New daycare now a licensed center on U.S. Highway 2

Nature Daycare on U.S. Highway 2 in Columbia Falls last month came through a seven-month process to become licensed by the state as a daycare center. This licensing came on the heels of their move into a new location in July.

As a center, a daycare provider must meet certain qualifications, including having experienced providers, owner Shanelle Palmer explained. A state standard curriculum is required in the classes.

“It’s very structured. Everything is done with curriculum in mind,” Palmer said.

The daycare also participates in the state food program, meaning meals are also regulated to meet nutritional standards.

Director Nicole Brown has 17 years of experience, and the primary teachers and care providers on staff are able to provide the experience to qualify as a center, Palmer said in an interview last week.

The staff grew from four or five to 20 when the daycare expanded.

In the course of the move, Nature Daycare went from a two small group daycares providing for about 30 families and caring for 12 children in each group to having 80 families enrolled and a headcount of between 65-70 children every day. Eighteen of those children are preschool-aged. Children come from Columbia Falls, Whitefish, and as far as Kila. The school had been looking to grow.

“We had been looking, because the need was there. We knew Columbia Falls needed childcare. This (building) became available in July and we jumped all over it,” Palmer said.

The move was a whirlwind of renovations, with a new wall being put in, and all of the walls and floors being painted by 15 people in only eight days, Palmer said. Some of the walls now feature murals.

A new state-of-the-art security system, which is being imported from Germany, will be installed in the next few weeks, and will operate from both inside and outside.

“We completely re-did everything,” Palmer said.

Nature’s facility went from around 1,200 square feet to 8,000, she noted.

One of the highlights of that expansion has been the ability to split up the classes.

“We’re able to give them each their own learning space,” Palmer said.

Another perk to becoming licensed as a center, Palmer said, is the availability of grants.

Nature also recently joined the Montana Early Childcare Registry Stars program, a state-level program to encourage childcare facilities to be better. Facilities are rated 1-5 stars, based on criteria related to the staff and facility. A daycare cannot register for the Stars program unless it is licensed.

Another aspect of becoming a licensed Center that Palmer and Brown highlighted is the ability to take state-assisted families.

“That’s huge, because daycare is expensive,” Palmer said.

In the long term, Nature plans to keep expanding.

“We’re looking for space to build,” Palmer said. “We want a building that would accommodate us, rather than us accommodating the building.”

Nature is licensed to care for 108 children at a time, but they don’t let classes get over 24 children.

They want to provide for the need, but Palmer said they won’t ever grow to capacity, because that’s not their goal. The preschool program is currently at capacity with 18 children.

Nature Daycare is licensed to care for children between 6 weeks and 12 years old, and offers an after school program for students from Ruder and Glacier Gateway elementary schools.

The children get help with homework and reading, so that when they get home they have time with their parents, Palmer explained.

They are also considering a summer camp for school-aged kids.

Providing for the need in the area is important in the long run as well.

“The [District 6] School Board approached us. They were concerned about daycares closing and people moving. They asked us for ideas and about why daycares keep closing,” Brown said.