Welcome to the YMCA of Saginaw Early Learning Center, where children are encouraged to explore, create, build relationships, and discover the world around them.
Our Early Learning Center is designed around the individual needs of each child. We provide a warm, nurturing, play-centered environment where children can make choices, explore their interests, and develop at their own pace. Through individual and group experiences, children are supported as they grow socially, emotionally, physically, creatively, and intellectually.
Most importantly, we want every child who enters our Early Learning Center to feel safe, valued, supported, and excited to learn.
We believe every child is a unique individual with their own interests, strengths, needs, and capacity for growth.
Our classrooms provide a wide variety of developmentally appropriate materials and experiences that encourage children to explore, make choices, solve problems, communicate, create, and become more independent. Our educators guide children with warmth, acceptance, encouragement, and respect while helping them develop positive relationships with both adults and their peers.
The YMCA also believes that families are an essential part of quality early childhood education. We encourage open communication and provide opportunities for families to participate in their child’s learning and in the life of the Early Learning Center.
Play is a child’s work!
Children learn best when they are actively engaged with the people, materials, and world around them. That’s why play is at the heart of learning at the YMCA of Saginaw Early Learning Center.
What may look like play is actually an opportunity to build important skills. Putting together a puzzle develops problem-solving and fine motor skills. Building with blocks encourages creativity and planning. Playing pretend helps children understand relationships and the world around them. Games with friends teach cooperation, communication, and taking turns.
Whether children are creating art, dancing, building, reading, exploring outdoors, or using their imaginations, they are developing skills that will help prepare them for school and beyond.
The YMCA Early Learning Center uses Creative Curriculum, the curriculum framework embraced by YMCA of the USA.
Creative Curriculum takes a whole-child approach to learning and recognizes that children learn through hands-on experiences, play, exploration, and interactions with others. Classroom experiences support development across areas including literacy, mathematics, science and technology, physical development, language, cognitive development, social-emotional development, social studies, and the arts.
Our teachers use developmentally appropriate activities and experiences to meet children where they are and help them continue to grow.
Children’s progress is also supported through ongoing observation and assessment. Families and teachers work together throughout the year to celebrate progress, identify individual needs, and plan for continued development.
Every child develops at their own pace. Through regular observation and assessment, our teaching staff works with families to determine when children are ready for new experiences, classroom transitions, and eventually kindergarten.
As children prepare to move into a new classroom, families will receive information and support to help make that transition successful. Our preschool program also incorporates kindergarten-readiness experiences and resources to help children and their families feel confident about the next big step.
At the Y, we believe every child deserves the opportunity to learn, grow, and feel that they belong.
Our Early Learning Center strives to create an environment of caring, honesty, respect, and responsibility while celebrating the unique backgrounds and experiences of the children and families we serve.
Classroom materials, books, music, activities, traditions, and learning experiences are selected to help children see both themselves and others represented in their environment. Families are encouraged to share the traditions, cultures, languages, and experiences that are important to them.
We are also committed to meaningful inclusion and to providing children with special needs opportunities to participate fully in our program whenever possible.
Physical activity is an important part of every child’s development, and being part of the YMCA gives our Early Learning Center unique opportunities to help children get moving.
Outdoor play is built into the daily schedule, weather permitting, with children generally having opportunities to play outside twice each day. During severe weather, indoor gross-motor activities may take place in the YMCA gym.
From running and playing outdoors to movement activities inside, children have regular opportunities to develop gross motor skills, build healthy habits, and simply enjoy being active.
Families are an important part of our Early Learning Center community, and we want communication to go both ways.
Families can stay connected through conversations with teachers, parent-teacher conferences, newsletters, family events, surveys, and ClassDojo. Parents and caregivers are also encouraged to visit, volunteer, participate in activities, or even share a hobby or special skill with the classroom.
The YMCA can also help connect families with community resources, including health and dental services, food assistance, mental health resources, and other programs that may help meet their family’s needs.
The YMCA of Saginaw Early Learning Center is open Monday through Friday from 7:00 AM–6:00 PM.
Children enrolled in the Early Learning Center attend a minimum of three to five days per week, with each enrollment considered a full-time spot. Enrollment is offered on a first-come, first-served basis based on classroom availability.
A $50 non-refundable registration fee per child is required. Families enrolling more than one child receive a 15% discount for each additional child, applied to the lower tuition rate(s).
We believe finances should not prevent families from accessing quality childcare. Financial assistance is available, and the Early Learning Center accepts Michigan DHS childcare subsidies and MI Tri-Share payments.
The people caring for your child matter.
Our goal is to maintain consistent teachers and caregivers in each classroom so children can build strong relationships and feel comfortable, safe, and secure.
Early Learning Center staff undergo comprehensive background screening and complete required health and safety training. Staff members are trained in infant, child, and adult CPR/AED and First Aid and complete ongoing professional development in early childhood development each year.
Our educators are here not only to supervise children, but to encourage their curiosity, support their development, celebrate their accomplishments, and help them build confidence.
We’d love to learn more about your family’s childcare needs!
Families interested in enrollment can complete our Early Learning Center Interest Survey to share their contact information, child’s age, anticipated start date, and childcare needs.
Completing the interest survey does not guarantee enrollment, but it helps our Early Learning Center team plan classroom availability and connect with interested families.
