Childcare

In 1975, Christ Ascension Lutheran Church opened the childcare center as a service ministry to provide parents with a secure and responsible environment for their children. Today, the childcare center strives to give parents a sense of well being in the knowledge that their children are being well cared for in a safe, educationally appropriate and stimulating environment. Our main objective is to provide the children with the highest quality of care and help them grow as a total individual during a period in life when physical, social, and cognitive growth is rapid and most important.

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Welcome

General Information

In each of our programs, we strive to promote each child’s physical, emotional, mental, and social development. We will also help your child to develop a sense of compassion for others, positive feelings about themselves, a sense of independence, and promote a love of learning. We are proud to be a part of your child’s early growing years and thank you for enrolling your child with us. Our center would like to enter into a partnership with you as parents. Open, informal communication between you and the staff will be essential for your child’s social, physical, and intellectual development. We want to incorporate your own personal goals for your child with our program goals. Please feel free to speak with us! We welcome your comments, questions, concerns and suggestions about your child’s experience with us. The structure of the daily program is based on the shared interests and concerns of the children, family, and staff. A variety of structured and unstructured developmentally appropriate activities will be offered utilizing both large and small group in indoor and outdoor settings. The children enjoy the opportunity to explore the community through walking trips and visits to neighboring parks and businesses. As a center, we truly believe in educating and loving each child, unique for who they are.

Curriculum Overview

The childcare center curriculum is based on the individual needs and developmental stages of each child. We can do this because we maintain a high staff to child ratio. The lessons and activities planned are based on individual and group observations. Each child’s learning style and cognitive development is considered. Our learning environment is focused on promoting the following goals:

Creating a sense of safety and love for each child
Fostering independence and security in the learning environment
Promoting self esteem
Promoting cognitive development and a love of learning
Promoting fine & gross motor development
Foster and encourage social skills and a sense of community
Encourage self control and independent thinking
Promote problem solving and critical thinking skills
Promote a strong sense of self and character education

Staff

Our experienced and dedicated staff will guide your child in a loving, friendly, secure, and relaxed atmosphere. They will encourage your child to learn through their own natural curiosity and made learning opportunities available to them daily. The staff is trained in First Aid, CPR, Emergency Preparedness, and Fire Evacuation. Additionally, each staff receives 18-22 hours of an ongoing training in the field of Early Childhood Education. The Center staff includes individuals with degrees in education, Child Development Associates, as well decades of experience.

Melissa Delaney, Director

Ms. Delaney has directed at CLCCC since 1998 and has over 17 years of experience in the field of Early Childhood Education. Her degree is in Child Development and Psychology, as well as Advertising and Marketing. Through her leadership the center is a quality learning environment for the children in the surrounding communities. Ms. Delaney currently resides in Oreland with her husband and two sons.

Shawn M. Hubbard, Assistant Director

Ms. Hubbard has worked at CLCCC since 1996 and has over 17 years experience in Early Childhood Education. She has worked both as a classroom assistant as well as a classroom teacher and applies that experience to her position of Assistant Director. She is a funny, warm person that is a favorite of all the children. Ms. Hubbard resides in Germantown and has a son.

Programs

Infants

Christ Lutheran Child Care has two infant programs, the Sweet Peas and the Busy Bees, with a total enrollment of 11 children and 5 staff members. Our littlest students, the Sweet Peas average in age from 6 weeks to 5 months. The Busy Bees, our older infant program, tends to average from 6 months to 13 months of age. Each infant program is designed to provide each child with a feeling of warmth, confidence, and security. The schedule is a flexible, individual one, which allows the staff to spend quality time with each child. We believe that through this nurturing interaction along with encouragement and lots of love, your child will have experienced warmth that is essential to their growth and cognitive development.

Areas of Development

Large muscle control - rolling, crawling, reaching, pulling
Small muscle control - grasping, holding, stacking, manipulating
Auditory/Visual - follows objects with eyes, turns head toward sounds
Verbal Development - babbling, imitation, laughing, story time, singing, turn-taking games
Encouragement of natural curiosity
Development of self esteem through love and nurturing

Downloadable Paperwork

Toddler Programs

The Toddler Programs at Christ Lutheran Child Care Center are based on exploration and discovery. The Caterpillars, our younger toddlers, love to explore their environment by hands on experiences. They are learning about the world around them in leaps and bounds. Vocabulary development at this age is rapid! The Butterflies, our older toddlers, are always on the move, looking to test the world around them, learn about how things work and increase their use of language.

Our learning curriculum is geared towards a child’s natural curiosity and we believe in having our staff set up situations where learning occurs naturally. One week we may be learning about apples and the color red. What better way to discover apples than by finger painting with applesauce, getting to eat red Jell-O and squish it between our fingers, dance with red ribbons and taste test all kinds of apples! Young children are so eager to learn! Through a loving and nurturing environment your child can be encouraged to reach their full potential.

