at Brookland Woods
Children learn through play. Come play with us!
309 Melrose Avenue * Iowa City, Iowa, 52246
maryjochildcare@gmail.com * (319) 337-8980
Program Overview Index
Program Overview/Philosophy Sample Daily Schedule Our Facility/Staff
Hours/Attendance Options/Tuition Dietary Information Tour Request
Attendance Full Time ¾ time MWF T/Th AM PM K’garten Tuition (Monthly) $770 $655 480 390 435 435 215
Governance
Why the name "The Mary Jo Small Child Care Center at Brookland Woods"?
Program Overview/Philosophy
Our philosophy is that children learn through play, so we facilitate play. Our program is designed to encourage and stimulate development through open-ended, child-centered play and activities. These include, but are not limited to, reading, natural science, blocks, cars and trucks, building materials, dress up, imagination, art, creativity, games, puzzles, music, and movement. We have six program rooms in a well maintained, two-story, wood frame house built in 1910.
School readiness is often a concern for parents. Research indicates that social competence may be a key
predictor for success in elementary school. We have watched our alumni succeed in school for twenty years – including some who have come back to work here while students at The University of Iowa.
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Sample Daily Schedule
Every day provides a variety of different play situations, as children and staff create new and interesting experiences with familiar materials in the comfortable, well-equipped rooms. Activities are rotated to ensure that each child has many opportunities to participate. Children engage activities at their own pace – coming and going from activities individually, with a friend, or in fluid, self-forming groups. Our program validates individuality while promoting social play and encouraging each child’s evolving interests. Children play in a safe, structured environment while discovering their own personalities and making their own play choices.
We play outside during temperate months. Our equipment and toys encourage physical, cognitive, imaginative, and social development.
Activities are rotated on a four-week cycle so that each occurs twice in the mornings and twice in the
afternoons, on different days of the week. This ensures that each child has multiple opportunities to participate.
Sample Daily Schedule (pdf)
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Our Facility/Staff
We have six comfortable, well-equipped program rooms in our wonderful (sprinkler equipped), two-story, wood frame house. These are the rooms where the different activities are rotated through (see the sample daily schedule).
We have an expansive out-door play space surrounded by old trees bordering a historically preserved ravine. Our equipment and toys encourage physical, cognitive, imaginative, and social development. We have swings, climbing structures, a fire truck, a castle, a tree house, several slides, and lots of sand.
As the children play in the areas of their choice, staff are positioned throughout the yard to provide companionship, assistance, and supervision. Our staff enjoy themselves and can often be observed
happily playing in the sand or building with sidewalk blocks.
Our child care staff are part-time work-study University students. Staff training is on going and one of our
center’s highest priorities. Many of our students stay with us for their entire college career, often taking on
additional duties and responsibilities. The children develop very close bonds with our staff and look forward to seeing a variety of fresh faces each day. Our energetic and diverse staff is crucial to the success of our
child-centered approach and parents consistently cite them as a favorite aspect of the program. Staff
schedules are posted each semester. Parents may contact staff directly for additional evening and weekend
childcare.
Because our activities are not teacher-directed, staff are encouraged to be responsive and interactive with the children as they play. When we play indoors, there is a staff in each room to facilitate and mediate the
scheduled activity. Staff participate with care and attention, intervening with thoughtfulness and compassion
when the children need guidance and support. We are intentional about modeling good manners, empathy
towards others, problem solving, and win-win conflict resolutions.
Our child:staff ratio is 6:1 for all ages. This greatly exceeds state requirements and national guidelines for staffing children ages two and older.
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Hours/Attendance Options/Tuition
We are open from 7:00 AM to 6:00 PM, weekdays. Full and part time enrollment options are available.
Our center accepts children, ages two through six.
During winter, MJSCCC BW follows the Iowa City Community School District on weather cancellations. If they
cancel school, we will not open. If they delay for 2 hours, we will not open until 9:00. If they plan to close early,
we expect parents to pick up early. You may call us – we will put closing announcements on our voice mail.
