Cornerstone Early Learning Center

Your child will thrive at Cornerstone Early Learning Center thanks to a team of caregivers dedicated to providing excellent care and education – covering children aged eight weeks up to five years. The program caters to them all!

Your child will be surrounded by teachers holding at least a bachelor’s degree in Early Care and Education or a related field, including one primary teacher from infancy through preschool experience.

Outdoor Classroom

Outdoor classrooms allow students to benefit from learning centers similar to those found inside preschool classrooms but outdoors. This playground area also features natural landscapes like trees, a community garden, and greenhouses. The Outdoor Classroom was made possible thanks to dedication from numerous individuals: preschool teachers spent much time over summer planning and mapping out its different parts; maintenance departments helped with projects, and community members donated time and resources – together making this dream classroom come true!

Children develop self-esteem, independence, and a positive approach to learning through dramatic play centers in indoor and outdoor classrooms. They express their thoughts and emotions to peers, teachers, parents, and the greater community through language.

Children attend whole group class meetings and teacher-led small group lessons all day. Additionally, they spend considerable time each day exploring interest areas (library, dramatic play area, block area sensory play, and sensory play) and gross motor playground and use age-appropriate scissors and natural paint brushes to develop fine motor skills and hand dexterity.

Music & Movement Area

Musical engagement fosters social-emotional development by teaching children healthy ways of expressing emotions (Scripp, 2002). Daily exposure to songs and rhythms that engage children builds lifelong sensitivity to music and imagination. Musical experiences also help build motor skills and improve balance and coordination in children.

Cornerstone provides affordable childcare and preschool education in a nurturing and safe environment year-round, serving hundreds of hardworking low-income families that rely on Cornerstone as they build their children’s future.

Cornerstone raises funds for its mission each year through its Celebration for Children event, held this year on Saturday, Oct 1st, and offering outdoor dining options such as Crispy Edge, McGurk’s, Steve’s Hotdogs, and 2nd Shift Brewing food and beverage stations, sip, snack and stroll. Other immersive experiences at this year’s event include a live auction and program honoring three longtime educators with over 80 years of service!

Cornerstone Center for Early Learning is searching for part-time and full-time early childhood teachers to join its award-winning childcare and preschool education programs, which provide services to over 200 families annually. For more information, visit their website. To purchase tickets to the Celebration for Children event, click here; the proceeds support Cornerstone’s accredited, award-winning programs that serve them.

Sensory Room

Establishing a sensory room can assist children with difficulty controlling their emotions in school. W weighted blankets, mini trampolines, and crash pads provide children a safe space to self-regulate before returning to the primary learning environment. Furthermore, sensory rooms help children communicate their needs – an integral component of life skills development.

At our preschool classrooms, each day begins with a whole group class meeting to build community and address the current topic of study. Children then enjoy spending time in their respective interest areas (library, dramatic play, toys/games/block center center center art music movement, sand water discovery) before participating in teacher-led small group lessons.

Your child will thrive in our Dear Zoo Room, developing social and gross motor skills through sensory toys, musical instruments, dramatic play kitchen sets, and climbing blocks. The everyday routine includes circle time with an age-appropriate curriculum for optimal learning.

The ELC is a licensed daycare provider providing quality childcare to children aged three to five. The primary function of the Early Learning Center (ELC) is to serve as an outstanding training site for prospective preschool teachers and Gateway Community College ECE Program students enrolled. Students find tremendous success integrating their theoretical preparation with practical application through participation in its operations.

Learning Centers

At Cornerstone, children explore their world in a safe and engaging environment. Teachers and staff members are passionate about providing children with an excellent educational foundation, giving them all the skills they’ll need for future success. Utilizing best practices and modern technology to do so.

Cornerstone created its outdoor classroom out of necessity during the pandemic, when classrooms needed safe distancing from each other. Cornerstone educators transformed their outdoor space into gardens, greenhouses, intentional and experiential centers, and more for teaching children about nature and environmentalism.

Cornerstone Child Development Services goes beyond implementing a literacy-based curriculum by offering developmental assessments and family support services to meet families of all economic backgrounds, providing high-quality childcare and preschool education services.

Cornerstone offers a Summer Camp program for children ages 5-11. Activities occur inside and outside classrooms; crafts, games, and field trips are among its offerings from June 20 to August 25; whole or half-day options are available for these camps. They also host an 11-week pre-K program, accepting school readiness vouchers funded by faith communities, private foundations, and corporations to cover school readiness vouchers or scholarships. Up to 72 children can attend this pre-K program at once! Furthermore, Cornerstone also hosts a Lab School that assists women earning degrees in early childhood education while offering mentoring and study time discounts as part of this lab school program!