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Clubhouse Kids is a Maryland State Department of Education – Office of Child Care (MSDE-OCC) licensed child-care company, and a proud participant of MSDE's - Maryland Excels "Check for Quality Child Care" program.
In addition, our curriculum is aligned with MSDE's focus on Early Childhood Education and includes exemplary safety, security, and cleanliness practices that meet or exceed all state, local, and National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) guidelines.
We welcome you to visit Clubhouse Kids to see why our child care program is the right choice for your family.
Clubhouse Kids provides high-quality Child Care and Summer Camp services to area children in Frederick County, Maryland. We provide this care at our 5 Frederick, MD child care centers. Four in-school-located child care centers, and one all-ages "stand-alone" center:
Additionally, we are proud to boast that at all our centers, we schedule staffing to maintain higher than the MSDE-OCC required staff-to-child ratio during all school year and summer camp child care sessions.
In addition to providing school-age care to the children attending the schools listed above, at our Clubhouse Kids @ Gas House Pike location we offer school-age care through Clubhouse Kids bus service to children attending any of these 3 additional Frederick, MD area schools:
During the summer, Clubhouse Kids offers an outstanding summer camp program to all Frederick, MD-area children who have completed kindergarten and will be entering 1st grade through 6th grade in the upcoming fall.
Soon-to-be-kindergarteners can enroll in our younger-than-school-age summer camp program which does not include weekly trips, but DOES include weekly visits from the Kona Ice man, weekly visits from the FCPS Bookmobile, plenty of outdoor summer play & water play, and our annual Petting Zoo that visits our center with ponies for pony rides, goats, pigs, chickens, and more!
Throughout each summer, our school-age summer camp kids have field trips planned for at least 3 days per week, typically heading to the pool twice each week, and to different destinations each week like Sky Zone, Chuck E. Cheese, Ledo Pizza, Dairy Queen, bowling, Hot Fired Arts, laser tag, waterslide parks, zoos, and more!
On summer days when the kids remain at the center, they'll have a blast taking part in various theme day and spirit day events and activities that occur throughout summer, or enjoying a great game with friends on a Clubhouse Kids air-hockey table, or ping pong table, or playing with one of the many other games, toys, books, and other activities at the center!
There comes a time in most every parent's life, when they look at their young child and realize that they need help setting the child on the path to social and academic success. They come to the realization that they need more than just a babysitter, they need professional educators who are experts in the field of early childhood education. Clubhouse Kids teachers are exactly that.
Our teachers are dedicated individuals who love caring for children, love to teach, and have devoted their lives to the education of young children. In fact, many are parents too!
In addition, each of our teachers have completed hours and hours of classroom study in the area of early childhood education, and many have completed, or are in the process of completing, their Bachelor's degree.
Having a team of outstanding staff members at each Clubhouse Kids location helps to ensure a high-quality child care program for your child and your family. That’s why we make it a top priority to hire only the best of the best! Reliability, excellent communication skills, the ability to problem solve, and a clear understanding of child development are only some of the qualities we look for in the dedicated professionals who run day-to-day activities at our centers.
When forming a team to operate a Clubhouse Kids school year or summer camp program, a tremendous amount of thought, planning, and effort goes into creating the perfect group of individuals. During this process, a Clubhouse Kids staff development team works tirelessly to create a well-matched group that will strive to continually meet, and exceed, the needs of the Clubhouse Kids location.
A common hurdle in the child care industry is staff retention. At Clubhouse Kids, the majority of our staff members came to us by referral from valued sources such as existing staff members, school personnel, and families within our programs. We are very proud of our low staff turnover rate.
For all Clubhouse Kids child care center staff members, the hiring process includes:
Upon employment with Clubhouse Kids, staff members must agree to maintain a specific number of continuing education hours per year (the number of hours is determined by the MSDE-OCC, and by the employee’s job title/position).
In addition, we provide our child care center Teachers and Directors with:
Each child care center team consists of dedicated professionals who continually raise the bar, working to build exciting and enthusiastic programs for children of all ages. Our staff members are specialists who are highly qualified, expertly trained, and committed to creating lifelong memories and educational experiences with the children in their care.
We invite you to contact us, and plan a visit to one of our centers, today!
In late 2009, a group of parents began meeting regularly to discuss the possibility of opening a new charter school in Frederick County, Maryland. After many meetings and much planning, in the summer of 2010 they announced their intention to create, and then legally formed, the Frederick Classical Charter School (FCCS).
In preparing for their impending opening, the new FCCS Board Members began to look for a fresh new approach to before and after school care for the children that would be attending the school. They didn't want to follow the same old path to before & after care that the public school system had followed, especially after hearing stories of staff at those centers lost in their cell phones while they read Facebook posts, ate their fast food nuggets, and let the children run loose.
Meanwhile, Aimee & Chris Dunn of Frederick County, Maryland had been looking for just the right school in which to open their first in-school-located before and after school child care program. Aimee had been in the child care industry for over 23 years, with about 20 of those years employed with the same before & after school child care company in Montgomery County, Maryland, followed by 3 years at an all-ages stand-alone center in Frederick, MD.
While with her Montgomery County employer, Aimee had assisted in the opening of several of the company's over 30 in-school-located child care centers. Throughout that time she had been a valuable mentor to the staff at each of those centers, as well as their supervisor as they developed and grew in their careers.
Then, while with her Frederick County employer, she again worked in a supervisory position, overseeing and mentoring approximately 15 staff, as they also, developed and grew in their careers.
