Mary Jo Small Child Care Center at Brookland Woods
(Formerly Brookland Woods Child Care Center)
309 Melrose Avenue
Iowa City, Iowa, 52246
319-337-8980
maryjo-childcare@uiowa.edu
On-campus since 1972
Sharon McDonald Jill Strunk
Director Director
On staff since 1989 On staff since 1988
MJSCCC is a unique childcare center located on the campus of the University of Iowa. In 1999 the center was re-named in honor of Mary Jo Small, upon her retirement from the University. During her career, Mrs. Small devoted herself tirelessly to issues concerning women, children and families. We are proud to honor her legacy. Our center accepts children, ages two through six, from families of students, staff, and faculty. Full and part time enrollment options are available. Please call or email the center for availability and rates.
Our philosophy is that children learn through play. We believe it is our task to facilitate that play. We developed our program to encourage and stimulate the many aspects of childhood development through open-ended, child-centered play and activities. These include, but are not limited to, reading, natural science, blocks, cars and trucks, building materials, dress up, imagination, art, creativity, games, puzzles, music, and movement. We have six program rooms in our well maintained, two-story, wood frame house built in 1910.
Every day provides a variety of different play situations, as children and staff create new and interesting experiences with familiar materials in the comfortable, well-equipped rooms. Activities are rotated on a four-week cycle so that each occurs twice in the mornings and twice in the afternoons, on different days of the week. This ensures that each child has multiple opportunities to participate. The children engage the activities at their own pace – individually or in fluid, self-grouping patterns. Our program validates the individuality of each child and encourages their evolving interests. The children play in a secure and structured environment while maximizing their personal freedom and learning how to make good choices for themselves.
We have an expansive out-door play space surrounded by old trees bordering a historically preserved ravine. We play outside during temperate months. Our equipment and toys encourage physical, cognitive, imaginative, and social development. We have swings, climbing structures, a fire truck, a castle, a tree house, several slides, and lots of sand. As the children play in the areas of their choice, staff are positioned throughout the yard to provide companionship, assistance, and supervision. Our staff enjoy themselves and can often be observed happily playing in the sand or building with sidewalk blocks.
Because our activities are not teacher-directed, staff are encouraged to be responsive and interactive with the children as they play. When we play indoors, there is a staff in each room to facilitate and mediate the scheduled activity. Staff participate with care and attention, intervening with thoughtfulness and compassion when the children need guidance and support. We are intentional about modeling good manners, empathy towards others, problem solving, and win-win conflict resolutions. Our child:staff ratio is 6:1 for all ages. This greatly exceeds state requirements and national guidelines for staffing children ages two and older. Our center has a wonderful atmosphere in which busy children are engaged in self-directed play, as part of multi-age groups, while being supervised and cared for by many adults.
Our child care staff are part-time work-study University students. Staff training is on going and one of our center’s highest priorities. Many of our students stay with us for their entire college career, often taking on additional duties and responsibilities. The children develop very close bonds with our staff and look forward to seeing a variety of fresh faces each day. Our energetic and diverse staff is crucial to the success of our child-centered approach and parents consistently cite them as a favorite aspect of the program. Staff schedules are posted each semester. Parents may contact staff directly for additional evening and weekend childcare.
We began developing the program in 1989. A consistent goal has been the balance of a comfortable routine with responsive innovation. We are often required to find new and creative ways to respond to the changing needs of children and families. Directors are on-site throughout the day in overlapping shifts, providing staff supervision and childcare. Since we are not included in the child:staff ratios, we are able to spend time with parents at the beginning and end of the day. We are also able to devote significant individual time when children need one-on-one care and attention.
School readiness is often a concern for parents. Research indicates that social competence may be a key predictor for success in elementary school. Our program is designed to provide children with many opportunities for developmentally appropriate play as well as for rich and varied social encounters. It is our belief that being successful in a variety of fluid groupings significantly contributes to a child’s overall sense of self, wellbeing and belonging. As they get closer to five, most children get excited about kindergarten. They have excellent social skills and lots of experiential knowledge accumulated from years of constructive play. They are developmentally ready for a more structured, sit down, learning environment. We provide transportation and after school care for six children.
Although we occasionally have immediate openings, most interested families put their name on our waiting list and are enrolled within six – nine months. Our license capacity is 28 children. Many transfer from other centers and find it a comfortable transition. During the first few weeks, directors maintain close contact with the parents of new children. This can be informal, or in scheduled conferences, it can be electronically and by telephone. Each family receives a comprehensive parent handbook outlining our policies and practices.
Annual enrollment priority is given to attending children and their siblings. Until June of 2009, half of our slots are reserved for children from UI student families, who may also apply for tuition scholarships through the University’s Family Services Office. Awards are scheduled to increase July 2009. For information call Jane Holland at 335-1371 or email jane-holland@uiowa.edu.
Answers to FAQ - We encourage naturalistic potty training and accept children in diapers. We are open from 7:00 AM to 6:00 PM, weekdays. We are located near the UI “Cambus” lines, Iowa City bus lines, the downtown area, and other campus facilities. We are a private, non-profit organization. Until June of 2009 we receive partial funding from the University of Iowa. There is an active board of directors and all interested parents are invited to participate at the board level, or in any aspect of our program.
We know it can be difficult to envision our unique program. A personal visit usually clarifies the child-centered play concept. Parents may drop by any time during our visiting hours which are between 9:15 to 11:15AM and between 3:15 – 5:15PM, any day of the week. It is not required but you may call ahead to confirm that a director is available to give a tour. Parents are also welcome to email or call for additional information or to visit with a director.
We appreciate your interest and hope to meet you soon.
For additional information, contact Sharon McDonald/Jill Strunk at maryjo-childcare@uiowa.edu or call 319-337-8980.