Child Care - Melrose Family YMCA

Melrose Family YMCA's tax ID number to use in your income tax returns is 04-2121361

Page Index Links

	Child Care Program	Child Care sites	Infants Program
	Toddlers Program	Preschool Program	Kindergarten Program
	Main Street Babysitting	Child Care Program Brochure (.pdf)	Child Care Rates & Registration Form

Melrose YMCA Child Care Centers

The Melrose Family YMCA owns and operates two child care centers located in Melrose and Stoneham that offer a safe, stable and nurturing environment to children ages 6 weeks to 7 years. All of the facilities enjoy a well-earned reputation for quality and caring. All Melrose Family YMCA Child Care Centers are open Monday thru Friday from 6:30 am to 6:00 pm. Major holidays are observed; centers close Christmas holiday week.

Registration

Registration is handled on a first-come, first-served basis. When space is limited, a registration fee of $40 places your child's name on a wait list. Interested parents are welcome to tour any facility and meet the staff. Children enrolled in a child care center become automatic members of the Melrose Family YMCA. A downloadable Fee Schedule and Registration Form is also available online.

Family Friendly

Melrose Family YMCA Child Care Centers embrace a family-centered philosophy. Their goal as child care providers is to support the role of the family in furthering each child's development, enhancing the nurturing and guidance you provide for your child at home. Daily routine and special activities foster a child's personal growth, self-esteem and creativity. Family interaction is welcomed and encouraged. Parents are invited to visit as often as they wish, and regular meetings with teachers are scheduled to discuss your child's development. A continuous commitment to communication enables children, parents and teachers to form strong and caring relationships.

Primary Care and Teaching

Children are assigned a special teacher who works directly with them each day. The teacher will also communicate directly with you in person when you arrive or leave, by phone if you should call for information about your child's day, or through the use of a journal where weekly information is shared concerning your child's activities or individual accomplishments. This method of care in a group setting, called primary care, provides the child with personal and individualized attention.

A Quality Staff

Melrose Family YMCA Child Care Centers are fully licensed by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Office for Child Care Services and are very proud that its teacher-child ratio exceeds the state requirement. Small class sizes and low child/teacher ratios allow each child to be seen as a special individual. All of its teachers are trained in child growth and development. Most hold bachelor's degrees or are currently working toward them. They are also encouraged and supported to further their professional growth through continuing education programs.

Meeting the Needs of Every Age

All child care is carefully designed to meet the diverse needs of infant, toddler, preschool and kindergarten youngsters with an eye towards fun, building self-esteem and excitement in learning.

Infants - Six Weeks to 15 Months

Infants are cared for according to their individual schedules. Care is provided that is consistent with the routines that have been established at home. Every infant sleeps, eats and plays according to his or her own needs. Parents receive daily notes that describe their child's day. Both Center's infant rooms boast a "shoeless" environment where adults are required to remove their footwear before entering the room in order to maintain the highest level of cleanliness possible for crawling babies.

Toddler 1 - 15 months to 2 years

Children in the Toddler 1 group follow a more structured daily routine. In addition to regular meals and rest period, toddlers participate in a schedule of activities which help them develop their motor and cognitive skills, communication skills, social skills and self-help skills. Activities and equipment are all age appropriate and designed to stimulate you toddler's interests and encourage participation. The Toddler 1 program provides children with a greater degree of autonomy while still taking care of the "baby" in them.

Toddler 2 - 2 to 3 years

Children in the Toddler 2 group are older toddlers who are learning to be more independent. They are learning to use the potty, take turns, use their evolving language skills and try their hand at being "big kids", Interest in the world around them is promoted with sensory, math, language, science and discovery experiences.

Preschool - 3 to 4 years

Preschool children are encouraged to learn cooperatively, help one another, learn to be self-assured and confident, and problem solve. Classrooms consist of mixed ages where children participate in multi-sensory curriculum designed to further their overall development, self-awareness, self-esteem and continued growth of social skills. Teachers focus on responding to children's interests and questions about the world.

Kindergarten - 5 years

This is a full-time kindergarten program that prepares children for first grade. Whole language, Math Their Way, science, social studies, art, music, block and dramatic play are just a few of the areas of concentration. Learning centers within the kindergarten room provide developmentally appropriate activities for individual and cooperative work.

Special Places to Play and Learn

The Melrose Family YMCA Child Care Centers share an overall commitment to the highest quality of child care and use their space to support a child's natural tendency to play and learn. All the Centers boast carefully designed indoor and outdoor space with children's needs at heart. Plus each Center is unique with special features and characteristics all its own.

Program Sites:

Melrose Family YMCA Child Care Center
106 Main Street
Melrose, MA 02176
781-665-8522
Catherine Flynn, Director
Capacity: 140 children - NAEYC accredited program

The Melrose Center is next to the convenient Oak Grove train station for those parents who take public transportation to work, and across from the beautiful Pine Banks Park. The Center is fully located on one floor with spacious classrooms. The Center provides unique snacks that are difficult to find in other child care programs.

Holidays and Holiday Closures
Inclement Weather Policy
Behavior Management
Illness Policy
Parent Handbook (.PDF)

Melrose YMCA Child Care Center in Stoneham
39 Pleasant Street
Stoneham, MA 02180
781-279-2002
Maureen McGurl, Director

Capacity: 169 children

The Stoneham Center enjoys newly renovated space in the "old box factory" building across from the Central School. It offers uniquely configured rooms that allow for smaller group sizes. The casement windows, exposed beams, soft lighting and creatively placed "bye-bye" windows give the center a warm, homey feeling. Other features include 2 centrally located full kitchens, unique stacking cribs that maximize the use of space, convenient cubby spaces and coat rooms, and bathrooms that are a potty-trainer's dream.
Holidays and Holiday Closures
Inclement Weather Policy
Behavior Management
Illness Policy
Parent Handbook (.PDF)