The Bigelow Cooperative Day Care Center is a non-profit day care center committed to providing an extended family experience and a safe and caring environment for children. The program is designed to nurture the cognitive, physical, social, and emotional development of children from 11 months to kindergarten age. Parents take an active role both in and out of the classroom. Our goals include providing anti-bias, multicultural, and emergent curriculum, and to foster children's non-violent problem solving skills. We believe that children between the ages of one and five learn best through play and through interacting actively with a rich variety of learning materials provided by the teachers.
In admitting families and hiring teachers, Bigelow strives for cultural diversity, including representation based on race, gender, cultural heritage, religion, socioeconomic background, sexual preference, marital status, disabilities, and political beliefs.
We provide high quality education and care for toddlers and preschool-age children. We are accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and are committed to its high standards for quality education. As a small cooperative, we rely both on a committed staff and parent involvement to give the children caring individual attention.
Bigelow's program emphasizes each child's individual development and learning in a loving and nurturing environment. Each room has a routine which provides time for personal choices of play as well as more structured activities. Teachers emphasize age-appropriate social interactions, cultural awareness, and learning non-violent problem solving skills – all with an eye towards enhancing a child's positive self-image. By following the Creative Curriculum model we encourage creative development and offer anti-bias, emergent curriculum.
The Bigelow Community is committed to active policies of affirmative action and outreach to families of diverse cultural and economic backgrounds. Non-English speaking children are welcome.
Located at Christ Church, across the street from the Cambridge Common, Bigelow's facilities for 2008-09 consist of three classrooms, an indoor play-space, a kitchen, an office, and an outdoor playground. The children play outside daily, weather permitting, and often use the public playground on the Cambridge Common. They also take frequent walks around Harvard Square, as well as more adventurous field trips.
As members of a cooperative, all families at Bigelow are involved in the operation and governance of the Center. Each family participates in the classroom on a regular schedule, 2.5 hours per week (for 4 and 5 day enrollment) or every other week (for 2 and 3 day enrollment). Single parents are exempt from the work-time requirement. Committees of parents perform the support services for the Center (such as admissions, food, finance, physical space, etc.) and all families belong to one committee. In addition, families take turns preparing lunches at home, and all families participate in fundraising and in one work weekend a year.
As members of the Bigelow Community, parents and teachers meet together once a month to converse and set policy, ranging from questions of curriculum and building plans to staffing and budgetary issues. Two administrators take care of the day-to-day operations of the Center and implement community decisions.
Bigelow provides three healthy snacks during the day. Children participate in the communal lunch program or bring their own lunches. In the communal lunch program parents take turns cooking lunches at home for their child's group and bringing them in. The communal lunch is a reflection of Bigelow's multi-cultural ethnicity and curriculum. Children with allergies towards certain foods have the choice to join the communal lunch or bring in their own lunch bag. Through communal lunches we intend to:
Bigelow is open year round on weekdays with exception of the week before New Year's Day, the last week of August and 11 holidays. Bigelow is also closed on St. Patrick's Day for a Staff Development Day.
Children enroll in the Center for a twelve-month period, typically from September through August. Bigelow does not have a separate summer program.
Bigelow offers the following schedules on a full- or part-time basis:
Full Day 8:30-5:30
Regular Day 8:30-3:30
Early Drop-off 8:00-8:30
Late Pick-up 5:30-6:00
Disposable diapers are provided for a monthly fee.
Parent members pay all tuition fees on a monthly basis. A non-refundable deposit equal to one month tuition is required at the time of signing a twelve month contract. It will be applied towards the August tuition. Please see Enrollment and Tuition for more details.
In coordination with the Child Care Resource Center and other agencies, Bigelow offers voucher slots for eligible families. We also have Cambridge Community Partnership slots for income eligible families. If you think you are eligible for reduced tuition, please call the office and ask for a copy of the eligibility scale. Families who apply for a Voucher or CPC slot do not need to pay an application fee. (See the EEC Financial Assistance Policy Guide and EEC Income Eligibility Table for more information.)
