LARAMIE COUNTYCOMMUNITY COLLEGEChildren's Discovery Center
About the LCCC Children's Discovery Center
The Children’s Discovery Center offers a comprehensive early childhood education program that serves the needs of children and families of students, faculty and the community. The center offers a full-time program for children from infancy on to kindergarten, and a part-time preschool program for children ages 3 1/2 - 6. The center is accredited through the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).
Our center promotes quality care based on respect and positive relationships. Through a team approach, open communication and partnerships between families and school, the Children's Discovery Center promotes strong beginnings for each child.
The LCCC Children’s Discovery Center's commitment to quality includes a curriculum based on more than 75 years of early childhood development research. The Creative Curriculum for Infants, Toddlers and Preschool Aged children is a nationally recognized curriculum that identifies goals in four areas of development: social/emotional, physical, cognitive and language. Parent-teacher conferences are held twice a year and are designed to individualize goals for each child. Lead teachers must have a minimum of a Bachelors degree in early childhood or related fields and associate teachers must have a minimum of a CDA/Associates degree in early childhood or related fields.
The LCCC Children's Discovery Center also has several part-time employees to help cover lunch breaks, maintaining ratios and covering the full-time teachers and associate teachers when they are out on leave. These individuals can be LCCC students or community members. These employees must be at least 18 years old and have graduated high school or have their GED.
Children's Discovery Center Vision Statement, Mission Statement, Philosophy, & Core Values
The LCCC Children's Discovery Center has aligned our Vision Statement, Mission Statement, Philosophy and Core Values with those of Laramie County Community College and the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).
Vision Statement
Opportunities for young children within the LCCC and Cheyenne community as well as other surrounding communities, will be provided by dedicated staff to encourage learning and ensure that the children reach their fullest potential when enrolled at the LCCC Children’s Discovery Center. The dedicated staff at the Children’s Discovery Center continue to self-assess in effort to find ways to improve practices and create better experiences for the enrolled children and their families.
Mission Statement
The LCCC Children’s Discovery Center promotes the highest quality of early learning for young children. As a part of the LCCC Campus Community, we are compelled to aid early childhood learning by offering diverse, dynamic early childhood experiences to the children enrolled. As does Laramie County Community College, the Children’s Discovery Center grounds their work in 4 foundational elements of our mission:
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- To prepare young children to be socially competent and provide them with a solid base of social skills needed to be successful in kindergarten (social preparation)
- To engage the children in learning activities that will provide them with diverse opportunities to help them prepare to enter kindergarten and begin their academic journey (transfer preparation)
- To encourage and assist CDC staff in their professional development, to be life-long learners who inspire the children they work with to love learning (professional development)
- To build relationships with agencies and businesses in the community, to be able to refer families and provide information about these agencies and business when families and children need resources and services (community development)
Philosophy
We believe that all children benefit from a safe, welcoming, learning environment where they are provided lots of opportunities to play, learn, and explore the world around them.
We believe that children are strong, intelligent, competent, and constantly learning, and we recognize that children are best understood and supported in the context of family, culture, community, and society.
We believe that families have the right to be full participants in their children’s education.
We believe that our teachers are caring professionals, trained to support the children in their learning and the parents/guardians in their participation.
We believe that teachers are researchers engaged in the creation of new knowledge as they work alongside the children in collaboration with other adults in the campus community.
We believe that children’s play is extremely vital to healthy physical development, social/emotional development, and cognitive growth.
We believe that children, parents/guardians, and teachers are all learners and teachers in this journey, and we respect the dignity, worth and uniqueness of each individual.
We believe that college students who participate in our programs at all levels of their study, from beginning observations to semester-long internships are unique, integral, and valuable members of our learning/teaching community.
Core Values
Desire to Make a Difference – We strive to further our professional development as staff to be able to offer opportunities for each child and family to achieve their full potential.
Commitment to Excellence – We are committed to promoting an environment for young children to succeed. To do this, we continuously strive for greater competence, by considering multiple sources of evidence and diverse perspectives to reflect on what we have done, not our progress and successes, and engage in continuous quality improvement.
Passion – Our center is wholly dedicated to sharing enthusiasm, excitement, and positivity with children and families as we strive to create a love of learning for each child we work with.
