Every working parent with young children who struggles to make a paycheck stretch to meet their family’s basic needs also struggles to find affordable care for their children. The Falls Church-McLean Children’s Center offers affordable care for these children by providing a safe, stable, nurturing environment, where skilled teachers guide children, ages 2 through 5, to overcome the disadvantages of their low-income family and build the academic, physical and social skills they need to be ready for kindergarten, with a solid foundation for success. While their parents work full time and year-round, 75 children receive two nutritious meals and two wholesome snacks each day and a full day of educational activities designed to guide them to guide their physical and mental growth. Dedicated to helping each child develop fundamental skills, the Children’s Center also provides special services including speech and language or occupational therapy or behavioral counseling to children on-site and at no extra cost to parents in order to give each child the greatest chance of overcoming any underlying disabilities that might interfere with learning. At this early age, children are readily able to rewire and build new neurological connections that enable them to learn English and Spanish as well as a well-rounded array of basic math, science and social studies foundation abilities that in later years lead to higher level STEM and creative skills.
