by Ken Grabowski, Manistee News Advocate Associate Editor.
Published: Friday, May 7, 2010
ONEKAMA -- When the Onekama Consolidated
Schools opened the addition to its campus last month one of the many
changes was a new home for the Leaps and Bounds Early Childhood
Education Program in that structure.
However, by moving to the other side of the building from their
previous location it really didn’t give the Leaps and Bounds Program
good access to any playground equipment on their side of the
building. With the high cost of playground equipment the district
really couldn’t afford to purchase anything due to the tight budget
constraints.
However, parent Megan McCarthy saw a real opportunity through a
United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development Child Care
Initiative grant. McCarthy filled out the necessary paperwork and
the Leaps and Bounds program was awarded a $50,000 grant for the
purchase of playground equipment.
“Megan is a great supporter of our program, and we wouldn’t have
received the grant without her,” said Leaps and Bounds program
director Amy Christensen. “There is more money left over from that
grant, and we are going to be buying additional indoor/outdoor
equipment and materials.”
Christensen pointed out that the piece
of equipment they purchased is ideal for that age group. What is
more important is the equipment is multi-functional and the children
can virtually utilize every portion of it.
“What is neat is they can make use of every part of it,” said
Christensen. “I am very happy with the design and the safety of it
as there isn’t a lot of space between the rungs on it. I
specifically asked for that and have been on equipment where the
slats are wide and parents don’t realize how dangerous that can be.”
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The equipment is
designed for children between the ages of 2 and 12 years old. That is a
perfect fit for the Leaps and Bounds Early Childhood Education Program
because they offer care to infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and school
age children. Christensen said the
program is centered around the 10 major areas of attention necessary to
support healthy child development. Those areas are active involvement,
communication, cultural diversity, resourcefulness, music and
literature, team spirit, messy play, positive environment, developmental
growth and living the philosophy that “If it is not in the hand, then it
is not in the brain.”
The Leaps and Bounds Early Childhood Program runs from 6:30 a.m. until 6
p.m. Monday through Friday. Christensen said the program focuses on an
interactive environment where the staff support children’s curiosity and
exploration with the goal being to inspire a lifelong love of learning.
They have numerous programs such as infant/toddler childcare, preschool
age childcare, three-year old preschool program, four-year-old preschool
program, and before/after school program.
Christensen said she feels that the new playground equipment will help
Leaps and Bounds achieve its goal of supporting children’s motor
development and overall health.
“It will increase our ability to offer a variety of activities to keep
the children active and healthy every day,” said Christensen. “On any
given day, we have about 50 children here, so the new playground
equipment will get good use.”
Christensen said that if anyone would like to learn more about the
program or to tour the center, they should either call her at (231)
889-4750 or email her at
achristensen@manistee.org . They also have a website at
www.onekama.k12.mi.us/Leaps
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