Generations Early Learning & Family Center is a division of The St. Francis Foundation, a non-profit corporation established in 1985. From 1985 to 2015, the Center operated as St. Francis Childcare and was located within St. Francis of Bellingham, a skilled nursing facility and rehabilitation center. In order to expand our program, we moved to partner with the Mt. Baker Care Center and Summit Place Assisted Living in 2015.
The primary purpose of our center has always been to provide a unique early childhood education program within a residential care facility, which will benefit the residents, children, families, and staff members through mutual interactions and continuing relationships. Quality early childhood care and education programs allow parents to engage in work and other activities with the assurance that their children are in a safe environment that promotes health, happiness, and well-being.
Generations provides:
a loving and nurturing environment during a child’s separation from his/her parents.
help for each child to develop and maintain a positive self-concept.
the child with a variety of learning experiences appropriate to his/her age and development, which will foster growth socially, emotionally, cognitively and physically.
assist in the development of a sense of responsibility and recognition of the rights and needs of others.
a positive environment conductive to learning and reflective of the different stages of development of children and consistent with the health and safety needs.
encourage self-reliance in the child and foster feelings of achievement and success.
an intergenerational working model using an extended family concept, where families can observe and participate in the program.
“I learned so many lessons from the stories and kind words of St. Francis residents, and I learned at a very young age to feel comfortable with not only elderly people but with people who used walkers, wheelchairs, oxygen machines, and various other health-related items. This comfort around aging, people with disabilities, and people of all generations has stuck with me throughout my life and has absolutely impacted how I walk in the world. I often think about what a unique and important experience it was to attend St. Francis Childcare and how it has shaped my perspective. It opened my eyes to the vastness and fragility of life in a way that was truly transformative.”