6561 Lake Michigan Drive, Allendale, Michigan 49401, United States
Licensed Facility Providing Quality Care 6 Weeks to 12 Years Old
Days/Hours
6:30 AM to 6 PM
Monday-Friday
Hello
Welcome
At ACC we focus on your child’s unique interests and abilities through hands-on, active learning and opportunities for self-expression. It’s our job to bring out their best!
ACC will focus on physical, cognitive, social and language development with weekly theme-based activities.
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Prices
Infants
Full Time: $230 3 days: N/A 2 days: N/A
Wobbler
Full Time: $230 3 days: $193 2 days: $130
Toddler
Full Time: $230 3 days: $193 2 days: $130
2.5
Full Time: $195 3 days: $145 2 days: $115
***Must be 100% independently potty trained to be in the following programs:
3's Preschool
Full Time: $185 3 days: $135 2 days: $100
4's Preschool
Full Time: $180 3 days: $130 2 days: $95
School age: Before School
Full Time: $65 3 days: $51 2 days: $41
School age: After School
Full Time: $85 3 days: $60 2 days: $45
School age: Before & After School
Full Time: $105 3 days: $80 2 days: $60
School age Summer Program
Full Time: $185 3 days: $135 2 days: $95
*ACC is open year round with NO extra charge for snow days or delays.
School break rates are the same as summer program rates.*
*10% discount off the oldest child when two or more children are enrolled.
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About Us
Director & Owner: Kelly Gilbert
ACC is a family owned business. Kelly is the owner and director of Allendale Child Care and Lauren Gilbert is the Assistant Director following in her mothers footsteps.
ACC is a family owned business. Kelly is the owner and director of Allendale Child Care and Lauren Gilbert is the Assistant Director following in her mothers footsteps.
"Communication is key to a successful child care arrangement. The parent and provider need to have a good working relationship so they can communicate and work together. Parent and provider need to exchange pertinent information in the child's life such as changes in routine, special events, or activities, as well as changes such as dea
"Communication is key to a successful child care arrangement. The parent and provider need to have a good working relationship so they can communicate and work together. Parent and provider need to exchange pertinent information in the child's life such as changes in routine, special events, or activities, as well as changes such as death, divorce, separation, moving, visitors, etc. All this information can be important in understanding the child's feelings, behavior, and well being. I invite you to share with me in writing, by phone, or schedule an appointment to discuss any of your child's individual needs while under my care."
-Kelly Gilbert
Kelly Gilbert earned her degrees in Child Development & Social Work. She has been in the child care field for 28 years.
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ACC is a family owned business. Kelly is the owner and director of Allendale Child Care and Lauren Gilbert is the Assistant Director following in her mothers footsteps.
ACC is a family owned business. Kelly is the owner and director of Allendale Child Care and Lauren Gilbert is the Assistant Director following in her mothers footsteps.
ACC is a family owned business. Kelly is the owner and director of Allendale Child Care and Lauren Gilbert is the Assistant Director following in her mothers footsteps.
Assistant Director: Lauren Gilbert
ACC is a family owned business. Kelly is the owner and director of Allendale Child Care and Lauren Gilbert is the Assistant Director following in her mothers footsteps.
Assistant Director: Lauren Gilbert
"Children need to feel safe and loved. I want our center to be the children's safe place while their parents are away at work, a place where they feel as much at home as they do with their parents. Here at ACC everyone is family and we want everyone who walks in to feel like they are apart of it. These kids are not only their parents prid
"Children need to feel safe and loved. I want our center to be the children's safe place while their parents are away at work, a place where they feel as much at home as they do with their parents. Here at ACC everyone is family and we want everyone who walks in to feel like they are apart of it. These kids are not only their parents pride and joy, but also ours. We want every kid who comes through our doors to feel loved and respected."
-Lauren Gilbert
Lauren Gilbert earned her degree in Early Childhood Education. She has been in the child care field for 5 years.
