Help your child develop a love for learning and prepare for Kindergarten – Contact Us Today!
Our center communication is handled through Brightwheel. Please use this link to communicate with our child care team or contact us.
WITH SO MANY DEMANDS ON TODAY’S FAMILIES and the increased focus on early brain development, families need all the support they can get to nurture the potential of youth. That’s why child care and early learning programs at the Y focus on holistically nurturing child development by providing a safe and healthy place to learn foundational skills, develop healthy, trusting relationships and build self-reliance through the Y values of caring, honesty, respect and responsibility.
Berkshire Family YMCA is a 501c3 nonprofit organization and has successfully operated a Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care-licensed child care program for over 30 years. Many families come into the program when a child is infant age, and continue with the program through school-age. A recent graduating Pre-Kindergarten class had 50% of their children start in our program prior to the age 2 and 60% are moving on to our after-school program at the various elementary schools. We accept payments through CCR&R (and help you navigate the approval process for this subsidy), offer financial assistance, and private pay options.
Our Pittsfield Branch location has undergone a $12.4M renovation to create a state-of-the-art child care wing that serves infants, toddlers, preschool, and pre-k children. New features include a new multi-purpose room, a STEAM (Science, Technology, Arts and Math) room, plus an open play space to develop gross motor skills. Berkshire Family YMCA has instituted coded and locked doors for all child care areas to provide a secure area for staff and children. An authorized pickup list is strictly enforced for all children. Staff are also CORI, SORI and fingerprinted.
Berkshire Family YMCA has always prioritized meeting the social, emotional, and academic needs of our young learners, helping them grow into the changemakers of both today and tomorrow. Our early learning and child care programs are staffed by individuals who understand the cognitive, physical, and social development of children. We also recognize the support that parents and families need, along with the importance of maintaining a safe and clean environment where children can learn and thrive. This allows parents and family members to go to work with the peace of mind that their children are in secure and stimulating settings. At the Y, infants develop trust and security, toddlers enhance their social and emotional skills while gaining independence, and preschoolers engage in early literacy and explore their world. Throughout our programs, we instill our core values of caring, honesty, respect, and responsibility, along with kindness, inclusivity, and a sense of community. Our age-appropriate curriculum is designed to foster a positive self-image, encourage respect for others and the friendships that can be formed, and celebrate the similarities and differences of people from various cultures. This is achieved through themes, which reflect the natural extension of learning for young children, who are often quite egocentric.
- All about me, my feelings, my health and safety
- My family, other families, my community and its workers
- Letters and numbers
- Shapes
- Colors
Many standard elements can be used to convey and enhance understanding of the curriculum. Some age-appropriate methods include:
- Movement (exercise, creative dance, parachute games, etc.)
- Science centers
- Circle time & meetings
- Cooking activities
- Patterning and Pre-math skills
- Games and Lotto
- Drama and Puppets
- Music, songs, and finger play
- Art activities
- Stories & Big Books
- Sensory based activities
- Special parent projects
- Large and small motor skills
- Multicultural activities
- Language development (pre reading and writing)
Experience Curriculum, through Brightwheel, is our way of making sure learning is always held to the highest standard. Experience Curriculum is grounded in research and aligns with all state and national standards. The activities included combine purposeful play with hands-on exploration to early social skills. The themes within help us broaden our exploration into other cultures and add dimension to the skills we teach everyday. Together we are building kind, emotionally intelligent, and independent individuals. This program is built to work around the needs of the individual child.
