Early Education Child Care
Support for working families.
The YMCA of Metropolitan Detroit offers quality, affordable Early Education for children ages 6 weeks to 5 years (Pre-K). It is part of the Y’s mission to provide healthy development for children, enabling parents and family members to go to work knowing their children are in safe, stimulating environments.
Early Education brings together a unique combination of resources to ensure that children gain the skills and knowledge to successfully begin kindergarten. In Early Education and Preschool at the Y, your child will be active and engaged with highly trained teachers who understand the importance of quality, guided play in every child’s development.
Our Cause-Driven Approach to Child Care
Providing quality, affordable care for your children is not just a business to us. It is our cause – a vital part of our commitment to the community. It is an approach that includes unique programs to make sure kids stay motivated intellectually, socially, emotionally and physically. We strive to deliver the program in a safe and nurturing YMCA environment. The Y is driven by community need, guided by community volunteers and open to all. Subject to available resources, no person is denied participation in a Y program solely due to financial inability to pay the fee. The YMCA is a United Way affiliated agency.
Our Child Care and Preschool programs:
- Support and strengthen the family unit
- Help children develop to their fullest potential through developmentally appropriate activities
- Provide a positive YMCA environment of safety, support and care
- Appreciate the diversity of families and staff within the program and the community at large
- Grow children to become our future leaders and supporters
- Help children develop new skills through self directed choices
- Allow children to have fun
Our Philosophy
Our Early Childhood Center recognizes that play is children’s work, and that providing a rich environment where creative play promotes cognitive, emotional, physical and social development is critical to your child’s health. Our program is language rich, with emphasis on offering the children pre-reading and pre-writing experiences that will spark a lifelong love of language. Our staff develops character activities that reflect the YMCA emphasis on honesty, caring, responsibility and respect.
Programs and Activities
The activities and atmosphere of the program aim to meet the developmental, physical, emotional and social needs of the children. Our approach is designed to create a wide range of learning opportunities. Each Y Child Care Teacher develops lesson plans to meet the particular needs of the children in their classroom. The program includes all of the following:
- Group Time: Children sit in a circle or group with the lead teacher. Calendar, weather and theme topics are discussed along with books and songs.
- Center Time: Teacher directed activities that include language, science, math, big and small muscle movement, and arts and crafts.
- Morning and Afternoon Snack: The YMCA will provide your child with a healthy morning and afternoon snack. Milk and water offered with every meal.
- Computers: Beginning at age three, children enrolled in preschool have directed computer lab time weekly using educational software designed to build preschoolers skills and terminology using the IBM Young Explorers program.
- Recess: We have a private playground for toddlers, and a separate playground for the older children. Outside play is critical to good health, and kids will spend time outdoors as long as temperature and weather permits.
Early Education Child Care FAQ
Quality Staff
Every YMCA Child Care Classroom is led by at least one state licensed Child Care Teacher. All YMCA staff must complete a background check before working in the program. Our staff members are experienced and caring, trained in child care program, First Aid and CPR. Each potential YMCA employee receives risk management training before beginning any type of employment at the YMCA, and all staff is required to take 12 hours of child care training annually.
Age Groups and Ratios
Our child care program is committed to ideal teacher-child ratios to ensure safety and quality learning opportunities. This allows for a great deal of focused attention on each child.
Class Age Groups:
- Infant: 6 weeks to 14 months
- Toddler: 14 months to 2½ years old
- Early Preschool: 2 ½ years old to 3 ½ years old
- Preschool & Pre-K: 3 ½ to 5 years (potty trained)
Class Ratios:
- Infant and Toddler Care: 1 adult to 4 children
- Early Preschool: 1 adult to 8 children
- Preschool & Pre-K: 1 adult to 10 children
Locations & Hours
Currently care is available Monday through Friday, 7:00 am until 6:00 pm at the Boll Family YMCA.