Our Lead Teachers
Infant: Michelle Flynn
I'm Miss Michelle, I am the lead in the Infant room here at ACC. I have worked in for Kelly and in child care since 2004. I have worked with and enjoyed all ages over the years, but I have found my true passion in the Infant room. All the first experiences the babies always brings great joy to my heart.
A little bit about me, I have two sons named Rylan and Holden. They are definitely all about sports, our weekends are spent watching hockey, playing baseball and soccer. They keep my husband and I super busy. I have been married to my husband Randy for almost 14 years. We love to take trips to Traverse City and explore fun new places there. In my spare time I like to read, shop, and relax.
Wobbler: Trinda Dejong
Hi! My name is Trinda! I am the lead teacher in the Wobbler room. I have been doing childcare for over 20 years. I have worked for Kelly for almost 5 years and absolutely love what I get to do everyday. I love that I get to teach and watch how much the kiddos change and develop each and everyday and the important role I play in their lives. We focus on play a lot, allowing them to learn and discover new things. We begin teaching circle time for short periods of times and introduce colors, shapes, counting, singing and books. We do crafts almost every day or sensory play.
A little bit about me. I have been with my husband for 24 years and we have 2 boys. Jordan is 24 and Nicholas is 20. My son Jordan is married and they are expecting their first baby, making me a soon to be grandma! I own my own photography business that I do on the side called Lovin Ink Photography and in my free time we like to spend it on our boat in the summer as much as possible with our family and friends.
Toddler: Kacy Vruggink
Hello! My name is Kacy Vruggink . I am the lead teacher in the Toddler room here at ACC. I am passionate about what I do and think each and every child deserves to feel loved and have the opportunity to learn and grow.
My son Zayden is two years old and being a mom is my greatest blessing. I spend my time hanging out with him and my family. Besides being a mom, I love to be outside, shop and read a good book. My son is my pride and joy and I understand that your children are your pride and joy as well.
In the toddler room I make sure to incorporate an age appropriate circle time daily. We are practicing shapes, colors, counting and include a story time based on the theme of the week. The kiddos LOVE circle time, every day they run to sit down because they are so excited. Also, I think it is just as important to be encouraging to the toddlers for them to begin independent skills, language development, and social skills.
Lead Teachers
2.5: Lauren Gilbert (co-lead)
My name is Lauren! I am the lead teacher in the 2.5 room, but I am also the Assistant Director here at ACC. I went to GRCC and got my degree in Early Childhood Education.
In the 2.5 room we work a lot on children's social interactions, emotions, cognitive development, fine motor and gross motor skills. Play is very important in children's life, they learn so much through playing with other children, so you will see your kiddos playing with all of our fun toys and watching the children interact with one another. Aside from playing we do crafts based on the themes of the week that are age appropriate for our 2.5's. We do circle time daily with the children, we read a book and ask questions throughout the story to get the kids engaged, we work on our alphabet, shapes, numbers, colors, and we love to sing and dance to songs! We are a potty training room so we are very excited to work with you to get your child potty trained!
A little about me I am the daughter of the owner and director Kelly Gilbert, as a kid my sister and I would always go to work with my mom to play with the kiddos at her center, which is what lead me to my career choice. I adore these little kiddos that we get to love on every day. When I am not at work I love to spend time with my family and friends, I love coffee, house hunting (zillow and pinterest are my favorite apps) and online shopping!
2.5: Grace Andrus (co-lead)
Hi! My name is Grace! I am the co-lead in the 2.5 room with Lauren. I am currently a senior at GVSU studying Communication Sciences and Disorders with a minor in Early Childhood Education and Business General. Aside from this coursework, I completed classes to become lead certified. I have always had a desire to work with children-I grew up in a family full of teachers, lots of cousins, and I am the oldest of four kids. I started working at ACC in 2019 and its one of the best decisions I’ve made. I’m blessed daily to be able to work with all these sweet kiddos. I love watching each child grow in so many ways and become increasingly independent.
