Students ages 3 and 4 are invited to attend preschool at the Little Sprouts Early Learning Center. In addition to daycare and preschool, the Little Sprouts Early Learning Center offers care for children before and after school, as well as during the summer, and enrollment is currently underway. Interested parents are invited to schedule a tour of the facility by calling Little Sprouts, 973-940-3540, or by completing a form on the website, www.littlesproutsearlylearningcenter.org. The Little Sprouts Early Learning Center is conveniently located on the campus of Project Self-Sufficiency, across from Sussex County Community College, at 127 Mill Street in Newton. 

The Little Sprouts Early Learning Center was recently awarded a four-star rating from Grow NJ Kids, the state-sponsored initiative to raise the quality of child care and early learning throughout New Jersey.  The rating is based on a rigorous process which considers documentation, classroom environment, in-person observations, and other factors.  Participating Grow NJ Kids facilities are monitored every three years.  During the evaluation, specialists review an array of documentation related to the center, including handbooks, professional development records and curriculum as well as equipment and facility logs. In addition, raters assess teaching strategies, interactions between faculty and students, and adherence to guidelines for health and safety, literacy, classroom displays, diversity, and community outreach. Between assessments, specialists are available for in-class support and assistance.

The Little Sprouts Early Learning Center features separate classrooms for each age group, from infancy through preschool. The center uses Creative Curriculum, the curriculum approved by the State of New Jersey and endorsed by the National Association for the Education of Young Children, in all classrooms to help children learn important skills in math, literacy, science, social studies, the arts, and technology. Fully qualified teachers are available in each school room, and the child-teacher ratio adheres to or exceeds state standards.

The availability of an on-site vegetable garden and weekly visits by Master Gardeners provides interactive instruction about nutrition, the origin of food, cooking, and other topics. The curriculum is enhanced by frequent special guests who read to the students and offer simple lessons in the arts.

Each classroom has new equipment, as well as learning centers for dramatic play, computers, science, housekeeping, sand, and water play, reading, and music.  The center also contains an all-purpose room for active indoor play and parent presentations, as well as a sick room for those children who may fall ill during the day.  The center is equipped with two separate playgrounds, one for younger tots and one for older children.

Little Sprouts Early Learning Center offers space for 83 youngsters, ages 6 weeks to 6 years. All types of subsidized daycare are accepted, including New Jersey Cares for Kids and Work First New Jersey.  For more information visit the center’s website, www.littlesproutsearlylearningcenter.org or call 973-940-3540.