Laker Louie Jr. is a new and improved childcare lab. Currently located at 3516 Powell Lane inside the Maranatha Christian Academy, the childcare lab is for children and students in the Childcare program. 

Tanille Ulm, the primary supervisor for this product and class, says Laker Louie Jr is a place where “facility children, as well as Lake Land College (LLC) student’s children, can come to the lab and for a short limited time parents won’t have to pay anything. However, Children from the community not affiliated with Lake Land will have to pay a fee.” 

At Laker Louie Jr., children ages three to five focus on Preschool topics. They focus on a letter, shape, and a number every week. They also do circle time, crafts and then learning stations throughout the day. She said they prioritize the play portion of childhood but also make sure the children are school ready. They also take the kids on little field trips and learn about careers. 

In Maranatha, Laker Louie Jr. begins at 8 a.m. and ends at noon; however, they are looking to expand in January. They will move to 1808 Broadway, where they will have more room to go for longer hours and be open for more age ranges. Ulm explains, “the new space will give us 4000 sq. feet of unoccupied playground space. So we are looking to create a pretty impressive outdoor playground.  

The cool thing is this expansion is happening all due to the ISAC (Illinois Student Assistance Commission) scholarship grant which Ulm mentions “Lake Land students can get their books, tuition, and gas for free for two years. So anyone pursuing [childcare] can get this grant. As part of the grant with the ICC Illinois Community College Board, we received six hundred ninety-six thousand dollars, which allowed us to get some equipment for our lab.” These two grants will allow more students to enter child care and expand Laker Louie Jr. 

While going through the child education program, Ulm mentions that students come up with a binder of lesson plans. Students then have practicum hours where they must implement them in a classroom. This teaches childcare students how to lead in real time. 

Ulm explains how Laker Louie Jr. will “be more beneficial, especially if [laker students] are finishing their hours and getting a good connection. So they leave my program with a pretty thick three-ring binder of lesson plans that they can unpack in the lab.” This binder is also theirs to keep so that it can help them in future classrooms. 

If interested in Laker Louie Jr., you can visit their Facebook page or email Tanille Ulm at [email protected]