The Mary W. Butler Day Care Center at Merrick House Starkweather is a Step-Up to Quality Two Star rated Center. Care is provided to children ages six weeks to five years with a social climate where warmth, friendliness, helpfulness, cooperation, respect for differences, and acceptance of people as they are is the standard. Teachers encourage each child’s development as an individual through self-expression. Children receive two nutritious meals per day, as well as an afternoon snack. Lessons are based on either the Ohio Infant and Toddler Guidelines, or Ohio's Early Learning Content Standards.

The child care center at our Starkweather location has an on-site Natural Playground. This playground is designed to expose the children to the beauty and wonder of nature while challenging them physically and mentally. This provides a more open-ended play experience while allowing us to expand our curriculum to the children we serve.

Check out our Child Care Newsletter      

Special Event:

Merrick House MENtor Bowling Event -- Saturday, May 18th, 1 - 3 p.m. -- Freeway Lanes in Parma

Don't strike out with your child--bring them to the MENtor Bowling Event! Dad's, if you are unable to attend, feel free to send Grandpa, Uncle, Brother, etc...Moms are also welcome to attend.

Bowling and Shoe Rental $4 (food not included)

Freeway Lanes in Parma (transporation provided).

**Preschool and Pre-K Only**

Please sign up with Markita or Sarah no later than Friday, May 10th 

Partnerships:

**The child care program has regular visits from the Christ Child Society, a connection that goes back to 1919 (we were named after Christ Child founder, Mary Virginia Merrick). Volunteers come for a literacy program and read books to our child care classes, and then follow it up with an extension activity to enhance comprehension of the material that was presented to them. We also have "grandma" volunteers who rock the babies to sleep. Both programs run throughout the year. We thank all the volunteers who participate in these programs. You make a difference in the life of a child.

**The Merrick House child care program is a provider of Universal Pre-Kindergarten. The purpose of the UPK Program is to assure that all 3 to 5 year olds enrolled in a participating center receive high quality care that promotes their development and readiness for kindergarten. This program also provides scholarships to families in the form of fee reductions to families at or below 400% of the federal poverty level. Ask what this means for your family.

**We recently joined forces with our neighbor--MetroHealth Hospital--to expand services to the surrounding neighborhoods. Made possible because of a grant from Tremont Trek, this October we started our new Healthy Family program. Every first and third Tuesday starting October 1, we will be having a certified fitness specialist come work with the toddlers through preschoolers during their gross motor time.  The specialist will work alongside the teachers to offer them new ideas and training on how to get the children moving and engaged. Also with this funding we are so happy to be able to provide workshops for both the staff and the parents. These workshops will focus on a specific age group and what parents and/or staff can do to provide healthy food choices and activities to the children in their care. These workshops will be facilitated by one of MetroHealth’s registered dieticians

**Merrick House will continue its partnership with the Beck Center for the Arts. In collaboration with PNC's Grow Up Great program, the Beck Center will be providing us with art education, working with the children in areas such as music, dance, art and theater. They will also provide printed materials for the teachers and art supplies and instruments for the classroom. Merrick House is very excited to continue this partnership! This program will continue through May 2013.

**Thanks to the Thomas White Foundation, the Merrick House early education program has implemented more STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) lessons ito strengthen the science curriculum. For example, six process skills that we are using to incorporate science in the classroom are: 

1.Observing—Using the five senses to find out about objects and events.
2.Classifying—Grouping items according to their similarities and differences.
3.Communicating—Using written and spoken words, graphs, drawings,maps, or tables to transmit information and ideas to others.
4.Measuring—Developing and using appropriate unites of measurement for length, area, volume, time, weight, and temperature.
5.Inferring—Explaining an observation or set of observations.
6.Predicting—Making forecasts of future events or conditions based upon observations or inferences. 

Click here to learn more about STEM in early childhood education. You can also read more on these blogs.

Also, Her Ideas in Motion is an organization that focuses specifically on  hands-on learning for girls in technology and media arts.

**Merrick House has started a MENtor Program. The aim is to get more male involvement in the lives of our children. Research shows that male involvement in young children's lives helps promote higher achievement as they grow, and they are less likely to have behavior and/or social/emotional issues. We need volunteers to participate at least once a month in activities such as reading books, mini-lessons, field trip attendance, or other activities. We strongly encourage you to STEP UP and MAKE A DIFFERENCE. For more information contact Marketi Robinson, Assistant Director of Education, at 216.771.5077. See pictures on Facebook from past volunteers

 Enrollment:

Infants (ages 6 weeks to 18 months) --We are currently full. There will be space available in December 2013.
Toddlers (ages 18 months to 36 months) --We are currently full. There will be space available in April 2014.
Preschool (ages 3 years to 4 years) --There are currently three full-time spots available and one part-time spot (Monday, Tuesday and Friday only) available. 
Pre-Kindergarten (ages 4 years to 5 years) --We are currently full. There will be space available in September 2013.

If you have a child you would like to enroll, please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , the Director of Education, at 216.771.5077 to schedule a tour. 

 Hours:

Monday - Friday, 6:30 a.m. – 6 p.m.