Beginning Steps Child Development Center
is a licensed childcare center located in Rochester, Illinois.




Since 1995, we have been providing individualized, loving care for the children we serve.


Our goal is to give your child an abundance of affection, by encouraging imagination, providing understanding and supporting learning.  We want to make every child’s stay with us an enjoyable and rewarding experience and we want you, as the parent, to be absolutely confident about the care they receive while you are away.


Beginning Steps 2024 Parent Handbook


Check out our FAQs

Beginning Steps is open from 6:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. from Monday through Friday.

We are closed for Holiday observances on:  New Year’s Day, President’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Veteran’s Day, Thanksgiving Day, the Friday after Thanksgiving and Christmas Day.  We close early on Christmas Eve at Noon and New Year’s Eve at 4:00.

If the holiday falls on a weekend, our center will observe the holiday the same day that the state observes it.

In the event that we have to close due to weather or a power outage, the closure will be posted to our Facebook page and announced on Newschannel 20 and Clear Channel Radio Stations (WFMB 104.5, WYMG 100.5, etc.)

Enrollment is completed in person by setting an appointment with the Director.  A non-refundable enrollment fee of $35 is required to process each application.  A deposit for the final week of care is also required at the time of registration.  All enrollment information must be completed before scheduling a child for care.

A waiting list is established for each classroom when it reaches capacity.  As positions become available, they are offered to new clients in order of their status on the waiting list.  Parents who have a child or children enrolled at the center are NOT guaranteed space for future siblings.  However, any individual who is pregnant may reserve a space, if room is available, by paying for the final week of care.

Yes, we offer supervised instruction for children from Kindergarten to age age 12, both before and after school, as well as full-day programs for any day that children are not in school (i.e. School Improvement Days, Teacher Institute Days, Spring Break, Christmas Break, Summer Break, etc.).  Transportation to and from Rochester Schools is provided.

Payment is due on or before Monday of each week.  We offer a payment box inside the entrance.  A $10 late fee for infants through Pre-K and a $5 late fee for school-aged children is assessed to any fees not received by Wednesday at close of business.

We encourage you to attend the center and visit in your child’s classroom at any time or to lend a hand in any of our classroom parties or special events.  We also would love to have you share your special talents, cultural practices and occupations with our children because this enhances their learning.  Just talk with your child’s teacher to get on the schedule.

When a child is enrolled at our center, we will expect him or her at their regularly scheduled time.  If your child will not be attending on a certain day or will be arriving late, please notify us by 10:00 a.m., so that we can appropriately plan for lunch.  If we have not heard from you by 10 a.m., we will not include your child in the lunch count.

After the first six months of attendance, one week of each 12-month enrollment period may be taken as a vacation week.  No fee for care is required during that time.  Vacation days must be used in five consecutive days and must be used during the year or they will be forfeited.  Your child may not be in attendance during the week.  Please notify the director two weeks before you plan to take your vacation week.

It is very important that you be on time to pick up your child.  Fees are assessed for any child who is left beyond 5:30 pm.  The fee is $1 per minute per child.

Classrooms and Curriculum


Beginning Steps offers play-based, developmentally appropriate instruction in each of our classrooms. We offer the following on-site programs:



Infants I
6 weeks to 9 months


Infants II
9 months to 14 months


Toddlers
15 months to 24 months


2 year-olds


3 year-olds


Preschool
4 and 5 year-olds


We also offer convenient before and after school care, as well as supervised care during holidays and school breaks.



Everything we do at Beginning Steps is based on The Creative Curriculum® for Preschool, an award-winning preschool curriculum, which emphasizes the identification of the knowledge, skills, and concepts that are important for children to acquire in literacy, math, science, social studies, the arts, and technology.

In Literacy, our teachers focus on vocabulary and language, phonological awareness, letters, words, print, comprehension, books and other texts, and sources of enjoyment.

For Mathematics, we work on numbers; patterns and relationships; geometry and spatial awareness; measurement; and data collection, organization, and representation.

With Science, children learn about physical science, life science, and earth and the environment.

In Social Studies, lessons emphasize spaces and geography, people and how they live, people and the environment, and people and the past.

The Arts offer us an opportunity to expose children to dance, music, drama, and the visual arts.

Our students learn an awareness of technology, basic operations and concepts, technological tools, and people and technology.

By offering a mix of play-based learning and structured study, children who have participated in our program at Beginning Steps are well-prepared for the more rigorous environment of kindergarten.  These days, children are expected to enter the school system more ready-to-learn than ever before.  Our children are prepared to take on this challenge.