Children First is a non-profit (501c3) child care center, established in 1999, out of the ashes of a for-profit center that had been put into receivership. Although originally functioning out of rented space (a 1000 square-foot building for our preschool, and the local school cafeteria and a barn for our OST – “out-of-school-time” – program), through long-term, low-interest loans from the USDA Rural Development program, we purchased the building and land (4+ acres) and expanded twice over the years, once in 2010 and again in 2017. Over the years, we have added a toddler program, a private, nature-based kindergarten program, and increased our preschool slots from 20 to 40, and then to 60, in our now almost 12,000 square-foot facility. We believe passionately that facilities matter and see evidence every day of the positive impact of a building designed intentionally to support both very young children and their teachers.
Children First serves children from 15 months through 14 years old. We “put children first” and believe that children deserve a magical place to spend their most formative years. We prioritize social-emotional development as foundational to all learning and growth and seek to ensure that children experience joy and wonder in learning.
The Children First team values playful learning and embraces a nature-based philosophy. We know that children learn best through and benefit most from extended periods of outdoor play. You will more than likely see our teachers barefoot in the grass, checking on our garden beds, or investigating an insect that a child has found. Our teachers are just as passionate about learning all there is to know about the outdoors as the children are.
While primarily funded through parents paying tuition (private pay), we have always accepted state subsidies through vouchers and proudly work with ChildCare Aware to serve families with military subsidies. Our ability to continue to offer high-quality, affordable care and early education to our children and their families has been positively impacted by the State’s C3 Operational Grants, which allow us to better meet children’s needs by stabilizing and supporting staffing in order to offer lower ratios and more sustained teacher/student contact time.
“Every child should have mud pies, grasshoppers, water bugs, tadpoles, frogs, mud turtles, elderberries, wild strawberries, acorns, chestnuts, trees to climb. Brooks to wade, water lilies, woodchucks, bats, bees, butterflies, various animals to pet, hayfields, pine-cones, rocks to roll, sand, snakes, huckleberries and hornets; and any child who has been deprived of these has been deprived of the best part of…education” -Luther Burbank