Ballard

Kids Co. at Adams

Sylvia LeRahl
Program Director

Having ventured through life as a middle school teacher, preschool director, freelance writer, activist, board member, and photographer, Sylvia LeRahl currently serves as Program Director for Kids Co. at Adam’s Elementary. While seemingly diverse, all of these roles have involved organizing people, resources, and momentum around ideas that make education accessible to everyone while building creative learning communities. Sylvia has explored the relationship between the visual arts, music, literacy, science, math, and nature as it relates to child development. She holds a Master’s degree in education from Walden University, as well as a Bachelor’s degree in English and education from Western Washington University. Sylvia is dedicated to developing strong relationships between young people and their caregivers, while continually providing exceptional care for children. Away from work, she enjoys swimming, rollerblading, board games, and playing with her kids. Less

Overview

Ages served: 2 ½ to 12 years old
Preschool Program
Before-School Program
After-School Program
Summer Day Camp

Kids Co. at Adams is located on the grounds of Adams Elementary in a quiet Ballard neighborhood. The site offers large and colorful play spaces for kids—perfect for the active imaginations of the young—and conveniently located drop-off/pick-up parking for parents and guardians. Kids Co. offers four programs at Adams: Preschool, Before-School Care, After-School Care, and Summer Day Camp.

Preschool Program

Kids Co. at Adams Preschool Program for children ages 2½ to 5 is designed to offer a supportive, multi-textured experience that takes into account individual strengths, needs, and stages of development. Through an artful interweaving of individual time and group gatherings of various sizes, Kids Co. teachers design daily activity plans that emphasize learning through direct experience and play. Examples of the Kids Co. preschool curriculum include:

age-appropriate cooking classes;
drama and dress up time that promote imaginative play;
explorations in reading, writing, and language;
engaging math and science activities that link to the world at large;
art as encounters that encourage self-creativity and expression;
self-directed free play that supports choice;
captivating sensory experiences to foster curiosity and inquiry;
fine and gross motor skills development through individual and group play;
and quiet time for rest

The preschool years are an enriching time of learning in absolutely every area of life, including within the critical sphere of friend making and social relationship. Kids Co. preschool teachers are trained to help children learn how to negotiate their needs in relationship with others, as well as to learn how to identify options in conflict that lead to constructive resolution.

The Kids Co. preschool experience focuses on the development of the whole person.

Sample Preschool Curriculum

Before-School Program

Kids Co.’s before-school program offers parents a safe place to drop off their children before heading to work and kids a fun and engaging community in which to make the transition from home to school. Offered to children from Kindergarten to 5th grade, the before-school program is a stable and welcoming foundation that helps families begin the day in a positive way.

Our professional childcare staff structures a variety of activities and experiences that support kids during the morning hours. From breakfast sharing family style to individual and group play, Kids Co.’s before-school curriculum is designed to get young minds and bodies thinking and moving for the school day ahead. It is a community that values choice and gives kids options. During the before-school program hours, kids are given time to choose whether they wish to enjoy computer programs, listen to music, read books, play with toys, make crafts with our abundant art supplies, or interact with their friends. They are also invited to participate in fun group activities facilitated by Kids Co. staff, activities that help children positively experience themselves socially.

On mornings that offer clear skies, the kids dash outside to get in a bit of supervised play before lining up for school. During this time, children that attend other area elementary schools are safely escorted by Kids Co. childcare staff to their morning bus stop.

The Kids Co. before-school program supports the whole family in starting the day off on the right foot.

After-School Program

Kids Co.’s after-school programming is designed to meet the particular needs kids have during the post-school hours. Under our care, young bodies are refueled with nourishing snacks; given time for self-directed, free-play to explore the world on their own terms; and invited to participate in engaging group activities, such as cooking, indoor and outdoor games, art, craft, drama, sports, and science.

We aim to instill texture and variety in our after-school curriculum that kids find engaging and fun.

We also aim to keep children safe. National studies have found that the single most problematic time of day for children is between the hours of 3:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. It is the time of day when kids are most likely to get hurt, to get into trouble, and to establish life-long patterns, such as excessive television watching, that can lead to chronic health-related problems and low self-esteem.

Kids Co. childcare professionals are caring adults adept at listening to and attending to the emotional, intellectual, physical, and social needs of children. They are trained in helping children learn how to negotiate personal needs in relationship with others and experts in designing curricula that support kids in the discovery and development of themselves within the context of a supportive community.

Homework Club is an optional activity offered in the after-school program Monday through Thursday, one that helps kids begin homework assignments within a small group setting under the watchful and supportive guidance of Kids Co. staff. Homework Club is especially supportive of families who desire more free time together during their evenings. It also supports children in becoming academically and socially successful by helping them develop active habits of learning.

The Kids Co. after-school program supports and enriches the life experience of the entire family by giving children quality care that parents trust.

Sample After School Curriculum

Summer Day Camp

The Kids Co. Summer Day Camp is a voyage in imagination, discovery, and simple, down-home play that kids are sure to remember for years to come. Offered five days a week, the program is designed to give kids a broad-spectrum summer camp experience tailored to the needs of growing bodies, active minds, and the making of lifelong friends.

Kids can participate from a range of two days a week to all five, depending upon family needs and schedules.

The Summer Day Camp schedule offers a relaxed pace, one that allows kids to amble playfully through their days without being rush. Each week is inventively and individually themed with activities that are related. Examples of Summer Day Camp week themes include:

Super Heroes (Heroes in our community)
4th of July ( Celebrating America)
Share the Spotlight (Getting in touch with one’s “inner star”)
Animal Antics (Exploring animals on every continent)
Retro Week (Having fun by traveling back in time)
Outer Limits (Outer space)
Survivor (Learning how to explore the outdoors safely)
Wet ‘N Wild ( Water sports)
Race Around the World (World cultures)
Planes, Trains, and Automobiles (Transportation)
Wacky Week (Magicians, clowns, and things that are zany)

Sample Kids Co. Summer Day Camp Week Curriculum