FAQs | Morning Star Child Care

Will my child be challenged?
Learning is very important to us at Morning Star. Our teachers keep up-to-date with current research in cognitive development and appropriate teaching techniques for young children. Each day Morning Star teachers offer their students a wide variety of learning experiences—all taught in a fun, creative, and "hands-on" method.

Is this an academic based program?
Young children need learning experiences that will provide a foundation for future academic success. Morning Star teachers integrate developmentally appropriate mathematics, pre-reading (including letter recognition), vocabulary development, science, and writing into their curriculum planning. Pond life, dinosaurs, community helpers, oceans, and farms are just a sample of the interesting and educational thematic units taught at Morning Star.

What are the qualifications of your teachers?
Our teachers are dedicated to providing the highest quality of care to young children. All our lead teachers have early childhood or elementary education degrees, training, and experience. Our teachers are required to obtain 24 hours of additional training per year. They do so by attending conferences and workshops in order to discover and learn additional creative ideas to use in the classroom.

What will my child do during the day?
Children at Morning Star are active and busy! In the morning, the children participate in a circle/group time (stories, songs, fingerplays), center activities (table games, science, language, or math activity), art or craft project, snack, and outdoor play on our half-acre playground. An afternoon rest time is followed by another snack, craft projects, stories, and more outdoor play.

Do the children go on field trips?
Our toddler classes (1-2½) go on walking or stroller trips around Dexter when weather permits. In the fall they travel by one of our buses to visit a local farm to pick pumpkins, and go on a hay ride. We require a 1:2 teacher (or parent) ratio for our toddlers for this fun-filled event which offers a great opportunity for parents to become involved.

Throughout the year our preschool classrooms visit local farms, science centers, indoor play spaces (during the winter), and local theaters for age appropriate performances. During the summer, in addition to their walking field trips to Dairy Queen (DQ) and the gazebo in downtown Dexter, they visit local parks for picnic lunches.

Our Developmental Kindergarten classroom has one field trip a month during the school year which includes the library, gymnastics, theater, and parks. In the summer months they spend one afternoon a week at Vet's Park having a picnic lunch and swimming at the pool in addition to their numerous other field trips.

On those "no school" days, our school-age children often travel to fun places around Washtenaw County. In the summer we have a "Traveling" summer camp program. The school age students go on 3-4 field trips a week that include local parks, zoo's, museums, science centers, and pools/water parks. Parents are always informed, and permission granted, before any trip away from the center.

Do you provide lunch?
Morning Star provides a morning and afternoon snack every day as well as lunch milk. Parents send in a packed lunch, with an ice pack, from home for their child. We have microwaves in each classroom so teachers can warm up lunch items. Morning Star does offer parents an opportunity to purchase a hot lunch for their child two days a week (Tuesday and Friday).

Are you open in the summer?
Our infant, toddler, preschool and developmental kindergarten programs operate on a year-round schedule. Morning Star does offer a summer camp for school-age children (Kindergarten thru 5th grade).

Are you open during the time between Christmas and New Year?
No. We are closed from Christmas Eve day through New Year's Day. We are closed on Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and the Friday after Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Day, and New Year's Day. We close at 4:00 p.m. on New Year's Eve. If any holiday falls on the weekend then we are closed the closest week day (either the Friday before or the Monday after). In addition to the major holidays, Morning Star is closed two days to allow for staff training and classroom preparation. There is one Friday before Labor Day that we are closed, and the last Friday of March, or the first Friday in April, depending on when the Michigan Conference for Early Childhood Educators is held.

Do you give any discount for vacation days?
Tuition paid on a monthly basis is discounted to reflect the equivalent of two free weeks per year. The free weeks are calculated into the year's tuition and apply only to children enrolled in our year-round infant, toddler, preschool and developmental kindergarten classes. Tuition for children enrolled in our school age program is based on the child's set schedule. Tuition is expected regardless of sick or vacation days.

May I enroll my child on a part-time basis?
All children may attend Morning Star two, three, four, or five days per week. Our preschool and Developmental Kindergarten offers a morning class, or full day class option. School age children may attend mornings before school, after school, and/or on all those "no school" days. Enrollment in our no school days insures that you are covered on all the snow days that occur during the winter months.

Do families receive a discount for more than one child?
Yes. A 7% discount is offered to families with more than one child enrolled. This applies to full time enrollment. One discount allowed per family.

How do you communicate with parents?
Morning Star uses an online parent portal called MyProcare. Parents simply go to MyProcare.com, and then enter the secure site using the provided credentials. Parents may view their child's general information, emergency contacts, and tuition. MyProcare is a quick and convenient method of communication between the parent and center.

Center-wide notices are also sent out through this same site. In addition to this, every classroom has a "Parent Bulletin Board" where teachers post notes on daily activities, lesson plans, snack menus, community information and activities, and their monthly newsletters.

Parents of children age one to three receive a daily log of their child 's day. All families receive the Morning Star Newsletter at least four times a year. This periodic newsletter is filled with informative articles, important dates, upcoming events, and activities of the children.

Parent/Teacher conferences are held each October and March. Parents are welcome to call or drop by the center anytime to speak to a director or teacher.

What is accreditation?
Morning Star is accredited through an organization called The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). NAEYC created its accreditation process in 1985 to set professional standards for early childhood education and to help families identify high-quality child care and early educational programs. To earn NAEYC's accreditation, Morning Star conducted a self-study to determine how well our curriculum and program met the national standards. Parent and teacher surveys were distributed and improvements made. Morning Star was then visited by an independent, professional validator.

Lastly, our request was reviewed and approved by a national panel. Morning Star's process toward accreditation took two years from start to completion and is valid for five years.

Why would Morning Star Child Care wants to be an accredited center?
Accreditation insures that Morning Star Child Care is offering children the highest quality of care. Our teachers are required to routinely up-date their education by attending conferences and workshops. Accreditation requires Morning Star to keep child/ teacher ratios at a lower level than mandated by State licensing. This means that the children in our care will receive the personal attention they need for healthy growth. Morning Star's teachers are dedicated to their profession and each child in their classroom.

Accreditation gives our teachers the recognition they rightly deserve.