Center History
Celebration Children’s Center of Canastota, Inc. originated in 1988 with the funds that were left over from the 175th Celebration for the Village of Canastota. A number of the committee members decided that the village needed a qualified childcare center. They hired a Cornell University graduate as the director for the center and together they oversaw the construction of the building(then on Warners Road), applied for grants, planned the programs, and purchased all of the equipment and supplies.
The doors opened for just two children on January 2, 1989 and by September of that year the center was at full capacity with 29 children. Although the original plan called for only Toddler and Pre-K classrooms, there was an increasing demand for childcare for children ages 5-12. Without the room at the existing site, the center expanded and opened a school age childcare program in the basement of the Whitelaw Church in April 1992, making room for 28 children. By September of 1992 an Infant room was opened allowing 4 infants to be cared for. Six years later, in December of 1998, the center purchased our current building, which is located in the center of the village. This allowed the center to house both the childcare and school age program in one building and also allowed for more children and more employees.
In January 2009, we made another move by relocating our School Age Program (Celebration’s Discovery Program) to Roberts Street Elementary School. This move allowed us to service more children and expand our School Age Programming. This move also allowed us to move our classrooms around and increase our Infant capacity to 8. In 2015, we expanded once more allowing 4 more infants, making a total of 12 infant spots available.
Center Philospophy
We believe that quality group childcare is a positive beneficial experience for children and their families. We provide a solid foundation to make the learning and growing process a happy one. Our focus is on the social emotional well-being of each child and fostering feelings of positive self-esteem and self-confidence within that child. We provide a support system for effective family functioning through becoming an extension of the family unit, modeling parenting skills, providing a trusting, accepting environment, and advising and referring to community services as needed. We believe in providing a physical environment that is safe, clean, healthy, and child friendly. Classrooms are arranged to offer challenging play and learning choices at a range of developmental levels. Learning centers allow children the opportunity to explore, to experience, and most importantly, to succeed. The strength of our program is the experience, expertise, and dedication of our staff. We support the teachers with training, resources, and the freedom to create a unique learning environment. We believe in positive methods of discipline. We establish consistent and appropriate limits to help children function in their world. Our programs are designed to develop in children a sense of independence and responsibility. We strive to strengthen each child’s own cultural identity, while instilling a respect for others. Parents are the most significant adults in a child’s life. We strive to create mutual respect between parents and teachers, a partnership for the benefit of the child. We encourage daily communication between parents and center staff. Our doors are always open to parents. Our center values people: the children in our care, their families, and our employees. We continually work to earn the trust placed in us. We strive each day to provide the best early childhood services possible.
