Children's Discovery Academy

10/27/2026

New!
Our School-Age program now has transportation to and from St. Louis Public Schools!
Your child, attending Kindergarten until they turn 13, can attend:
🚌 Before School
🚌 After School
🚌 Early Release days
🚌 School Delays
🚌 Snow Days
🚌 Scheduled days off like 11/3, Winter Break, Spring Break, and Summer Vacation
Contact us today if you are interested:
https://app.tryplayground.com/listings/ZTGU3sTDpYfFfEFv9Pm0

10/25/2026

Remember to drop off your bottles and cans today at noon, please. 😊💚

10/22/2026

Let's play "Never Have I Ever", childcare version:

If you have ever experienced any of these, please consider donating to help keep us (a 501(c)3 nonprofit) open, so Gratiot doesn't have to keep playing this "game".

❤️ Never have I ever had to try to figure out how to find the childcare I need.
🧡 Never have I ever had to decide between paying an important bill and paying for childcare.
💛 Never have I ever declined opportunities at work because I didn't have childcare.
💚 Never have I ever been on more than one waitlist for childcare, desperately hoping to get in somewhere.
💙 Never have I ever had to miss work because I suddenly didn't have childcare.
💜 Never have I ever felt left behind because I was struggling with childcare and there was no help for me or my family.

Please play this "game" with your friends, family, coworkers, and neighbors. Childcare is essential infrastructure that keeps our economy running.
Donate here to help keep us running:
https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/C4LL72ZNZMR8N
Donations of $50 or more will receive a donation letter for tax purposes.
If you would rather donate goods:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/14VyNchzToN1uOvdS9xl--F1gS95dqopdp8d_7FGFBEQ/edit?usp=sharing

Please donate to CDA to ensure Gratiot area families and employers have access to quality Early Childhood Education. Children's Discovery Academy is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, and donations over $50.00 will receive a donation receipt.

10/22/2026

One of our wonderful families made this flyer to start a can and bottle drive. Please consider helping with this in some way- sharing it with your networks, collecting and dropping off cans, and helping to take them back!

10/14/2026

Can you help keep quality Early Childhood Education available to Gratiot County families by giving $20 today?
Donate today to make a difference in the life of a child tomorrow!
https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/C4LL72ZNZMR8N

10/13/2026

We rely heavily on Alma's Dial-A-Ride (Alma Transit Center) for our school-age students and some of our teachers. Right now, they are hiring qualified candidates to drive their buses. This will help some of our families with before- and after-school transportation for their children, increasing their ability to work. It will also help some of our teachers pick up extra shifts if a coworker is sick.

Please share the information from Alma Transit below with anyone who may be interested in this work. Here is the link to the posting and the information on the page is copied and pasted below:
https://myalma.org/employment.php

Part-time Transportation Driver
The City of Alma is seeking a Part-time Transportation Driver

Position Summary
Under the general supervision of the Transportation Director, drives a pre-arranged route, accepts radio dispatched requests for service, and safely transports passengers within the designated service area. Collects fares from passengers, makes daily inspections of the vehicle and completes vehicle logs. Serves as Dispatcher when needed.

The complete job description and employment application are listed below.

Starting wage is $18.58
Deadline: Open until filled

The City of Alma is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Return a completed employment application to:

Cheri Rayner, Human Resources Manager
525 E Superior St.
Alma, MI 48801
or
[email protected]

City of Alma, Michigan | Employment Page

10/07/2026

Don't let Children's Discovery Academy become another Gratiot County statistic!!
72% of Gratiot County childcare providers close their doors- making it harder for families, employers, and our community to thrive!!
Our friends at Data-Driven Decisions, L3C also shared that Gratiot County's childcare providers have a less than 10% opening rate!

Bottom line- when one childcare closes, it is not easily replaced.
If we want different statistics, we need to act now!

10/07/2026

We absolutely loved our partnership with the Gratiot County Community Garden this year, and hope to partner again in the future!!

It’s the last week before school begins; so the last week with our friends from Children's Discovery Academy. They have been incredibly helpful in the garden. We picked veggies and fed the compost bin, learned about how much our food weighs with our new scale and found insects!

We dropped off their harvest for the food pantry today. Tomatoes, green beans, zucchini, and cherry tomatoes 😊

Our garden will continue to grow into the fall.

10/06/2026

We have contacted all the families on our waiting list, and still have openings!
5 openings for children ages birth to 18 months
8 openings for children ages 18 months to 3 years old.
7 openings for children ages 3-5 years old.
11 openings for children ages 6-13 years old. (Attending Kindergarten through 6th grade.)
Our comprehensive program offers hands-on play-based early childhood education in a center licensed by the State of Michigan, quality rated "Enhancing Quality- Validated" by Great Start to Quality. Our extended hours cater to family's work schedules. We provide healthy meals that are reimbursed by the food program. Our classrooms have low ratios for more individualized care. Our qualified teachers participate in 24 hours of professional development annually.
Call us today to schedule a tour, or click here to start the enrollment process: https://app.tryplayground.com/listings/ZTGU3sTDpYfFfEFv9Pm0

07/24/2025

Dear CDA Families and Teachers,

Tomorrow, our teacher, Ms. Sasha, will be working her last day at CDA.

Sasha joined us in June of 2021 when we had only been open for 4 months and needed a Lead Teacher. She took on the Pathfinders Team Lead Teacher role for the summer while another teacher was on maternity leave. Ms. Sasha has stepped in to help out each summer since. Last May, Sasha graduated with her teaching degree and is pursuing her dream of teaching high school English. This fall, you will find Ms. Sasha exhibiting her amazing talents in a Michigan High School.

We have a favor to ask. If you have an extra $5 or so, could you help Ms. Sasha through her GoFundMe to pay for moving costs? She has supported herself through college and needs a little help getting to her dream job. If you don't have an extra $5, please consider liking or sharing the post to help Ms. Sasha out.

Here is the link:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-sasha-start-her-teaching-career

Please wish Ms. Sasha well and thank her for helping CDA get to this point, and for being a great Pathfinder teacher for our summer program! We will certainly miss her!

We are looking to raise some money to help Sasha move to a new home by her new teac… Shahib Blount needs your support for Help Sasha Start Her Teaching Career