Openness – We are committed to transparency, where our best work demonstrates respect for each family, child, and staff member, as we build effective partnerships and trust.
Collaborative Relationships – We commit time and effort to ensure diverse participation and more effective outcomes by meeting quarterly with the Parent Advisory Committee. We act with integrity, respect, and trust to build solid relationships with families, as well as within the LCCC Campus and the community.
Equity & Opportunity – We advocate for policies, practices, and systems that promote full and inclusive participation, with the ultimate goal of offering equitable opportunities for all children and families enrolled at the CDC.
Application
Parents or guardians can fill out a CDC Child Application if they wish to enroll their child with the center.
The application can be completely filled out online. Once the application is submitted, your child is placed on the wait list, and we will be contacting you within five business days to let you know we have you on the list.
Our wait list is prioritized by the following factors:
- Siblings enrolled in the program
- LCCC Employee or Student
- Community Members
For more information and to register, parents can call 307.778.1303 or email the center.
Monday - Friday
6:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Full Time Monthly Tuition:
- Infants & Toddlers (6 weeks-24 months) ~ $1136.50
- Twos (25-30 months) ~ $874.50
- Junior Preschool (31-42 months) ~ $833.00
- Preschool/PreK (3.5-6 years) ~ $815.25
Part Time Monthly Tuition:
Part Time tuition depends on the number of half or full days your child is enrolled. Currently, we only have Part Time options for children ages 3 and up.
For our Part Time program, we do ask for a minimum of 2 days a week, as this makes routines easier for the child.
Half Days (8:00 am-12:00 pm)
- 2 - 1/2 days a week ~ $257.50/month
- 3 - 1/2 days a week ~ $386.25/month
- 4 - 1/2 days a week ~ $515.00/month
- 5 - 1/2 days a week ~ $643.75/month
Full Days (available 6:30 am-5:30 pm)
- 2 days a week ~ $335.00/month
- 3 days a week ~ $502.50/month
- 4 days a week ~ $670.00/month
The Children's Discovery Center offers a sibling discount for families with more than one child enrolled in the center.
Upon enrollment, there is a $25.00 enrollment fee. At this time, the Children's Discovery Center also requires a refundable deposit equal to one month of tuition. This deposit can be used to pay your child's last month of tuition or it will be refunded to you upon leaving the center.
To cover increases in salaries/wages, materials and equipment, annual fee increases of 3-5% should be anticipated.
Infants (6 weeks - 12 months): 1:4 / 2:8
Toddlers (12 - 24 months): 1:5 / 2:10
Twos (24 - 30 months): 1:6 / 2:12
Jr. Preschool (2.5 - 3.5 years): 1:8 / 2:16
Preschool (3.5 - 5 years): 1:10 / 2:20
Infants:
Lead - Laurie Mosshammer - lmosshammerFREELARAMIE%C2%A0Associate - Nicki Johnson - njohnsonFREELARAMIE
Toddlers:
Lead - Shawnie DeTavernier - sdetaverFREELARAMIE
Associate - Holly Woods - hwoodsFREELARAMIE
Lead - Brook Weibel - bweibelFREELARAMIE
Associate - Kaitlyn Vliem - kvliemFREELARAMIE
Twos:
Lead - Liz Smith - esmithFREELARAMIE
Associate - Christine DeBruyn - cdebruynFREELARAMIE
Jr. Preschool:
Lead - Lindsey Morris - lmorrisFREELARAMIE
Associate - Valerie Flores
Preschool:
Lead - Lisa Snyder - lsnyder@lccc.wy.edu
Associate - Cindy Downey - cdowneyFREELARAMIE
Lead - Jenn Miller - jemillerFREELARAMIE
Associate - Marta Welch - mwelchFREELARAMIE
Lead - Holbie Brown - hbrownFREELARAMIE
Associate - Kathy Fulks - kfulksFREELARAMIE
Floating Teacher:
Darla Albright - dalbrighFREELARAMIE
The center encourages anyone interested in learning more about the facility to schedule a tour by calling 307.778.1303.
The Children’s Discovery Center is accredited by National Association of Education of Young Children (NAEYC).
