Early Childhood

Early Childhood is a comprehensive child care center for children 1 year to 4 years of age. Designed to provide flexible child care for working parents, Early Childhood is open Monday to Friday from 9 AM to 5 PM with options for full time or part time care.

Early Childhood is committed to providing a safe, supportive living and learning environment for young children. Teachers create a warm and loving atmosphere while offering a developmentally-based, engaging curriculum, where children can play, discover and learn. The development of independence, trust and initiative is fostered through a balanced program of free play and structure, quiet and active play, and group and individual time. Learning centers in each room include science, dramatic play, block building, library, art, music and manipulative materials.  Our age-based program incorporates science, music, movement and art in its foundation.

Our Schedule
9 AM-5 PM 
2, 3, and 5 day schedules available

Our school is housed in the West Side YMCA—an architectural treasure and landmark building. The school has well-equipped classrooms, with pediatric toilets in the classrooms. Our Early Childhood wing includes a science room, library room, art room, and indoor playspaces. Children and parents enjoy recreational and educational opportunities throughout the YMCA. Each class is also staffed with more than two teachers, many of the faculty members hold advanced degrees in Early Childhood Education or in a related field. 

Interested families should contact bsieling@ymcanyc.org for information regarding enrollment or program inquiries. 

Financial assistance is available.  The school welcomes students of any rate, color, gender, religion and national or ethnic origin.  It does not discriminate in the administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, financial assistance program or other school-administered programs.

WEST SIDE YMCA EARLY CHILDHOOD COVID-19 GUIDELINES & BEST PRACTICES

Due to the nature of COVID-19, we are taking considerable steps to ensure the health and safety
of all children and families in our care. All guidelines, best practices, and steps put into place stem
from mandates and recommendations by New York State, New York City, Center for Disease Control
and Prevention, the Department of Health & Mental Hygiene, and the YMCA of Greater New York.

PPE Requirements
Everyone entering our facility 2 years of age and older must wear a mask. Gloves are optional.
Children will be asked to keep their masks on for the duration of the day except during lunch, snack
and nap times. We will do our best to find additional times where children can spread further apart
than 6ft to allow for extra mask-less leisure time. If a child displays difficulty donning a mask, we
will work with them and the family to provide comfort and support until they are able to wear their
mask throughout the day with ease. If children request a moment without the mask on outside of
the designated timeframes, we will absolutely honor that request so they can take their moment. If
children have any medical needs that restrict them from wearing a mask, please provide this to us
in writing from the child’s physician.

Please send your child to school with one mask on and an extra mask in their bag daily.

Health Screening
All individuals, including staff, entering the facility must pass a temperature check and health
screening at the entrance. Once this screening has been completed, they may enter.

Arrival
Arrival will take place at the 64th Street entrance from 9:00am-9:30am. We ask all families to line
up along the side of the building. Please be mindful of social distancing. Once at the door, you can
complete your health screening and proceed to enter. For any late arrivals, please utilize the 63rd
street entrance. Security will alert the Early Childhood administrative staff to meet you to conduct
your health screening. Once inside the facility, you may escort your child through the Early
Childhood wing, to the classroom door. Parents/guardians, please do not enter the room. Kindly
stop at the door and allow the staff to check your child in on the sign-in sheet. You will provide
your name, child’s name, and confirm that your child has their extra mask, snack, lunch, water/juice
for the day.

Near the entrance of the classroom you will find a shoe hanger. Please locate your child’s
designated shoe spot, assist your child with taking off their shoes and help them enter the room.
Staff will receive the child at the doorway and help your child into their indoor shoes.

Dismissal
Dismissal will take place at the 64th Street entrance from 4:30pm-5:00pm. We ask all families to
line up along the side of the building. Please be mindful of social distancing. Once at the door, you
can complete your health screening and proceed to enter. For any early pick-ups, utilize the 63rd
street entrance. Security will alert the Early Childhood administrative staff to meet you to conduct
your health screening. Once inside the facility, you may proceed to your child’s classroom and stop
at the door. Staff will assist your child with gathering their belongings and taking off their indoor
shoes. The staff will also check the child out with you on the sign-out sheet. You may then assist
your child into their outdoor shoes at this time.

Indoor Shoes
In order to prevent exposure to outside germs, we ask for you to provide a brand-new pair of
sneakers for your child to keep at school as their indoor shoes. If brand-new shoes are not
available, please thoroughly clean and sanitize a pair of sneakers to the best of your ability.

Staff will also adhere to the indoor/outdoor shoe policy.

Visiting Policy
To decrease exposure and contain our classroom pods, we are limiting visitation to the hallway of
the classroom. Parents/guardians will not be able to enter the classrooms at this time. All children
and staff in the classroom must remain static.

Classroom Setup
Rooms have been setup to allow for social distancing. Only two children per table at opposite ends
of a rectangular table. Tables are distanced from other tables. Nap time will also be social
distanced. Selected toys and materials in the room are easy to sanitize. Staff will clean toys on a
daily basis using a water and bleach solution. Staff will also clean the room throughout the day
with an extra focus on high touch areas. Our facility cleaning staff will do more extensive cleaning
every night.

Outdoor Play
As it is more difficult to prevent exposure of people around us in public, outdoor activities will be
temporarily postponed. This includes local trips and outdoor play. In lieu of this, we are creating
schedules that allows each group to maximize on the time they have in the indoor play space and
any other large areas of the facility where they can move, stretch and have fun!!

Enrichment Activities
To ensure groups remain static, the use of enrichment specialists, whether contracted or YMCA
staff, will not be permitted at this time. This includes the use of the swimming pool as swim
instructors would be considered enrichment specialists. As a result, our full-time teachers will
incorporate enrichments into the schedule and will facilitate these themselves. Such enrichments
include art, STEM, dance, etc.

Sick Policy Pertaining to COVID-19
Staff will conduct health checks of each participant upon arrival. If a child shows symptoms of
illness, in relation to symptoms of COVID-19, the child will not be able to check-in for the day. If
the child becomes ill during the school day and begins to display symptoms, the child will be
escorted to a designated isolation room where they will remain under supervision of a staff
member. We will contact parents/guardians and/or additional emergency contacts to schedule for
your child to be picked up. In this event, your child must self-quarantine and follow guidelines by
the CDC and DOH. Your child may not return to the program until symptom free, with physician
documentation confirming negative test results. All staff must adhere to this same policy and will
not be allowed to return to work until symptom free, with documentation from a physician
confirming a negative test result.

If a child or staff contracts COVID-19, parents/guardians and staff must notify the school
administration immediately. If someone in the child or staff’s household contracts COVID-19, we
must also be notified immediately. The YMCA will follow the guidance of DOHMH and NYC Testing
and Tracing regarding notifications, quarantining, and classroom or program closures.

If ever a case of COVID-19 should arise causing a classroom or school closure, we will continue to engage all children remotely. We will also work with all affected families on tuition adjustments. Please note that these guidelines and best practices are subject to change at any time. We are closely monitoring all updates from the aforementioned entities and will update all families accordingly as things change. We appreciate your understanding and cooperation

West Side YMCA Early Childhood 2020-2021 School Calendar

***ALL DATES SUBJECT TO CHANGE***