Sayre Child Center, which provides child care for babies as young as six weeks old through fifth-grade, is celebrating 125 years in Bethlehem. It began as Cecil Sayre Day Nursery, founded by Mrs. Robert Sayre in memory of her son and has been in continuous operation since 1899. A nonprofit, the organization is overseen by an independent board of directors; it is licensed every year by the Pa. Dept. of Human Services, and has received a high transparency rating from nonprofit watchdog Charity Navigator.

To celebrate 125 years serving families in the community, Sayre is holding an open house Oct. 17 from 10 a.m. to noon and from 3 to 6 p.m.

“For our 100th anniversary, we had dinners and festivals [ … but] nobody sees what we’re really about when we do it like that,” explains site director Jill Volkert, “so we decided to have an open house so people can look around and ask questions.”

Sayre, which is among the 50 oldest continuously operated child care programs in the country, uses an income-based sliding scale to determine its fees, and approaches early learning through imagination and creativity. Children at Sayre spend time outside every day, and preschoolers are taught from a Creative Curriculum base that is aligned to Pa. state standards.

Sayre has achieved the highest level (four stars) from Keystone STARS, a program within the Pa. Office of Child Development and Early Learning that assesses quality in early and school-aged child care programs.

Infant care and education at Sayre includes music, toys with varied textures and colors, and substantial teacher conversation, with the goal of speech and language development. Toddlers are engaged in problem-solving activities, as well as enjoying stories, songs, musical instruments and dance.

Outdoor play and indoor climbing equipment promote physical activity, and deep breathing exercises are just part of a toolbox of emotional self-regulation taught at Sayre. Although preschoolers still have a daily nap, they are also engaged in early literacy, science and math activities, music and dance.

Volkert notes that many things make Sayre special, chiefly the dedicated and long-serving teachers, the all-volunteer board, and the hardworking and generous parents involved in the PTA. Some staff at Sayre have been with the organization for decades; nearly all have worked there for at least 10 years.

The “small, but active” PTA helps in many ways, but perhaps the greatest impact comes from their fundraising efforts. The summer events – visits from clowns to puppeteers to wildlife rescue groups – are expensive, but the parents love it, and keep supporting it, year after year.

“We are so thankful for them and all they do for us,” Volkert says.