After School Child Care

About

Our after school child care or school-age programs are designed for children who attend Y5-5th grade in the public schools who need supervised care after school. We transport children in State of Michigan approved Gretchen’s House buses driven by staff with Chauffeur licenses.

Children who attend afternoon care are picked up at school and return to our centers for snack, choice time and group activities. Children who have homework or prefer to read may do so in quiet areas of the classroom. As with all our programs, schoolage children go outside every day.

School age children work hard each day to meet the goals and expectations set by their classroom teachers. In our school age programs we provide time, materials, and space for children to explore and follow their intentions and ideas. In our program we prioritize and support children in spending time in ways that are interesting and meaningful to them.   This control and choice help to promote self-management, self-awareness, and responsible decision-making. Research is clear that these key self-regulation skills are the foundation for successful learning and social emotional well-being.

All staff complete 24 hours of training each year.  During these trainings we offer professional development that deepens staff understanding of health, safety, and creating and implementing a supportive environment.  We use the research based Weikart Center for Youth Quality Assessment tool for Social Emotional Learning to help guide our training offerings and to guide us in identifying practices that promote a high-quality learning environment

During days when the Ann Arbor Public Schools are closed, our centers with after school programs offer care for schoolage children and siblings of children currently enrolled in our other programs on a first-come, first-served basis. Schoolage children who come to the center on no public school days need to bring a nut-free sack lunch from home. No School Days often include field trips to local attractions and/or themed activities such as Beach Week. During the summer, centers with schoolage programs host Summer Camp, or SCamp.