At Early Explorations and Early Explorations Too we only employ the best caregivers, teachers, and administrators that will always provide a warm and nurturing environment for your child.
Early Explorations and Early Explorations Too are licensed by the State of Illinois, through the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS). Therefore, we adhere to all DCFS licensing standards regarding child care centers. Early Explorations and Early Explorations Too each received high grant honors in 2005, 2006, and 2007. Each of these 3 years, the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) awarded Early Childhood Block Grant funds to our child care centers which have become integrated parts of our daily programs. Early Explorations and Early Explorations Too were amongst the first child care centers in the State of Illinois to receive such funding, making enrichment programs such as our Preschool for All programs possible. Additionally, in our continuing effort to strive for excellence in our performance standards, Early Explorations and Early Explorations Too have chosen to strive towards achieving levels of accreditation through the Quality Rating Scale (QRS). This accreditation ensures our curriculum, faculty, and facility exceeds the expectations of non-accredited facilities.
Our Mission
As a unified team of early childhood professionals, we will build classroom communities where each child is a valued, productive member of their community, and actively participates in exploration and play to instill life-long learning habits which challenge and question “the norm”, producing community leaders and independent thinkers. Additionally, we will collaborate with significant early childhood agencies to provide high-quality education and services to the children and families we serve.
Our Staff
Our caregivers, teachers, and administrators provide a warm, nurturing environment in which your child can thrive. All staff participate in 20 hours of annual professional development, geared to the specific needs of the children they care for each day. Professional development includes curriculum development and implementation, creating positive learning environments, health and nutrition, and topics that meet the specific needs of children currently enrolled in their classroom.
Our Students & Families
Children 6 weeks-6 years of age have experienced great success at Early Explorations and Early Explorations Too. As our first child care center opened in 1996, we have proudly watched as many of our former students have had great successes throughout elementary school, middle school, high school and college. We enjoy the small town community we live in, where we can share in a child and family’s life in an ongoing manner.
Our School Environment
Each facility boasts over 10,000 square feet of indoor facilities with large, oversized classrooms, which provide your child the environment in which to explore, learn, and thrive. Our playgrounds and surrounding areas provide a park-like setting, full of hands-on learning and aesthetic appreciation. Internal surveillance cameras are present in our University Park location, and parents are welcome to come observe their child from the Site Director’s Office.
