By Michaela Bishop
Northeast News
July 1, 2015

KANSAS CITY, Missouri — Children’s Choice Daycare has helped over thousands of children within the past 39 years.

The daycare itself helps children from ages ranging to as young as six weeks up to 12 years-of-old. Children’s Choice is owned and operated by Vonnie Occhipinto. The daycare is open from 6 a.m. – 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. This past week, students from Child Evangelism Fellowship of Missouri Inc. held a class with the students.

“We aren’t supposed to teach the students about religion so the church played games with them, taught them about discipline and manners,” Occhipinto said.

The children were also taught what to do when trying to evacuate the building during a power outage, like the one recently experienced during last week’s storm. Occhipinto has helped many children and has seen much success with her daycare.

“They think it’s very safe and secure here,” Occhipinto said. “A lot of them don’t want to go home at night. They want to stay here. They are all like family.”

Children’s Choice Daycare is a before and after school program, which allows kindergarten and school-age children to balance learning and fun through a variety of experiences. The daycare, which is privately owned daycare and for low-income families, relies on donations for transportation and field trips. Even though the students haven’t been able to travel due to the lack of funds, the students are still able to spend nearly two hours a day outside and are provided with a play room inside the building.

Some of the summer activities the daycare has include: a Slip and Slide, visiting the North-East Library for story time, painting and other art projects, and trips to the Kansas City Zoo.

The daycare also offers tutoring in reading, math, and other basic studies. The daycare teaches infants how to eat, walk, and playing with others. It also teaches toddlers how to communicate and help develop their motor skills. Occhipinto owns two different day care locations: one is located on 614 Hardesty and the other is located on 3221 Independence Ave. She mentioned that she looks forward to many more years with the day care.

“There isn’t a day that someone walks through the door that I knew as a small child and it makes my day,” Occhipinto said.

Michele Negus, a previous student of Occhipinto’s, now works for her and helps out with all their paperwork.

“I think this daycare is outstanding,” Negus said. “It is very, very clean and they do a lot with the kids.”

Elizabeth Palace, bilingual preschool teacher and assistant director at the daycare, said the best thing about working with children is watching the light bulbs going on in the their head.

“When it clicks, it tells me that they are listening and their learning,” Palace said.

Occhipinto said that the day care teaches the student’s responsibilities and is willing to help any child. Children’s Choice Daycare currently has 50 students enrolled for the summer time. Students are provided with a free breakfast, lunch, and snacks. For more information on the day care and operations please call 816-231-3404.