Preschool Welcomes Celebrity Reader Mike Spekhardt

Mike Spekhardt, former Sparta Township Mayor and current Sussex County Community College Board of Trustees Member recently visited the preschool to read several books to the children as part of the center’s Celebrity Reader program. “As a brand-new Grandpa, it was great fun to read to the kids at Little Sprouts,” remarked Spekhardt. “The three and four-year-old’s had lots of good questions about the story. Moreover, I was proud to witness the work of Project Self Sufficiency and the impact made to our community. The way that PSS supports and guides our residents through challenges is what makes Sussex County a very special community.”

The Little Sprouts Early Learning Center is operated by Project Self-Sufficiency, a local non-profit agency which offers a wide variety of services to families in northwestern New Jersey. The daycare and preschool facility features separate classrooms for each age group, from infants through those entering preschool. Fully-qualified teachers are available in each classroom and the child-teacher ratio adheres to or exceeds state standards. Each classroom has new equipment, as well as learning centers for dramatic play, computers, science, housekeeping, sand and water play, reading, and music. The center also contains an all-purpose room for active indoor play and parent presentations, as well as a sick room for those children who may fall ill during the day. The center is equipped with two separate playgrounds, one for younger tots and one for older children.

Little Sprouts Early Learning Center offers space for 83 youngsters, ages 6 weeks to 6 years. Preschool is free for Newton residents, ages 3 and 4; students must have turned 3 years of age by October 1, 2018. All types of subsidized daycare are accepted, including New Jersey Cares for Kids and Work First New Jersey. The center also offers the National School Lunch Program, providing nutritionally-balanced, low-cost or free lunches to eligible children each school day. The Little Sprouts Early Learning Center is located at 127 Mill Street in Newton. For more information visit the center’s website, www.littlesproutsearlylearning... or call 973-940-3540.