Student Activities & Services

Children's Learning Center

A place to learn by playing and doing

Prairie State College’s Children’s Learning Center is a licensed facility that provides quality childcare for children ages 15 months to 12 years old. Full and regularly scheduled part-time care is offered to accommodate the scheduling needs of students, faculty, staff and the community. Providing the best in care and education for youngsters, the Center also offers ongoing preschool screenings, parent workshops and a toy-lending library. Advanced registration for services is required.

In 2004, the center moved into its new 11,426-square-foot state-of-the-art facility at the northwest corner of PSC’s main campus. The new building has four children’s classrooms, a college classroom, a multipurpose room, a secured outdoor playground, a kitchen and laundry facilities.

Pre-Kindergarten program

With space for up to 40 students, the pre-kindergarten program is free to those who qualify and open to students with children as well as to others in the community. Two sessions are available during the fall and spring semesters: a morning program from 9:00 to 11:30 a.m. and an afternoon program from 12:30 to 3:00 p.m. Wraparound childcare services are also available, primarily for the morning session.

The pre-kindergarten program is funded by a grant from the Illinois State Board of Education’s Childcare Block Grant, which allowed the center to begin offering pre-kindergarten in August 2003.

Philosophy

The physical, emotional, social and intellectual aspects of children’s growth all must be considered in overall development. We believe children learn through play and by doing. Therefore, we provide the activities, opportunities and an environment that help facilitate this process using the High/Scope curriculum (to find out more about this curriculum, visit www.highscope.org).

Staff

The center staff members are educationally trained in child development and have many years of experience working with children. In addition to our regular staff, the center also participates in the Foster Grandparent program and has served as a practicum site for Early Childhood Education students from the College.

Most of our lead teachers have bachelor’s degrees in the field of early childhood education. We also serve as a practicum site for students of the Erikson Institute who are completing their internships.

Nutrition

Our center provides breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks to all children enrolled during the times those meals are served.

The Children’s Learning Center participates in the Child and Adult Care Food Program, which makes nutritionally balanced meals available to all children enrolled without regard to race, color, national origin, age or ability. Any person who believes he or she has been discriminated against in any United States Department of Agriculture related activity should write immediately to the Secretary of Agriculture, Washington, DC 20250.

Registration

Parents interested in enrolling their children should contact the center coordinator at (708) 709-3725. We require advance registration and the completion of all enrollment forms (including a current physical, up-to-date immunizations, and lead screening (for those under the age of 6). A registration fee of $10 per child (up to $25 per family) is charged each semester.

Once enrolled, registration continues to be on a per-semester basis. A new contract must be signed and turned in prior to each semester. Priority is initially given to children enrolled the previous semester.

Registration for the Children’s Learning Center begins the first day of registration for that semester’s college classes.

Days and hours of operation

Monday through Thursday, 7:00 a.m. to 10:15 p.m.
Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Closed on Fridays during the summer; closed when classes are not in session.

Fees

We accept subsidized payments from outside agencies such as Action for Children and Child Care Initiatives. The current fee structure for each child is:

	Under 2 1/2		Preschool/School-Age
	Full-Day	Hourly	Full-Day	Hourly
PSC Student	$28.00	$5.50	$20.00	$4.00
PSC Staff/Faculty/Administrators	$30.00	$6.00	$22.00	$4.25
Community	$33.77	$6.75	$24.34	$4.75

*Rates are subject to change.