We focus a lot on play in the 2.5 classroom. I believe young children learn best through experimental play. Play is such a vital aspect of young children’s lives as the child can learn about their environment and self through personal experiences with play. Play progresses through different stages-- unoccupied, solitary, onlooker, parallel, associative, and cooperative-- allowing the child to develop in various ways. It also allows the child to develop language with themselves, peers, and caregivers/teachers. Children need positive role models and reinforcement in order to prosper in their environment and I work every day to be the positive role model for these children. With this, I strongly believe it is important to note that all children learn, progress, and develop in various ways thus specific needs of each individual child needs to be assessed and met accordingly in the best, most efficient way possible. Through doing daily crafts, circle time, and other play activities, children will work on fine and gross motor skills, while also learning from observation of others around them including peers, parents, and teachers.
Aside from school and work, I am a big family person! My siblings are my world! I am a huge coffee and popcorn fanatic. I love being outdoors and especially camping. I also have a puppy-Sonny!
3's Preschool: Sammy Jo Brouwer
My name is Sammy Jo I am the lead in the Preschool 3's classroom. I graduated from Union High School, my plan was to go to GVSU with a scholarship to swim. Plans changed: I had the opportunity to move to South Africa, so I did. I volunteered at an orphanage and taught some of the most amazing kids how to read, write, do math and swim! Watching how eager those kids were to learn and to do better inspired me to want to continue to teach when I got back to America. When I got back, I finished my Child Development Associate courses online and have been working in childcare sense. I am truly blessed to be able to continue my passion of teaching here at ACC and watch the kids learn and grow.
A little more about me I have been married for 3 years and we have two fur babies. Our dogs' names are Wesson and Lola; as a family we do lots of camping, swimming, kayaking and hiking. I grew up with 4 siblings and our home always stayed busy. We baked all the time. I loved when my mom helped all of us make Christmas cookies, so that we could decorate them. When our dad would come home from work he would look at them and give us a score on creativity and taste!
A few of my favorite things are Starbucks, scary movies, Hobby Lobby, warm fuzzy socks, and obviously teaching!
4's Preschool: Sabrina Vander Weide
Welcome to the Preschool 4's room. My name is Sabrina and I am the lead teacher. In our room we learn a lot throughout the year. Our main goal is to get the children ready for Kindergarten (or young 5's). Each week we have a different theme that we talk about and have crafts to go with. Everyday we do circle time where we read a book with the kids, discussions that go along with our theme, calendar and weather. We introduce a new letter, number and word of the week. After 4-5 weeks we review what we have learned. We also teach them how to use scissors and how to write things such as their names, numbers, ABC's and sight words. There is also a lot of free play time. This is great for teaching them how to interact with others, share, problem solve and talk through their feelings with their peers.
A little about me I have been with ACC since October 2015 and absolutely love it! I have been married to my amazing husband for almost 14 years and we have 10.5 year old triplets. During the summer you can find us camping, boating, walking our Great Dane Duke and being outside. We also enjoy snowmobiling, traveling and just hanging out as a family.
Great.Start.Readiness.Program: Rachael Conley
Hello and Welcome to GSRP 4 year old Preschool! My name is Rachael Conley. I have been working with children for over 15 years. I have experience in all age groups, but Preschool has my heart! I have my Bachelor's Degree in Elementary Education from Ferris State University with an emphasis in Child Development. I have been an Assistant Teacher, Lead Teacher, Director during my time in Early Childhood Education. I worked with Kelly for five years before I went on to direct several centers. Then later after having my girls came to ACC to work with Kelly again. The past 3 years I have been blessed to be a stay at home Momma!
My husband Kyle and I have three kiddos, two girls and a boy. Riley who is 10, Kenzie who is 8 and Kasey who is 3. My family and I live in Jenison and my girls attend Jenison School District. Kasey will be enrolled here in the 3's Preschool at ACC.
Here's the link to see if your child qualifies to be apart of GSRP
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