New childcare center stays open late
Apr. 15—LIMA — A new childcare center in Lima is open late to accommodate working parents, providing children as young as six weeks through 12 years old with a safe place to learn and play while their parents are at work.
The Children's Place Learning Academy, a three-star childcare center located at 2301 Baton Rouge Ave., Lima, is now open from 6 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
"We focus highly on education to make sure they're all kindergarten ready," said Vivian Kelley, who founded the Children's Place out of her home 21 years ago.
The childcare center, which recently moved out of Kelley's home into a new location near the Lima Auto Mall, partners with Head Start to offer learning assessments and identify developmental delays in children early on, Kelley said.
"They're not just sitting or laying," Kelley said. "We're making sure they get tummy time, getting their fine motor (skills), using their fingers and visual things—making sure that they're seeing, their eyes are moving the way that they should be."
Kelley started searching for a standalone facility three years ago, as the pandemic disrupted access to child care and resulted in long waiting lists, to make child care more accessible in Lima.
She finally celebrated the grand opening Friday of the new Children's Place Learning Academy, outfitted with colorful classrooms, playrooms, sleeping areas and a cafeteria where children can play before and after school, throughout the workday and late into the evening.
Eventually, Kelley plans to keep the Children's Place open 24 hours a day, but for now the childcare center will stay open until 11:30 p.m. on weeknights.
