April 9, 2021

April 10-16 is the Week of the Young Child, a time to recognize the remarkable young children in Decorah and their wonderful early learning experiences at home, in child care, at school, and throughout the community.  Bill Gates once said, “The first five years have so much to do with how the next 80 turn out.”

Decorah has an abundance of high quality child care programs and preschools that teach, support, care for, and inspire the community’s youngest learners.  The impact of these quality programs will last a lifetime.  Shanna Putnam Dibble, Elementary Learner Advocate, shared, “This week we celebrate young children and these (and many other) amazing programs as well as the daycare providers, teachers, families, and community members who help care for our wonderful kids!”

Decorah has six Collaborative Preschool Partners.  Each of these preschools are part of the Statewide Voluntary Preschool Program and provide free preschool (a minimum of 10 hours per week) to four-year-olds in the community.  They are all open for registration for the 2021-2022 school year.  For more information, people can view their websites below or give them a call. 

Kinderhaus: http://kinderhausdecorah.com – (563) 379-7303

Nisse Preschool: https://www.nissepreschool.org – (563) 382-4794

NE Iowa Montessori: https://www.neim.us – (563) 382-6491

St. Benedict Preschool: http://www.st-ben.pvt.k12.ia.us – (563) 382-4668

Sunflower Child Development Center: https://www.sunflowerchildcare.org – (563) 382-5717

West Side Early Childhood Center: https://decorah.k12.ia.us/school/west-side-early-childhood-center/ – (563) 382-4451

162722760 10104071170982893 1361995193427174745 n
Cooking at West Side
144251539 10103990946293813 555841815441183219 n
Science Experiments
141677173 10103966652733303 3446694692346567345 n
Learning through Play – Ramps and Pathways!
IMG 0275
Montessori students plant vegetable seeds for their school garden.

IMG 0284
A Montessori student practices his counting.
IMG 8633
St. Ben’s students explore weight and measurement.
IMG 9194
St. Ben’s students enjoy playing outside.
Otters
Sunflower students participate in a cooking activity.