Child Care, Head Start
&
Children's Learning Projects Experience

Our early childhood educational and learning-based project experience includes:

Blue Springs School District Special Services Center, Blue Springs, MO
Provided consultation and design supervision to the Hollis Miller Group architectural firm to create a 33,000 square foot building for children with disabilities. The building will house over 200 early childhood special education students ages 3-5 years and 16 multi-handicapped students ages 3-21 years. Speech/language, occupational, and physical therapy are provided in the building. The site is wooded and will allow space for two outdoor gardens to meet the needs of this diverse population.

Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital, Albany, GA
Provided consultation to this regional hospital on the expansion of their existing childcare program. An employee survey was conducted and an architectural program was written for a building for 171 additional children ages 6 weeks to 12 years.

Better Kids Drop-In Child Care Center, Ft. Mitchell, KY
Provided construction documents and equipment specifications for the renovation of a drop in child care center located in a fitness club.

Grand Targhee Resort Child Care Center, Alta, WY
Provided renovation documents, cost estimation, room layouts, furniture specifications and equipment orders for a drop in childcare facility at a ski resort.

WCCA Head Start Hendersonville, NC
Provided consultation to a local architect to create the schematic floor layout for a Head Start program and an Early Head Start program.

Kids Health 2020 Cleveland, OH
Provided technical assistance and consultation on the start-up and design of an urban Early Head Start center and a play center for children and their families.

Spartanburg Regional Health Care System, Spartanburg, SC
Provided schematic floor layouts, equipment and start-up budgets, construction cost estimation and conceptual drawings for a new child care center to serve 250 children.

Lake County YMCA, Waukegan, IL
Developed full architectural construction documents, cost estimations, furniture specifications, costume design and equipment orders for a 23,000 square foot children’s play and discovery center.  The center will include a pretend village, construction play, interactive cooking, an art studio, water tables, a train village, and an outdoor garden.  The theme is based around environmental education and included writing school field trip curriculums.

Education Institute, Inc., Republic, MO
Provided consultation and technical assistance to this organization for the start-up of a child care center. Information was provided on feasibility studies, start-up budgeting, operational budgets and design of the physical space both indoors and outdoors.

Gertrude Nielsen Child Care& Learning Center, Northbrook, IL
Provided consultation on the physical environment of this corporate child care center and provided a design workshop for infant teachers on the renovation of the outdoor play space.

Friendship Circle, West Bloomfield, MI
Provided consultation and plan review of a recreational building for children with disabilities. A 20,000 square foot building serves as a therapy and activity center along with a Life Village where children with special needs can have fun while practicing important life skills through role-play. The site will also be used for school field trips for children with disabilities. Consultation focused on the concept of universal design in all aspects of therapy such as water play, sand play, motor therapy and art therapy. A project visit is planned to collect design information to create an outdoor play garden at this site that will be accessible to all.

Herndon Career Center, Child Development Center, Raytown, MO
Providing consultation to the Raytown school district on the renovation of their child development center.

Loving Arms Daycare, Junction City, KS
Provided consultation to an existing childcare center on possible expansion into a different facility. This would include not only a building renovation, but also a program expansion. Topics of discussion included writing a business plan, writing policies and procedures, developing start-up and operational budgets, market feasibility, procuring a loan and facility renovation. Time was devoted to reviewing the existing business plan, reading operational policies and evaluating budgets.

Sunshine Center, Independence, MO
Provided consultation to a childcare facility serving both typically developing and children with special needs on the use of their existing space and the possibility of expansion of the project into an addition.

Managua, Nicaragua, Children's Project
White Hutchinson Leisure & Learning Group has been hired to study the culture and existing leisure programs for children in this Central American city.

Lake County Parks Department, Lake County, IN
Started the initial design process for development of a 20,000 square foot children's discovery play center for children ages birth through eight to be located in the Three Rivers Park in Northern Indiana. The center will include a pretend village, construction play, interactive cooking, an art studio, water tables, a train village, an outdoor play garden and an outdoor wetland's learning lab. The building is being designed as a 'green building' to be LEED certified and will have an environmental theme based around children and the arts. This will be the country's first admission-based children's discovery play (edutainment) center developed by a municipal parks department.

Silver Lake Drop-In Child Care Center, Ft. Mitchell, KY
Provided construction documents and equipment specifications for the renovation of a drop in child care center located in a fitness club.

