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By Paul Chasko

A mix of family-oriented care and a bright educational environment has resulted in a great place for kids to spend the day when parents are occupied elsewhere.

Pictured are Sunshine staff members (l - r) Florence McPartland, Tammy Main, Kali Peroni, and Taylor Halinka.

That pretty much sums up the goals established by Kim Peroni at her three Sunshine Kids Daycare centers.

The center in McMurray (Kali Peroni–Director) is celebrating its 20th anniversary and was the recent recipient of the “Best Childcare in McMurray for 2015” award. The second Sunshine Kids daycare center opened on Linden Road in Eighty Four, PA in May of 2000 with Pam Halinka as director, and the third location opened in Finleyville in 2008 with Tammy Main as director. The Finleyville center has recently partnered with Community Action Southwest to support enrollment opportunities for infants, toddlers, and their families through the federally funded Early Head Start Child Care Partnerships Program.

Each center is licensed to handle 50-plus children. All three centers are licensed by the PA Department of Human Services and are Keystone Star participants. The centers are totally secure with security cameras throughout and locked entrances useable only by staff and parents who have been issued key fobs. The centers are open Monday - Friday from 6:45 a.m. to 6 p.m. Children are provided with breakfast, a morning snack, lunch and an afternoon snack. The weekly menus are nutritionally approved by the Department of Education. Area schools bus children to/from the centers before and after school. The centers can also provide van transportation for children to local schools.

According to Kim, “The Sunshine Kids teaching staff is the perfect mix of degreed teachers, college students pursuing early childhood degrees, and nurturing people who just want to love and care for children.” Several employees have been at their respective center since the day it opened. All employees receive child abuse clearances, criminal history background checks, FBI checks, physicals, and training in child care prior to

Pictured are (l - r) Director Pam Halinka and Owner Kim Peroni.

being hired. After hire, they receive required ongoing training in pediatric first aid, CPR, childhood illnesses, creative curriculum ideas, and other aspects in the early childhood field. Several current employees (Teresa Halinka, Taylor Halinka, and Kali Peroni) were former enrolled children at the McMurray Center when it opened.

Sunshine Kids provides care for children 6 weeks up to 12 years of age. They accept children on a full time and part-time basis. Kim explained, “The children are separated into 5 different groups: infants, young toddlers, older toddlers, preschoolers, and school age. They advance through these groups based on their developmental age rather than their actual age. The fun, loving, educational environments at the centers create comfortable and encouraging experiences for children to explore and use their imaginations. Children are set up for success.”

Click on "gallery" for more photos of the Sunshine Kids Daycare Center by Paul Chasko