During December, students from the Y’s Harbor Montessori School and Child Enrichment Center learned a little bit about giving back. They worked together to collect donations to benefit the Edgecomb campus of Midcoast Humane. They also used their hands and creativity to make cat toys out of toilet paper rolls to support the felines at the shelter. Child Enrichment Center Director Hanna Wayda said, “It was a joy for the children to bring in items to benefit the animals. Giving back to animals that love us unconditionally was a great way for them to share and spread holiday cheer.”

The School and Center serve 28 children between the ages of 6 weeks and 5 years. It has been a critical part of the Y’s service to the community since 1990. There are eight staff members who teach, play with, and love the children in their care. As a Montessori School, the Center is dedicated to nurturing the whole child through intentional academic guidance, purposeful learning environments, and understanding natural interests and activities.

The teachers have more than 30 years of collective experience. Together they have kept the Center open continuously through the COVID-19 pandemic. The Center and the Y’s afterschool program, Fit Kids, provide 64 working families with high quality childcare. In aggregate, YMCAs across the country make up the largest childcare provider in the nation.

The Center currently has a waitlist, partly due to staffing challenges. Wayda continuously works to find and hire qualified staff to increase enrollment. She is very pleased to have hired one new staff member who will work with infants.

While we are very proud of our childcare programs, our facilities need to be renovated. We are planning to update the childcare facility and the Y-Arts Annex after the renovations to the main Y facility are complete. The Child Enrichment Center will have more multi-purposes spaces, better interior lighting and windows, an improved kitchen and dedicated teacher spaces. All of these improvements will help us care for the smallest members of our community, keeping them safe, happy and learning while their parents are at work.