Caring Connection Children’s Center at Elk Grove Campus is licensed for 30 preschool children by the Department of Social Services, Community Care Licensing. We are located in a rented facility attached to the Elk Grove Community Church on 9624 Melrose Ave, just off of Elk Grove Blvd. Caring Connection is delighted to be renting this space, but is not affiliated with this or any religious organization.

Julie Jenkins Sathe, the Executive Director of Caring Connection Children’s Centers has reunited with Nancy Danel, Elk Grove’s site Director. Nancy and Julie worked together years ago in the late ‘80’s when Julie’s philosophy of Enlightened Discipline was in its infancy. Julie and Nancy are delighted to have this opportunity again.Nancy Danel returned to Sacramento from Lake Tahoe in 2012. 

She is an amazing leader and exemplifies the standards of professionalism that Caring Connection Children’s Center honors. Nancy has added teachers to the Elk Grove Campus who complete the beautiful weave of personalities and skills that grow a center, nurture young minds and inspire parents.

Facility –

Parents have ample parking in the lot and our entrance in through our preschool courtyard. Notice that Caring Connection has a security coded door. Visitors will ring the bell and be greeted while enrolled parents will be given the code.

Our center is comprised of two separate spaces. There is an entryway where parents will sign in. Off the entry way are two classrooms and the office. The first classroom space, is dedicated to the Buddy’s class our “Transitioning Preschoolers”, aka “two year olds”. This classroom space will be where they have their small group times like Circle, Focus and Art. It is equipped with our changing table and has ready access to our shared bathroom. We have areas designed for the younger children giving them their own space, a smaller environment with their own teacher. We will prepare them in language arts, nature and science, math and building, dramatic play, and art…lots of room for art! Of course there is plenty of tiled space for our wholesome meals.

In the second classroom we’ve designed the space to accommodate two class groups of preschool and prekindergarten groups, the Pals’ and the Friends’ classes. For children we have ample space for art and eating lunches, snacks and breakfast. We have areas for dramatic play, language and reading, writing and math, building and manipulative play and lots of space for creativity and art! There are carpeted spaces, large spaces and small spaces, floor play areas and table play areas. We strive to create unique environments so that children who choose to play alone have that opportunity and children who want to be social have space to do so. This is a shared classroom, each class can use the space at alternate times while the other class in on the playground and they may come together for Social Play and Art and learn from one another.

Our outdoor space is almost double the size required for our 30 children. It’s big enough to run and play, but also well designed so that the children have vignettes of play, from our beach and sand to our mud pie kitchen, our meadow and our climbing structure.

 

Julie Jenkins Sathe’s goal was to create a natural, play space to inspire children to learn through curiosity, wonder and nature. We have embellished the space with a meadow, a beach area, a meandering dry creek bed and plenty of patio space for our outdoor art studio and picnics. These areas provide an amazing natural learning area for all types of science and safe water-play, weather permitting. We have opted to retain the large climbing structure and slides. The yard is dotted a variety of plants, herbs and flowers. Central to the playground is a custom created sand box adorned with huge pieces of driftwood. The one thing  we know is that the yard will continually change and transform.

Out of the classrooms, is our full kitchen where we prepare breakfast, lunch and three snacks. When at full capacity, we will operate with three class groups, sharing the classroom spaces and alternating the use of the indoor and outdoor spaces for the best development needs of the children.

The Elk Grove Classes

Our class groups are: The Buddies (2-3 year olds),

The Pals (3-4 year olds)

The Friends (4-5 year olds).

All of our age groups are based on development, not birthdays so this is just a guideline for parents.

We happily accept children who are still in diapers and will work as a team with parents to assist in Independent Toileting. The Transitioning preschoolers, or the Buddies’ class will be limited to approximately 6-8 children who are younger and learning to use the toilet or are still being diapered. The Pals’ class comprised of 8-10 children and Friends’ class making that class for 11-12 children.