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The Chisago Lakes Family Center will be going through some exciting changes next fall, all geared toward making pre-K education more convenient and fun for parents and kids alike.

Karen Manske, Family Center Director, said the staff is excited to be opening what she refers to as "satellite locations" of their Little Wildcats preschool program this fall.

Little Wildcats, a three-day-a-week program for four-year-olds, will be offered starting in September at Taylors Falls Elementary and the Primary School in Chisago City.

"It will help families connect better and earlier with the schools," Manske said. "The preschoolers will become more familiar with the school, and we'll be able to coordinate our program with what is being taught in the kindergarten classrooms."

The Family Center headquarters, located behind Lindstrom Video off Hwy. 8 in Lindstrom, will still house a variety of programs for children from birth through kindergarten.

Little Wildcats for three and four-year-olds will still be offered in its twice-a-week format at the Family Center. The main difference between the preschool at the Family Center and at the schools, besides the school program being offered exclusively for four-year-olds, is that parents attend class on Tuesdays with their child at the Family Center program.

At the elementary preschool programs, children will attend Monday, Wednesday and Friday for half the day. Parents will have the option of enrolling their preschoolers in the Kid's Club child care program for the second half of the day, as well as bringing them to Kid's Club on Tuesdays and Thursdays if they choose.

Both morning and afternoon preschool sessions will be offered at the Primary School, while preschool at Taylors Falls will just be in the morning.

Preschoolers can ride the bus to and from school, which is an added convenience for parents, Manske said.

"In the past, that has been a hindrance for some parents," she said. "They work during the day, so aren't able to coordinate getting children to and from preschool and daycare in the middle of the day. This way, the preschoolers can ride the bus to and from school."

Manske said she has heard some people wondering if the Family Center is closing because the preschool programs are opening at the elementary schools.

"It can be a little confusing for people, because there are so many different programs," she said. "If you don't have young children, you probably don't know what ECFE means."

Little Wildcats is a fee-based program, while the Early Childhood Family Education program is supported by state aid. The fee for ECFE is on a sliding scale, so parents pay based on their income.

Manske said they realize that many people are making tough decisions in a difficult economy.

"The scale goes down to zero," she said. "We know a lot of people have lost their jobs this year and we want families to keep coming."

The two classrooms at the Family Center are used all day long, and the addition of preschool programs at the elementary schools will allow for even more options in the Family Center classrooms.

Manske said one of those options is a playgroup time being added, where parents and kids come and have open play time, emphasizing small motor activities. She said it would be nice to eventually add a large motor activity playtime, if space allows. The first playgroup will be offered Tuesdays and Thursdays in June for a small fee.

Also coming up this summer, a preschool for kids ages 3-5 will be offered Tuesdays and Thursdays in July. Manske said the Parent Advisory Council is sponsoring a storyteller and community picnic June 3 at the Lindstrom Lion's Park, and is looking at sponsoring other summer events as well. The picnic is 5:30-7 p.m. and includes free ice cream and root beer floats.

This year was the trial run of a new teen parent program at the Family Center, in cooperation with TRIO Online High School. Manske said it included eight parents attending with their kids, and it will be offered again this fall. The program is free.

The Family Center also has a library and Family Resource Center. It contains an extensive collection of children's books and videos, as well as reference books for parents. All materials are free to check out for anyone in the district, regardless of whether they participate in any Family Center programs.

Manske said registration for fall sessions of Little Wildcats have been coming in slowly, but now that she has been through her first summer as director, she knows not to be too worried.

"We need 15 or more to hold each class, but it was slow last year and everything filled up," Manske said.

Because Family Center programs are separate from the Chisago Lakes School District general fund, Manske said there are no cuts on the list at this time, but early childhood programs are still at risk for state cuts.

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