Westside Shorty's Daycare and Preschool in Bend Oregon

Its hard to believe that its already been three years since my twins "graduated" from Westside Shorty's Creative Learning Center in Bend, Oregon! When we moved to Bend from Seattle, they were just starting preschool, and Westside Shorty's was the perfect fit for our family.

Although the twins are now in second grade, it really doesn't seem that long ago that I was dropping them off each morning at the cheery red building with the playground out back. I'm still friends with the Co-Directors of Westside Shorty's - as well as a number of the teachers that spent many fun days with my kids!

There are a number of factors you'll want to see in a quality day care/preschool environment, and Westside Shorty's has them all. Many day care centers and preschools are found throughout the Central Oregon region. You can be confident that your child will have a loving, stimulating, safe environment at Westside Shorty's.

Safety and health are two of the most important factors to consider with respect to a day care and/or preschool. After all, you are a concerned parent or caregiver. When you are away from your child for a few hours, or the day, you want to make sure that they are safe.

Westside Shorty's is a state certified child care center in Bend, Oregon, situated on the west side of the City, off of Galveston (about 2 blocks west of Drake Park). Whether you need full day care, preschool a few days a week, or even after kindergarten care, Westside Shorty's is conveniently located near many businesses and thoroughfares.

How do you know whether you have selected a quality day care and/or preschool environment?

Signs of a good child care center include:

• Enforced policies regarding authorized pick-up of children
• Locked doors and windows to ensure that only authorized people are allowed in the facility
• Background check required of all employees
• Clean, health-inspector approved kitchen and bathrooms
• Healthy preparation of and serving breakfast, lunch and snacks
• Compliance with state-required ratios of staff to children
• Age-appropriate activities and learning
• Enforced policies regarding illness and keeping sick children home
• Enforced policies to keep toys clean and germ-free
• Safe, engaging toys, books, games and outdoor play facilities
  

I talked with Awbrey LeFave, one of the Co-Directors of Westside Shorty's about her passion for her profession and why Westside Shorty's should be a parent's first choice for child care in Central Oregon.

"We created Westside Shorty's so that families can feel safe leaving the children in our care. We like Westside Shorty's to feel as if it was their second home. We hire staff that have compassion and love for children and are excited to come to work. We offer meals (most childcares do not)."

Westside Shorty's focuses on individual development of each student. Depending on age and maturity, children are placed in one of several "classes," with appropriate education (music, Spanish and simple math) within a structured program. Plenty of time for creativity, play - and nap times - is included!

Perhaps nothing is as useful in a child care center review than a personal story from a parent who has a child that has attended the facility. Westside Shorty's opened in May 2006, just a few months before we relocated our family from Seattle to Bend, Oregon.

My mother-in-law (who lives in nearby Sisters, Oregon) heard a radio advertisement for the new child care facility, so we put it on our list of centers to check out when we arrived. Our boy-girl twins were only 3 years old. Prior to our move, they had spent days at home with babysitters or a nanny. Needless to say, we were anxious about leaving them in a corporate day care setting.

Westside Shorty's was the third (and final) day care center we checked out in Bend. I met Awbrey and Holly - the co-directors - and was very impressed. The first few days we left the twins were so tough, but Holly really took to my son and they waved from the window every day as I headed off to work.

At the end of each day, we had a written account of what they ate, how much they slept and when they used the bathroom! Frequent walks to the park and engaging art, language and music classes helped the twins get excited each day we arrived.

Before long, we were hiring teachers from Westside Shorty's to babysit. 4 years later, we are still using some of these great people to watch our kids in the evening!

Several years after our kids graduated from Westside Shorty's to elementary school, we are still in contact with and friend of the co-directors!  I run into former teachers from the school all the time here in the relatively small community of Bend, Oregon!

I believe that both kids had a great foundational education and, most importantly, felt safe and loved while we were at work.

Address: 609 NW 12th Street, Bend, OR 97701

Phone: 541-318-0555

Hours: Monday-Friday, 7:00 am - 6:00 pm (closed on major holidays)

Child Care Available: Ages 3 (potty trained) to 7

Social Networking:  Become a fan of Westside Shorty's on Facebook