs, you are encouraged to use the program if it meets your needs and if you have any extra art supplies, puzzles, books, Legos, or other building materials that you would be willing to donate, they are always appreciated.