Eventually, FCCS board members and Aimee & Chris got in touch with each other and had their first meeting, and soon afterwards, Clubhouse Kids LLC was formed.
Finally, after surpassing FCPS-Board of Education hurdles, the FCCS school was approved to open in August 2013 for school year 2013-2014, and the FCCS Board Members chose to open with Clubhouse Kids as their on-site Before & After School Child Care provider.
So, in August 2013 the Frederick Classical Charter School officially opened its doors with Clubhouse Kids as their on-site before & after school child care provider!
Clubhouse Kids opened with a goal of establishing an environment in which the children could laugh and learn while enriching their young lives in club-like activities that utilized the principles of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEM/STEAM), in addition to activities centered around health & physical fitness. All this, combined in a program that offered a comprehensive homework study-time as well, with the Clubhouse Kids staff providing support.
Immediately upon opening, acceptance into the Clubhouse Kids @ Frederick Classical Charter School program became sought after not only by those who were in need of child care, but by those who realized how important it is for a child care facility to provide children with stimulating, educational, and fun social interactions, as well as excellent child care.
Fast-forward three years, and after hearing about how popular the Clubhouse Kids @ Frederick Classical Charter School child care program was, another area charter school, Monocacy Valley Montessori Public Charter School, reached out to Clubhouse Kids to inquire abount opening a location inside their school. That center opened, became very popular also, and led to a third charter school, Carroll Creek Montessori Public Charter School, who reached out as well!
At that time, that was all three Frederick County, MD public charter schools, and all three were (and still are) very popular, sought-after Clubhouse Kids school-age child care centers!
In late 2019 and early 2020 we all started hearing the terms "Coronavirus" and "COVID-19". As this terrible new virus began to hit our area, MD Governor Larry Hogan made the decision to close all schools after Friday, March 13, 2020 (at first it was only to be for 2-weeks). All 3 in-school located Clubhouse Kids centers were required to remain closed until further notice.
Within a few weeks, many area stand-alone child care centers were told they were allowed to re-open in order to care for children of essential workers, of course with strict COVID-19-related guidelines in place. However, since all Clubhouse Kids centers were located inside schools, they were required to remain closed since schools had been deemed "off limits" to all.
Soon, Clubhouse Kids' owners Chris & Aimee Dunn began preparing to search for an available stand-alone space in which to open their first all-ages stand-alone child care center. They had been discussing the idea for years.
On approximately Friday July 17th they contacted a local commercial real estate agent to assist with their search, and on the following Monday they were told that a local "Pump It Up" facility was preparing to close permanently due to the pandemic and shut-downs. The Pump It Up facility was (coincidentally) located approximately 200 yards away from the Clubhouse Kids @ FCCS in-school child care center...exactly where Chris & Aimee wanted their new center to be!
Their lease for the new space was signed in September, they took occupancy in October, and opened the doors to the public in November! On opening day the first 2 enrolled children were welcomed at the new center with socially-distanced open arms! Also welcomed, was a journalist and a photographer from the Frederick News Post newspaper who arrived to cover the story of our new center and published a great article about it.
Since opening, many new children have been welcomed to the new center each week, and we look forward to welcoming many more!
In the spring of 2022, weather was warming, birds were chirping, trees were budding, the pandemic was slowly beginning to fade, and another new area charter school was preparing for their August 2022 grand opening. They had met with Clubhouse Kids over the winter, and in April 2022 we announced our next new school-age center, "Clubhouse Kids @ Sabillasville Environmental School - A Classical Charter", which opened August 17, 2022!
With this additional new school opening, we welcomed many Sabillasville families to our Clubhouse Kids family, and we continue to cheerfully invite all of our families to join us in following our company motto, which is to... Laugh, Learn, and Grow with Us!
Clubhouse Kids' philosophy is based on building trusting relationships, as well as partnering with each family that we serve. We do this by providing responsive, individualized care for all children, and by helping them grow into valuable young adult members of the community, while building quality, lasting relationships with our families.
We ensure the safety and well-being of each child in our care, and create early learning environments that support and encourage learning through play, exploration, and intentional teaching experiences that are based on developmentally appropriate practices for each child's age and skill level.
We understand that children thrive and develop a stronger self-esteem when they receive quality child care from highly qualified professionals who know that children need to be nurtured and cared for on an individual basis.
We welcome children of all abilities, and pledge to maintain an inclusive environment for all.
We do not discriminate on the basis of disability, special needs, culture, or any other reason.
Words truly can't express how grateful I am that a preschool like this exists. I thought that a place like this was a mythical unicorn that parents searched for, but never found.
Debra Banks
I want to take this opportunity to thank you and your staff for all you have done for my daughter. I am in awe at how much Lauren has grown both emotionally and intellectually over the past year, and I KNOW that Clubhouse Kids was a tremendous part of it.
Steven King
Thank you for all that you do to make us confident in leaving our children in your care. :-)
Evelyne Crooks
Come the end of the day, you guys always have my kids wanting to come back to Clubhouse Kids for more tomorrow!
Eileen Lombardi
Laser tag sounded like a lot of fun! Thanks for going above and beyond with your program!
Amanda Young
I just want to say thank you again for your wonderful after school program. Have a great weekend!
Karen Angulo
Thanks for being an AWESOME club leader, I love going to aftercare every day, and I hope the fun never stops!
Alex Angulo
We truly appreciate your help during the school year. Annika loves Clubhouse Kids and thinks the world of you (as do we). Have a wonderful summer!
The Matthews Family