Our program supports play as the primary business of children.
We believe that an encouraging, open-ended, child-centered, multi-faceted play environment maximizes each child’s potential as they grow into well rounded, healthy, happy, creative people.
The Mary Jo Small Child Care Center at Brookland Woods
We are a nonprofit 501(c)(3) licensed childcare center for ages 2-5 located on the University of Iowa campus. We are licensed to care for 28 children and offer a variety of enrollment options. Multi-age play opportunities are an important component of our program so we follow the current State of Iowa staffing guidelines for 2-year-olds.
We play outside as much as we can, whenever the weather permits. We have an expansive outdoor play space surrounded by old trees, lots of nature sights and sounds, and a historically preserved wooded ravine. The equipment and toys outside are basic and open-ended, designed to encourage physical, social, and cognitive development, along with endless possibilities for imaginative play. We have lots of sand and sand toys, climbing structures, swings, slides, a jumping tire, and a tree house. Children play in the area of their choice while our staff are positioned throughout the yard to provide companionship, assistance, and supervision.
When inside, our children create new and interesting play experiences with familiar materials in our six thematic program rooms. Unlike traditional child care centers where children are assigned groups and are moved around by their teachers, our kids come and go to each room/activity as they wish, while our staff stay positioned in specific rooms supervising and facilitating. Because they are participating in the various room activities when they want, with whom they want, and for as long as they want, our children are always doing something they like. The result is a lovely atmosphere of happy children engaged in productive play.
Beliefs
We believe childhood development occurs along a continuum and each child progresses along this continuum at their own unique pace. Because we trust that children’s individual and collective interests in play and socialization are at the heart of what children need to do, our program is deliberately child-centered and open-ended.
Staff
Our activities are not teacher-directed but our staff are active and involved. Whether we are playing inside or outside, the staff in each area are facilitating and mediating while the children engage in the activities and social relationships of their choosing. Our staff members play with children and encourage them to play with each other. Staff intervene and assist when there is a need for guidance and support.
We staff our program at a ratio of one adult to six children, including a director, coordinator, two senior staff, and numerous part time University of Iowa students (many of whom are gaining valuable field experience as they work toward a degree in education, social work, nursing, and other related fields). Some of our student staff have stayed with our program beyond their studies at the University of Iowa, taking on additional responsibilities and mentoring new student staff.
Our children develop very close bonds with all of our staff, and they enjoy seeing the daily variety of fresh faces, each arriving with a happy, ready-to-play attitude. Our energetic and diverse staff are essential to the success of our child-centered approach, and parents consistently cite our staff members as one of their favorite aspects of our program.
Legacy
We changed our name from Brookland Woods Child Care to The Mary Jo Small Child Care Center at Brookland Woods in 1999 to honor Mary Jo Small upon her retirement from the University of Iowa. During her career, Mary Jo devoted herself tirelessly to issues concerning women, children, and families. With her support, child care on campus grew and flourished. We feel it is important to remember and honor her work and legacy.