Among the people who are most enjoying the warm summer and being able to leave the indoors to play outside are the children at the KamKids Daycare in Kamsack where an enhanced playground is being used to its fullest.
“We’re focusing on our greatest resource, our kids,” Tiffany Stone, executive director of the facility, said last week during a tour of the playground.
KamKids Daycare Inc. has been offering child care services to the Kamsack and surrounding area since 2008, Stone said. “In the eight years since opening our doors, KamKids has grown to meet the needs of our families and our community.
“We are a licensed not-for-profit government subsidized centre that offers child care ranging from children of six weeks old to 12 years old. Currently there are 52 children registered at the daycare which is licenced to tend to 33 children at a time.
“KamKids employs a wonderful nutrition worker, Ruby Dubasov, who enjoys cooking and creates wonderful home-cooked meals and snacks for the children,” she said. “The aroma of Ruby’s cooking and the weekly posted menu provides the parents with confidence that our children are being fed real wholesome food.
“Ruby prepares a menu that follows the guidelines of the Canada Food Guide and the Ministry of Education,” she said. “At KamKids we are very proud to be able to provide our children with great food made by such a great Chef.
“The KamKids’ Walking School Bus program is an essential service for our families,” she said. In it, the KamKids staff members walk the children to school and pick them up at the end of the day. This is also a service we offer to the Pre-Kindergarten children, so parents don’t have to worry if their work day starts before the school day starts or ends after the bell rings. KamKids takes care of getting the children to and from school.”
KamKids staff saw how important this was to families and took it further, she said. During the summer months, staff members walk any KamKids children who are registered for swimming lessons to and from the pool, while during the winter, staff members also walk the children to and from the rink for skating lessons.
Currently, KamKids employs nine persons on staff and all are CPR and First Aid certified, she said. Once a person is hired, he or she is also enrolled in the Early Childhood Education program to immediately start working towards his or her Level I, II, and III Early Childhood Education Certification.
Staff members also have other educational opportunities. In March five of the staff attended a conference held by Yorkton and Area Early Learning Child Care Association with the focus on creating environments based on the interests of the children and on guiding positive behaviour.
“In August 2015 we expanded our current play yard,” she said. “With the additional space we are able to dedicate a specific play area for our infants and toddlers that allows them to play safely outside with the older children.
“Between our huge play yard and Victoria School’s playground being so close, the KamKids children have plenty opportunity to play outside.
“In addition to the programming delivered by the KamKids staff, we have partnered with Victoria School, the Town of Kamsack, and Kamsack Family Resource Center to facilitate the Let’s Get’s Moving program in the school gym. This was a great program to invest our time into. The children were able to spend an hour and a half in the gym to participate in active play, and enjoy a nutritious snack.
“In the summer months we spend many warm afternoons at the Kamsack Swimming Pool with all the children enjoying public swimming. The Town of Kamsack has generously donated the use of the pool to us for the past several years.
“We also spend time in the Kamsack Library, and enjoy rhyme time with Andrea Verigin of the Family Resource Center, as well as doing various crafts and activities.”
The daycare holds various fundraisers throughout the year, she said. “We just held a Vesey’s flower fundraiser in April with the proceeds going towards our play yard to build our own flower and garden boxes.”
Stone encourages people to keep watching for more exciting fundraisers planned for this year throughout the community.
“Our fundraisers are essential in keeping our parent rates one of the lowest in the area.
KamKids is run by a volunteer advisory board that provides leadership, clear expectations and standards for the executive director, said information from the daycare. The board also guides ongoing development and success of every aspect of the daycare operations.
Currently the board consists of Rachel Martinuik, chair; Shanneen Summers, vice-chair; Nicky Ruf, treasurer; Michelle Guillet, secretary, and Wendy Becenko, Sasha Garcia, Robyn Tataryn and Christine Lukey.
Together, the board spends many hours facilitating a safe and fun environment where children can explore, learn and grow to become community minded amazing children, the information said.
“KamKids Daycare is proud to have developed into a vital part of Kamsack. It truly has ‘taken a village (to raise a child)’ and it is due to the generosity and support of the Town of Kamsack, the businesses that have provided sponsorship, Victoria School’s inclusion, the welcoming community groups and community members, our supportive families, the dedicated KamKids staff and most importantly, our children, which have made us so successful.
“As we move forward in serving our families we will not forget our core beliefs that with a great space to play and explore, with caring staff to teach and care for, with nourishing and tasty food, we do it all for the success of our kids,” Stone said.
