NIC Child Care Center a hidden gem for parents

For those who don’t use NIC’s child care, it may be out of site out of mind. However, this building maybe one of NIC’s most under rated facilities.

The NIC Children’s Center isn’t like your average day care. It is one of only two facilities in the Coeur d’Alene area accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. There are only four other facilities in Idaho with these credentials.

They also serve as an early start program providing an easy transition from child care to kindergarten. They accept children from infancy to pre-K.

NIC’s Child care even accepts ICCP for those who may have a hard time paying for child care.

Because NIC offers such a quality children’s program at a reasonable price, there is a long waitlist. It is recommended that parents look into the program during pregnancy to secure a place for their child.

Some children are there for only a few hours and other are there all day, so NIC strives to provide a setting for the children that are both family and home oriented.

However, their program doesn’t only benefit children, because they double as a child development laboratory. They have students from different NIC programs visit to study child behavior and development. Between the class rooms there are observation rooms where NIC students can sit, observe, and listen to the children without the children hearing or seeing them.

Students enrolled in the Child Development program can fill their practicum hours observing and helping out with the children’s care.

Even though the Children’s center is very focused on education, they ensure that the children get lots of time for fun, even while learning.

They take field trips around the campus and explore different departments. They have special events planned throughout the year. On Halloween they trick or treat the whole campus and everyone dresses up.

Right now as they are learning about early literacy they are writing letters to Cecil the Cardinal and Cecil even writes them back.

April Gouveia, facility member and former student, used to be in the children’s care when she was 3 years old. Since then she has been through NIC’s Children Development program as a student, has had her child through their early start program and has worked for the child care facility for the past 5 years.

April says “There is probably like 50 different things that I love about working here. But I would have to narrow it down to say; it is very difficult to find a program as a teacher, that in which the values and the curriculum approach really meshes with your own personal philosophies and that is one of the things that I love about here. It perfectly does!” She plans on working with the NIC Children’s Center for years to come.