Educare Learning Center

Open for more than 40 years, Educare Learning Center, formerly known as Dandelion Child Care, has been serving children eight weeks old through fourth grade in the Jefferson area for multiple generations.

Located on 22 acres (16 acres wooded), the center focuses on a nature-enriched environment where children are taken on discovery walks focusing on themes such as animals and weather. Additional nature-based activities, such as crunching up eggs shells to enrich the soil, lead to planting and tending a garden filled with cabbages, carrots and squash. They also beautify the grounds every Earth Day with a variety of tasks including tree- and flower-planting.

With a heavy emphasis on outdoor play, there are four on-site large playgrounds for children to enjoy. The 7,000 square foot facility features multiple age-appropriate classrooms, each designed to address the child’s social, emotional, intellectual and physical needs. Knowing that each child is a unique individual, the staff aim to provide a loving, nurturing and stimulating environment.

“We want the parent to know that their child is cared for during the day in a way that the child feels loved but also the parent feels at ease,” says owner Sue Mogard. Aside from regular Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) activities, the children are also taught about the importance of giving back to the community through clothing and food drives as well raising money for the nonprofit Alex’s Lemonade Stand, by pouring glasses of the sweet drink for parents and guardians. Educare doesn’t just enroll the child, but the entire family, Mogard says. “Our program is focusing on the special relationship that children and families have to teachers and how that makes a huge impact on a children’s ability to learn and (understand the) feeling of community,” Mogard says. “We find those to be essential components of children’s lives. ...The more we can have families be involved with who we are and what we do, the more we know we have strong abilities to influence children’s positive growth and development. We do enroll the whole family. We’ve always put the focus on family.”