Pikes Peak Community College, Centennial Campus Child Development Center, Colorado Springs, CO
The Centennial Campus currently operates a campus laboratory, child development center for 53 children. Since the center does not currently meet the demand from students and college staff and faculty, the college foundation retained White Hutchinson to conduct a feasibility study to project current and future demand, evaluate the existing center, recommend a development program, project development costs and examine affordability issues.

Roper Early Learning Center, Roper St. Francis Health Care, Charleston, SC
Evaluated the early learning center at a hospital for a possible renovation project

Beirut, Lebanon, Children's Social Services Program
White Hutchinson has been selected to serve as program and design consultants to a new not-for-profit children's social services organization in Beirut, Lebanon called Children Interactive Community (CIC). It is being founded and funded by a group of businessmen from throughout the Arab world. CIC's mission will be to enhance the education and life skills of poor Arab child, including teaching tolerance and problem solving skills. The program will be neighborhood-based, emphasizing partnering with other NGOs (non-governmental organizations) and the government. There are currently 150 NGOs operating in the greater Beirut area.

CIC's program will include home invention; a model childcare; development of neighborhood libraries, toy libraries and computer centers; assistance in capacity building for other NGOs that work with children; teacher and social worker training; development of neighborhood play and recreation facilities and enhancements to existing school environments and curricula. This comprehensive approach to children and their families will require partnering with the mosaic of NGO's, political and religious organizations and the government.

White Hutchinson's was considered a perfect fit for CIC's needs due to our extensive and broad-based experience with the design and programming of children's edutainment, enrichment, learning and recreation facilities, our experience with both family and children's social service programs and not-for-profit organizations, and our cultural experience in the Middle East.

Pikes Peak Community College, Rampart Range Campus, Colorado Springs, CO
This new college campus opened in 1998 and does not currently have on-site child care. The college foundation retained White Hutchinson to conduct a feasibility study for a new child development center and to recommend a site for the new center.

Gloucester, MA
Provided consultation to an existing child care center about center relocation and possible expansion into an industrial park. Included an evaluation of a chosen site for location.

The Berkeley Group, LLC, Herndon, VA
Reviewed the business plan and start up budgets for a new child care center.

Center for Children's Services, Danville, IL
Provided technical assistance and consultation to the board and staff on options for child care expansion. WHLLG has worked with this agency for over three years on creating a plan for the start-up funding, design and budget of a new child care facility. A market feasibility study was conducted and we determined that the market area did not have sufficient unmet demand to support the development of a market-rate child care center.

Sutter Lakeside Early Head Start, Lakeport, CA
Provided consultation in collaboration with a local architect on the creation of an interior design for the renovation of a bank into an Early Head Start center. Provided a master plan for an outdoor area to be developed as an infant-toddler garden.

Metro Morning Star Church, Chantilly, VA
Created a master plan for a church community that includes custom portable buildings for the children's church, a children's play and discovery center and a children' water park.

Children's Play Room, Private Residence, Jackson Hole, WY
Provided cost estimates, interior renovation plans, furniture specifications and room layout for an 1100 square foot children’s playroom in a private residence.

Gould Evans Architectural Firm, Kansas City, MO
Provided consultation to a local architectural firm on the master plan for an urban childcare center:

Head Start Centers, Peoria, IL
Designed plans for renovation of part of a church, an office building and a house as (1) an infant/toddler Early Head Start Center, and (2) two Head Start Centers.

Child Care Association of Wichita, KS
Evaluated existing building for renovation project to include Head Start classrooms. Trained infant-toddler Early Head Start staff on creating indoor environments.

Salvation Army, Omaha, NE
Evaluated existing child care facility and conducted training on the design of indoor environments for infants and toddlers.

West Valley Fitness and Wellness Center West Valley, UT
Providing schematic design work, equipment selection and budget projections for the construction of a drop-in child care facility for children up to age five and a "hands-on" play area for children under the age or eight in this new 96,000 square foot facility.

Nibbles Play Café, Wheeling, IL
Provided construction drawings, cost estimations, room layouts and furniture/equipment specifications for a children’s play café.  Plans include a changing dramatic play area, performance area, water tables, a giant train table and an infant/toddler play space.

Foothills Mall, Tucson, AZ
Designed a 4,000 sf developmentally appropriate children's play area for the food court area that includes water play; a pretend village with supermarket, video rental and restaurant; construction and an infant-toddler area.

