Grantees

Our early childhood program serves 60 children from seven towns in the Northeast Kingdom. We strive to get our students outside everyday, and some of our playground equipment has been here as long as the program has - almost 20 years! Our custodian, who is a certified playground inspector, is removing two of our play structures, as they have reached the end of their lifespan. This grant will benefit our students by providing safe gross motor activities during outdoor play time. Additionally, our playground is often used by families during our family events, providing developmentally-appropriate equipment options for our youngest learners and their siblings.

Otter Creek Child Center is a full day, year round, non-profit early care and education center. We welcome approximately 51 children, ages 6 weeks to 5 years, and their families. Grant funds will be used to purchase new gross motor blocks that will benefit the young toddler room, to help with physical development. The children in this room are very active! They are now learning how to move their bodies in different ways. Currently, the Otters are working on experimenting with different ways of moving in a purposeful way with control. This includes walking up and down stairs while alternating feet and climbing up and down playground or indoor equipment. New equipment will help the Otters to improve and develop their gross motor skills.

Maple Leaf Childrens Center is located in orange county where childcare availability is low. We plan to increase our outdoor enrichment space for all the children we serve and bring art from the inside! MLCC loves using full-body multiuse learning. Art is such a large important of learning. We plan to create an outdoor art learning space.

Purchase one sunsetter awning to improve the outdoorgross motor sensory area for rainy and hot days.

For the last 30 years we have been innovative while upholding traditions and we are looking to create a sustainable future for the next 30+ years. PFCC is a multi-faceted community that fosters courage, integrity, responsibility and the joy of discovery in children and adults. We aim to be diverse and inclusive, ensuring that all feel safe, valued and honored. We view families as the experts on their own child, and ourselves as the experts on early education. Our curriculum reflects the best research in early childhood development and is emergent and play-based, allowing children to guide their own learning through open ended activities. PFCC will purchase a Community Playthings Outlast Block Set to enhance their program.

Purchase equipment for infant/toddler and preschool room

Purchase additional learning equipment and resources to update the program.

LCP employs a cooperative model where parents of the children enrolled take an active role in the school’s management and upkeep. This helps families and the school build community while keeping costs down for everyone involved, but it also means that we rely on donations and grants for equipment and upkeep. Given our area's recent wet winters and rainy springs, an emerging and intensifying need is outerwear & gear to keep our students and teachers warm and dry outside. This will allow our classes to spend more play and learning time outdoors in less-than-ideal weather as opposed to cooping them up indoors for large chunks of the season. We also believe that providing this weather equipment at the school will benefit the students whose families may be unable to provide such clothing themselves.