Toddler Areas of Development

Enhancing auditory and visual skills
Creative play and development
Development of fine and gross motor skills
Encouragement of self-help skills
Introduction to colors, shapes, opposites, and counting through play
Daily activities of math, language & literacy, art, music, etc.
Encourage growth of self-esteem

The Toddler Programs use a discipline philosophy of redirection. We feel that toddlers are not able to easily share. Often we have two of every toy, especially the popular ones, so that a child may be directed to play in another situation without having to experience the frustration that occurs from always hearing NO! Toddlers test their world around them and through consistent boundaries, reinforcement of appropriate behavior and loving guidance, the toddlers are taught to feel secure in the world around them.

All Toddlers should bring:

A bag of diapers
Wipes
Complete change of clothes
Sippy cup

Children staying for the full day will also need:

Sheet
Light blanket
Finger food lunch

Downloadable Paperwork

Preschool Programs

The Preschool Programs at Christ Lutheran Child Care are based on exploration and discovery. We offer families two programs; the Adventurers and the Explorers. The Adventures range in age from 3-4 years while the Explorers are 4-5 years in age. Both programs offer a variety of activities designed to meet your child’s needs during this time of active growth and rapid development. Your child is filled with endless curiosity! Learning occurs best at this stage by helping your child to learn through their own natural curiosity. Our well-trained staff encourages your child to reach their potential at a pace that is comfortable for them by participating in individual and group activities.

The Adventurer’s and Explorer’s curriculum is based on monthly themes. Each week tackles a concept related to the primary theme, and through that topic, teaches your child about colors, numbers, letters, opposites, science, math, language & literacy, music, creative explorations, and character education. Parents are encouraged to join in the learning process and reinforce concepts at home. Each week, a lesson plan will be sent home to include you in the process of helping your child grow and allow you to remain closely aware of what your child is learning about while in our care.

The Explorers are very busy getting ready for Kindergarten. This class will also focus on phonic awareness, fine motor skills for writing, pencil grip, and letter forms, counting to higher numbers, following multiple part directions as well as independence and self direction.

Preschool Areas of Development

Enhanced listening and retention skills
Creative play and development
Development of fine and gross motor skills
Continued reinforcement of basic learning concepts
Expand language acquisition skills
Enrich socialization process, encourage social skills
Increased development of math skills: counting, sorting, matching
Reinforce positive self image

The Preschool programs implements a discipline practice of redirection and clear guidelines to help your child grow socially. Consistent consequences are offered to your child and on occasion, a short calming down period, similar to a time out, within the company of a staff member. It is only through testing boundaries in a safe way, that children gain clear and understandable expectations of the world around them. Your preschool child is ready to verbalize their feelings to their classmates and our staff encourages your child to express themselves. Socialization and learning through play is a big part of these programs.

Downloadable Paperwork

After-school Programs

Thank you for considering the After School Program for Christ Ascension. Your child’s stay with us will be positive, rewarding and fun. In 1987 Christ Ascension Lutheran Church started the after school program as a service to the community to provide your child with a safe and educationally encouraging environment. This service is available to the children that attend J.S. Jenks Elementary School. The program is licensed by the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare and fully insured. The staff in the School Agre Program has experience working with and teaching school age children. All have their child abuse, criminal, and FBI clearances as well as checked references and continuing education goals.

School Age activities include homework, outside play time, arts, crafts, games, sports, special activities, music, dancing, puzzles, legos, character education and even an occasional party! The program operates Monday – Friday from dismissal of school until 6 pm. Parents may choose the pick up that best suits their need as well as what days to attend during the week. Please see the tuition rates to determine the schedule best for your family. The program does offer parents the option of having their child picked up on early dismissal days from school.

Downloadable Paperwork

Special Programs

Christ Lutheran Child Care offers many exciting programs to enhance your child's learning experience. Fortunately, the Center is also located in a area full of learning opportunities. What could be more fun than a trip to make letters out of pretzels, visit real fire fighters, mail a letter at the post office, or celebrate the Chinese New Year by eating out? Each age group takes advantage of the opportunities that surround us in our local community.

The Adventurer and Explorer programs visit the library twice a month. They will attend story hour, explore the library and get to check out books with their very own library card.

Additionally, each family's tuition includes:

Kids Music Experience

Peter Moses, children's recording artist, visits the Center twice a month to bring the joy of music right to our door and encourages early musical education with the use of instruments, song singing, rhythm, and dancing.

Tikenology

Tikenology visits our school once a week for a 10 week session. They use custom, story-based Imagine Tomorrow software, developed by an educator to help the "Puterbugs" solve their silly missions! Kids become Computer Detectives and work as a team to solve the mission! Not only are technical concepts introduced, but early childhood academic fundamentals are reinforced such as early literacy, math, and logic. Parents can even logon to the Adventure Journal from home and see snippets of what their little ones are doing in class! Each child that enrolls gets to use their own laptop during class. (Infants-Prekindergarten)

Head Start Sports

Head Start Sports visits the center once a week for a 10 week program. During each class, your child receives equipment for their own use to participate in a wide variety of sports. Kids develop self confidence, improved gross motor coordination, good exercise habits, fitness, and a love of sports. (Young toddlers - Prekindergarten)