Annual enrollment priority is given to attending children and their siblings. Until June of 2009, half of our slots
are reserved for children from UI student families, who may also apply for tuition scholarships through the
University’s Family Services Office. Awards are scheduled to increase July 2009. For information call Jane
Holland at 335-1371 or email jane-holland@uiowa.edu.
We provide a small after school program, including transportation for up to six children. This helps facilitate our
part-time attendance options.
We will be closed during these holidays and breaks:
• New Year’s Day (the first of January)
• Martin Luther King Day (the third Monday of January) UI offices are closed
• The week of the University of Iowa’s Spring Break (mid March)
• Memorial Day (late May) UI offices are closed
• The 4th of July UI offices are closed
• Labor Day (early September) UI offices are closed
• Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday during Thanksgiving Week (late November)
• December 24th until January 2nd during the Winter Break. (No undergraduate classes for a month.
Most dorms closed)
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Attendance Options/Tuition
As of July 2009, tuition is the same for faculty, staff, and students. Student parents should contact Jane Holland
at the University of Iowa (jane-holland@uiowa.edu, or 335-1370) for scholarship information.
Attendance Options Information and Definitions:
Times shown are the maximum attendance times for each enrollment slot. Children are NOT
required to attend all the hours indicated. Of course, we know that children must attend often enough that they can establish friendships with other children and develop good, affectionate bonds with adult staff members. The time needed to achieve this may differ for each child. A Director will talk more about this when you enroll.
| Attendance | Associated Attendance Hours |
| Full Time | 7AM until 6PM, Monday through Friday |
| ¾ Time | 7AM until 3PM, Monday through Friday. Children may arrive whenever they wish but must leave by 3:00 to 3:25. There are only 6 of these positions available. |
| MWF* | 7AM until 6PM, Monday, Wednesday, Friday |
| T/Th* | 7AM until 6PM, Tuesday, Thursday |
| AM* | 7AM until 12:00PM, Monday through Friday. Children may arrive anytime after 7AM and leave by or before 12:00PM |
| PM* | 12:00 until 6PM, Monday through Friday. Children may arrive anytime after 12:00PM and leave anytime by or before 6PM |
| K’garten* | 3:00 until 6PM, Monday through Friday. Usually kindergarten age picked up by our van |
* Please note that all part time enrollments must offset each other. When parents want MWF attendance, we try to find parents who want T/Th attendance. This type of enrollment may take time to set up and is contingent on both parties remaining enrolled. A Director will speak to you about this in greater detail if you are interested in part time enrollment.
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Dietary Information
Over the years we have had many specific dietary requests resulting from personal belief systems, cultural norms, religious requirements, possible system sensitivities, and serious, life-threatening allergies.
We completely understand the gravity and importance of these issues.
If your child has a dietary restriction, we will work closely with you and your doctor to develop whatever is necessary – anything from menu modifications to medical action plans. In some instances, the Center may be able to make dietary substitutions at no extra charge to the family.
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Tour Request
We’d love to have you visit. A personal visit usually clarifies the child-centered play concept and helps make the decision easier.
Interested parents may drop in for unscheduled tours, Monday through Friday. Visiting hours are between mornings from 9 to 11:00 and afternoons from 3 to 5 PM. If circumstances require a visit outside of those times, please call to set up an appointment to ensure that a director is available to give a tour.
Parents are also welcome to email or call for additional information or to visit with a director.
We appreciate your interest and hope to meet you soon.
Governance
We are a private, independent, non-profit corporation with a Board of Directors. There is an active board of
directors and all interested parents are invited to participate at the board level, or in any aspect of our program.
Why The Mary Jo Small Child Care Center at Brookland Woods?
We changed our name from Brookland Woods Child Care Center in 1999, upon the retirement of Mary Jo Small. Ms. Small was a passionate advocate for women’s and families rights and was instrumental in securing long term childcare on campus.
Although long, we believe both names are better than the original from 1972; Dum Dum Day Care! Apparently the children were allowed to choose the original name, but luckily cooler heads prevailed a few years later.
Since we were known around town for many years as “Brookland Woods”, we still need two listings in the Iowa City phone book. We are lucky to have many local referrals and new folks need a way to find us. Although it’s a small added expense, we realize this is a very good problem to have.