New child care open in Forest City

New child care open in Forest City Main Photo

20 Jan 2023


News, Blog

After roughly two years of updating and construction, Little Angel’s Child Care and Preschool owners Katie and Carl Douglas opened their third location on the northern edge of Forest City in October.

“I would encourage anyone who’s been here before to come see it because it’s awesome, night and day difference,” director Brittany Brunscheon said. “It’s really a blessing to have all this space to play with so that we can best figure out how to serve the community.”

This development has assisted in filling the area’s great need for child care and serves infants through school-age children.

“Parents should be excited about another option in Forest City, and they should feel confident that the kids are going to be safe, have fun and keep developing,” said Brunscheon.

However, Little Angel’s serves other communities as well, including Britt, Garner and Lake Mills, whose care centers are full. The facility offers four classrooms with a maximum capacity of 150 children and can increase to nine classrooms if needed.

Brunscheon has worked primarily with adolescents in behavioral healthcare for 16 years, and wished to have a more stable schedule, making the opening at Little Angel’s “a good fit.”

“I really enjoyed the transition to early childhood,” said Brunscheon. “It’s really amazing going into the infant room and watching week-to-week the development of those four-month-olds to nine-month-olds. And with the three-year-olds, it’s fun to watch them as they play and explore.”

Little Angel’s uses the Procare: Childcare App, which allows the staff to directly contact and update parents throughout the day. The staff notifies parents of meals, diaper changes, moods and activities and shares progress pictures.

Each staff member is CPR and first aid certified and have completed a required essentials of early childhood care class. The care center also participates in the CACFP food program, ensuring the children receive well-balanced, nutritious meals.

The facility maintains a daily schedule for the children. Breakfast is served at 7 a.m., and the kids have the option to go back to sleep or enjoy freeplay before the bus comes to pick up the school age children 7:45 a.m.

The other children are then split up into their classrooms. Two-year-olds focus on physical, emotional and communication skills, as well as basic colors. The three-year-olds have more

structured activities that focus on the alphabet, counting and matching while continuing to build their emotional and motor skills.

When school is over, some children come back for the after-school program.

“The energy really comes from the staff,” said Brunscheon. “They’re really passionate about watching kids learn and having fun and providing a safe environment that kids want to be in.”

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