There are 10 standards that provide guidance to all programs, to make improvements to better their program. The 10 standards are essential elements to a quality program for early childhood education. The standards are as follows:
- Relationships - The program promotes positive relationships between all children and adults to encourage each child's sense of individual worth and belonging as a part of the community and to foster each child's ability to contribute as a responsible community member.
- Curriculum - The program implements a curriculum that is a consistent with its goals for children and that promotes learning and development in each of the following areas: social, emotional, physical, language, and cognitive.
- Teaching - The program uses a variety of developmentally, culturally, and linguistically appropriate and effective teaching approaches that enhance each child's learning and development in the context of the program's curriculum goals.
- Assessment of Child Progress - The program uses a variety of formal and informal assessment approaches to provide information on children's learning and development. These assessments occur in the context of reciprocal communications between teachers and families, and with sensitivity to the cultural contexts in which children are developing. The program uses assessment results to inform decisions about the children in their care to improve teaching practices, and to drive program improvements.
- Health - The program promotes the nutrition and health of children and protects children and staff from illness.
- Staff Competencies, Preparation, & Support - The program employs and supports a teaching and administrative staff that have the qualifications, knowledge, and professional commitment necessary to promote children's learning and development and to support families diverse needs and interests.
- Families - The program establishes and maintains collaborative relationships with each child's family to foster children's development in all settings. These relationships are sensitive to family composition, language, and culture.
- Community Relationships - The program establishes relationships with and uses resources of the children's communities to support the achievement of the program goals.
- Physical Environment - The program has a safe and healthful environment that provides appropriate and well-maintained indoor and outdoor physical environments. The environment includes facilities, equipment, and materials to facilitate child and staff learning and development.
- Leadership & Management - The program effectively implements policies, procedures, and systems that support stable staff and strong personnel, fiscal, and program management so all children, families, and staff have high quality experiences.
The Children’s Discovery Center is an academic lab environment for LCCC students. This opportunity allows college students from a variety of fields such as dental hygiene, nursing, education, psychology, exercise science, etc. to gain experience working with children while also exposing the children to unique opportunities that enhance their education.
We have broken the Family Handbook down into sections.
Program Options
Infant Program
The infant classroom is designed for infants 6 weeks through 12 months. The curriculum in the infant room is individualized for each infant, while working to establish routines for the children to prepare them for the toddler classroom. A day in the infant room includes daily activities and circle time to allow the infants to explore various materials, toys, art, and experiences to provide opportunities to practice important developmental skills.
Toddler Program
The toddler classrooms are designed for children 12 to 30 months old, to continue to build on relationships and experiences learned in the infant classroom as they explore their expanding environment and acquire new developmental skills. The toddler classrooms help the children to learn basic sign language, as well as introducing the Zoo Phonics Curriculum.
Junior Preschool
The preschool classrooms are designed for children 2.5-3.5 years old. The children are assessed to determine their individual developmental needs. In a developmentally appropriate setting, children are presented the opportunities they need to become successful learners as they master milestones on the Creative Curriculum Development Continuum, and continue with the Zoo Phonics Curriculum.
Preschool/Pre-K
Children ages 3.5 to 6 years old continue to make progress on the developmental continuum. Their individual skills and strengths are linked to the Wyoming Early Readiness Standards to better prepare each child for entry to kindergarten. Teachers keep parents informed of the timelines and expectations for children to enroll in kindergarten. Many children are able to read by the time they go to kindergarten round-up.
Part-Time Preschool/Pre-K
Children ages 3.5 to 6 years old are provided with experiences and activities to help them develop social/emotional, physical, cognitive and language skills. Their individual skills and strengths are linked to the Wyoming Early Readiness Standards to better prepare each child for entry to kindergarten. Teachers keep parents informed of the timelines and expectations for children to enroll in kindergarten. Many children are able to read by the time they go to kindergarten round-up. There are a variety of part time options for children ages 3 to 6, please call the business office to discuss the part time options available.
Early Childhood Resources
- American Academy of Pediatrics
- Child Care Exchange
- Children Now
- Children's Defense Fund
- National Association for the Education of Young Children
- National Coalition for Campus Children's Centers
- Wyoming Department of Family Services
- Wyoming Quality Counts