Casey Saylor was ready to return to the office in 2021. She had just welcomed her firstborn child into the world and needed to find a child care program where she felt comfortable leaving her infant son. With society reeling from the aftereffects of the COVID-19 pandemic, many providers had long wait lists, especially for infant care.
Casey’s hunt eventually led her to King’s Country Kids, an in-home child care program in West York operated by Nikki King. The early learning program turned out to be the perfect fit for Casey’s family, a place where they found peace of mind and their growing child could experience adventurous play and creative exploration.
When Casey’s second son was born a few years later, she knew exactly where to turn for infant care.
“Having access to an in-home program has impacted our daily life by eliminating the guesswork,” Casey says. “We know what our kids are learning. We know what they’re eating. We know that they’re safe, and as parents, I feel like that’s really important – to trust your child care provider.”
A safe space to learn
Casey believes that King’s Country Kids has afforded her boys a safe place to grow, engage, and soak up knowledge and experiences, whether through the curriculum, by experiencing nature, or engaging in supervised risky play. Those features are by design. Nikki grew up helping her mother operate a child care program.
“I actually was just rewarded by what children learn and how they grow and develop, and so here I am, years later, doing it myself,” she says.
Nikki builds her daily schedule from Carol’s Affordable Curriculum, a learning program for children 18 months to 6 years old, which incorporates hands-on natural elements and play-based education, something Casey loves. At King’s Country Kids, Nikki blends a thoughtful mix of learning and exploration with communication in a mixed-age setting, which keeps parents in the loop throughout the day.
“I communicate with all families that drop off and pick up,” she says, “and then I also use an app that we communicate all day long with the family. We send pictures all day long of activities and things they’re doing.”
This connection between home and child care facility helps families feel they’re true partners in their children’s development. Casey sees its effects in her boys daily.
“I can tell you that every day is an experience of the positive impact that Nikki and Miss Samantha are having here at King’s Country Kids,” she says, recounting how her 3-year-old son often will spout scientific facts he’s learned from his educators.
Expanding into the great outdoors
Thanks to an Innovation Grant through Every Child Has Opportunities, Nikki is enhancing her early learning program, expanding into an outdoor space where kids can learn, explore, and dig their hands into the mud.
“It’s a dream come true, really, to make this outdoor classroom,” she says. The project includes a mud kitchen, sand tables, dramatic play areas, a tricycle track, and a game table where kids can play tic-tac-toe with rocks and sticks.
Casey is grateful for the extra opportunities this expansion brings to her children.
“I’m so thankful that ECHO is able to offer funds for King’s Country Kids to expand outside and offer their children here and in the future a great outdoor play space,” she says. “It will be another place where they can adventure and learn new things and really get dirty.”
In addition to the ECHO Innovation Grant, Nikki won a recent pitch competition and received BLOOM Woman-owned Small Businesses Micro Grant through York County Economic Alliance. With it, she purchased outdoor gear for year-round play.
Every Child Has Opportunities is an early childhood education initiative in York County, Pennsylvania, led by Community Connections for Children and the York County Economic Alliance. Major funding partners include J. William Warehime Foundation, Powder Mill Foundation, and WellSpan Health. Additional funding partners include Kinsley Foundation, United Way of York County, and York County Community Foundation.