NASA Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, FL
Provided technical assistance to the Visitor Complex on the design of the physical environment and how it affects usage by children and families, child safety issues and the developmental appropriateness of presentations to children.

Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum, Springfield, IL
Served as design consultants for Mrs. Lincoln's Attic, a special area where children 9 and under can be engaged in hands-on activities in the life and times of Lincoln. Events include pretend dress-up, miniature play, a pretend cabin and cabin building. BRC Imaginative Arts is the show producer for the Museum.

Millard Public Schools Foundation, Omaha, NE
Provide consultation and schematic plan review for a new early education center.

Lutheran Church, Paris, IL
Provided technical assistance to the church on the planning phases of developing a new child care facility.

Doha, Qatar
Prepared schematic building and discovery play garden design, development cost estimate and operating revenue and cost budgets for a model child care facility in this Gulf State country. Extensive cultural research was conducted with parents, children and the educational community. Research is currently be conducted on development of a culturally appropriate curriculum for the facility.

Pizza Hut, various locations
Served as design consultants on development of a new restaurant prototype that will include developmentally appropriate play areas for children and be child and family friendly.

LouLou Al Dugong's, Dubai, U.A.E.
Provided construction documents, furniture specifications, cost estimation, room layouts, costume design and equipment orders for a 25,000 square foot children’s edutainment center.  Events include pretend fishing, a construction zone, children’s library, a dinosaur dig, face painting, children cooking and pretend henna.  Staff selection was done by traveling to India, Thailand and Morocco to select candidates and then train them in Play Leadership.

Grace Bible Church,Richmond, TX
Provided a schematic master plan for the expansion and renovation of the church Sunday school and early education program. Includes a children's play and discovery center that will used to attract new membership.

Holy Trinity Parish, Lenexa, KS
Reviewed schematic floor plans for the early education center and provided recommendations for improvement.

Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital, Albany, GA
Provided consultation to the hospital on the expansion of an employee supported child care center.

Fun Time Early Childhood Academy, Naples, FL
Created final design documents and managed the construction process for the completion of a 27,300 square foot early care and education center.  The center serves as  model for early literacy and the performing arts programs with young children.  The two story structure includes classrooms for children ages infancy through five years, an art studio, a children's library, a children's pull out performance stage, multi-purpose space that can be broken down into dance classrooms, a computer library, a parent resource room, and a teacher resource room.  There are three gardens for children on this site including a roof top garden for children ages 3-5 years.

Drop In Child Care Center, Covington, KY, area:
Provided on-site technical assistance to a business owner to create a drop in childcare center. Topics included reviewing the business plan, start-up and operational budgets and evaluating possible sites for a location.

Roper Early Learning Center, Roper St. Francis Health Care, Charleston, South Carolina
We performed an on-site building evaluation for the possible renovation of this childcare center. Work also included evaluation and feedback on proposed renovation of the outdoor play spaces.

Al-Khor Girls Private School, Doha, Qatar
Provided training and technical assistance for the start-up of the Pre-K and kindergarten classrooms at a new girls school.

Holy Trinity Catholic Parish, Lenexa, KS
Provided consultation to the parish on schematic drawings for a new early education center for preschool children.  Included a written evaluation of the current building layout to create space that better meets the needs of the different types of programs being offered.

Grace Community Bible Church, Richmond, TX
Provided site layout for an expansion of church and childcare programs that serve children up to age five years.

Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain
Provided schematic designs and cost estimates for a 25,000 square foot children’s edutainment center.  Included an outdoor adventure play garden and spray grounds on the roof of the building.

Totter Otterville, Covington, KY
Provided renovation documents, room layouts, furniture specification, costume design and equipment orders for a children’s play and discovery space in a locally owned toy store. 

Smart Kids, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Assisted the Al Kohair Group with design, operations, consulting and curriculum development for Smart Kids in Jarir Mall.  Smart Kids is a new concept that includes a walk-in children play and discovery center, a toy store and coffee shop for mothers and nannies.

Children’s Play and Discovery Center, Lagos, Nigeria
Provided schematic design documents and cost estimations for a 45,000 square foot children play and discovery center that will also include a children’s learn-to-swim pool and outdoor naturalized playground.

In addition to the above experience, Vicki L. Stoecklin, our Child Development and Education Director, has 31 years experience in early childhood and primary education.