Gove County Early Learning Center
Gove County Early Learning Center (GCELC) is an extension of Gove County Medical Center (GCMC) with two campuses located adjacent to the hospital. The GCMC child care facilities are private, non-profit agencies that are operated by a Board of Trustees, the Hospital Administrator (CEO), the Human Resource Director, and the Director of Early Learning Services.
The majority of the funding for the GCMC child care facilities comes from child care fees. GCMC monitors the financial aspects of the programs and maintains both facilities. Gove County Early Learning Center West Campus and Gove County Early Learning Center East Campus serve as one entity.
Our Mission
Our mission is to provide the best experiences to help your child grow and discover their abilities. GCELC is dedicated to providing high quality care to each child. High quality care helps the child develop both their mind and body in a safe and nurturing environment. Each lead teacher has the knowledge and experience to provide stimulating activities to enhance this development as well as skills needed to nourish social interactions.
Activities
All of the staff at GCELC know and understand the importance of early brain development. It is from this knowledge that staff are able to implement daily lesson plans provided from our curriculum. GCELC utilizes a number of curriculums that focus on areas of development and align with the Kansas Early Learning Standards. Curriculum utilized in the classrooms offer the opportunity for your child to explore and investigate in all areas of early childhood development. Listed below are examples of ways that we support and foster exploration of these different areas of individual development.
- Language: Silly sound cards, rhyming games, classroom libraries, songs and fingerplays, daily circle time.
- Social Emotional: Problem solving, focus on feelings and challenges, developing ways to maintain a safe fun atmosphere together, recipes and cooking together, playing games, family style meals, taking turns, sharing, manners, and self-help skills
- Cognitive: Cause and effect activities, letter mats with loose parts for letter building, puzzles, creating and exploring patterns,, jumping number lines, color hide and seek and neighborhood shape walks.
- Large Motor: Movement games and songs, parachute play, yoga cards, tummy time, balance beam, toss and catch, obstacle courses, and dancing.
- Small motor: Tweezer play, dressing boards, lacing cards, texture beads, tracing and fingertrail books, cutting bin, exploring a variety of writing utensils and using silverware.
- Sensory: Shaving cream block building, , rainbow noodles, scoop and pour rice, pudding finger painting, feather and button shakers, play dough mats.
- Art: Open choice collage, under the table art, easel painting, art interpretation exploration, cutting different materials, and stick painting.
In addition to the activities listed on daily lesson plans, there will also be time for free play. Free play provides an opportunity for children to direct their own learning. Weekly lessons plans are posted in each classroom on the parent information board. If you have any questions about the activities your child is exploring, please ask. If you would like to volunteer to assist in an activity, please speak to your child’s teacher about setting up a time.
Special Opportunities
The children at the GCELC engage in several out of facility activities throughout the community. Some of these activities include attending library story hour, exploring at the City Park and the playground at the elementary school. During the summer months, the kids enjoy going on picnics, swimming at the city pool, and participating in the community garden.