Child care changes celebrated in Cloquet

After nearly two years of searching for a new space, it took workers only 10 weeks or so to turn a former furniture store into a new home for the Cloquet Kids Corner and Li'l Lumberjacks Learning Center programs.

The cavernous empty space at Pine Tree Plaza in Cloquet is now a long winding hallway lined with bright classrooms - Kids Corner on the right, Li'l Lumberjacks on the left - ending in an indoor gym for kids.

Cloquet Community Education director Erin Bates said it's going really well so far. Li'l Lumberjacks opened Sept. 6 and Kids Corner opened Sept. 7, the first day of school.

"We were really happy we were able to move in on time," Bates said. "We just shut down Li'l Lumberjacks for two days to complete the move. It was so nice that the football team and Honor Society helped; otherwise, we joke that we'd still be moving."

Li'l Lumberjacks, which serves children six weeks old through Pre-K, had been housed at Cloquet High School for close to 20 years. With four large classes aging into the high school this year, the school needed more space, so the decision to move Li'l Lumberjacks into a new location was made over a year ago.

Adding both the Washington and Churchill Kids Corner programs to the new child care facility consolidated three programs under one roof, making the new space more convenient for parents and more efficient for Community Ed, which oversees all of the school district's child care programs.

Bates said they've had positive feedback from many families.

"A lot were pleasantly surprised by how big and how bright the facility is," she said. "Even the families coming from the high school say it's a step up. It's really nice and each room is so well-organized."

At full capacity, the new space will house eight infants, 28 toddlers, 20 preschoolers and 105 school-age children at a time. There are six rooms for school-age care and four for Li'l Lumberjacks, plus the indoor gym and an overflow classroom. They are working to fence green space across the back parking lot for outdoor play, and Pine Valley's trails and the Northwoods Credit Union Arena are nearby for other activities.

Both programs have a waiting list at the moment, but people can call to be added to the list. Bates said they expect to start admitting more children, once they hire additional staff for both programs. There is a large storage room that could be converted into more classrooms if needed, but Bates said she isn't ready to go there yet.

In the meantime, they're planning to add crosswalks between the front door and the parking lot, which they share with Super One and the other businesses in the Pine Tree Plaza.

"Really, at this end it's mostly our families," Bates said. "But parking is definitely not an issue."