Elm Tree Christian Child Care - Villa Park

Elm Tree Christian Child Care - Villa Park Elm Tree Christian Child Care Center is a non-profit child care center founded in 1975 and governed by a Board of Directors known as St. Paul Outreach.

Since opening we’ve served more than 1,000 children in the community.

🏃‍♀️⚽️ AMAZING ATHLETES DEMO DAY!🏀🏃Today was our Amazing Athletes demo day with Coach Ali, and our kiddos got moving! 💪❤...
08/31/2026

🏃‍♀️⚽️ AMAZING ATHLETES DEMO DAY!🏀🏃

Today was our Amazing Athletes demo day with Coach Ali, and our kiddos got moving! 💪❤️

Today’s class had a gym class theme, starting with different exercises on our circles before moving into stretching and strengthening activities using resistance bands.

And naturally, we had to end class by… taking our dogs for a walk!🐶😂 The kiddos used their bands as their pretend dog leashes and took their four-legged friends for a little stroll around the gym.

We love enrichment opportunities that get our kiddos moving, listening, following directions, building coordination, and having FUN while doing it!

A HUGE thank you to Coach Ali and Amazing Athletes for coming out and giving our kiddos a chance to experience class today! 🏃‍♂️✨

Amazing Athletes will be one of our nap-time enrichment options this school year, so kiddos can participate in something extra special while still staying right here at Elm Tree. ❤️

Judging by today… I think we have some future Amazing Athletes on our hands! 🏅

🐾📚 WEEK 13 | 100 BOOKS BEFORE KINDERGARTEN📚🐾Week 13 went to the DOGS… literally! 🐶💜This week’s book sponsor was someone ...
08/31/2026

🐾📚 WEEK 13 | 100 BOOKS BEFORE KINDERGARTEN📚🐾

Week 13 went to the DOGS… literally! 🐶💜

This week’s book sponsor was someone who has a pretty special connection to Elm Tree — Karen Egan, whose parents, Les and Elaine Madsen, started the daycare that would become the Elm Tree we know and love today.❤️

And Karen didn’t come alone! She brought a VERY special guest to help us celebrate this week’s book — Sophie the Beagle!🐾

At 13 years old, Sophie was the perfect helper as we explored Woof! 100 Fun Facts About Dogs by National Geographic Kids.

Our kiddos learned some pretty amazing things about Sophie and beagles! 🐶 Did you know their long ears help collect scents as they walk around? Or that when a beagle spots something, its tail goes straight up, allowing hunters to see the white tip above the grass?

We also learned that a wagging tail can tell us Sophie is happy — and that this sweet girl has a rather interesting favorite snack: freeze-dried green beans!🫛

Having Karen here was already special, but getting to welcome her back to a place that is part of her family's story made Week 13 even more meaningful. The little childcare center her parents began all those years ago is now helping a new generation of children fall in love with books — one book, one family, and one week at a time.📚❤️

Thank you, Karen, for sponsoring Week 13, sharing a little piece of Elm Tree's history with our kiddos, and, of course, bringing Sophie along for the adventure!

Every child went home with their very own copy of this week's book to add to their growing home library.

🐾 13 weeks down. 87 more books to go! 📚

And Sophie… you can come back to Elm Tree anytime. We’ll make sure to have the green beans ready. 😉🫛🐶

📚✨ Week 13 of 100 Books Before Kindergarten — A Very Special Tribute✨📚This week’s storytime felt a little different. A l...
08/29/2026

📚✨ Week 13 of 100 Books Before Kindergarten — A Very Special Tribute✨📚

This week’s storytime felt a little different. A little more meaningful. And, in true Dolly fashion, maybe a little more sparkly. 💗✨

Our Week 13 book was generously sponsored by Kim Dewey, who chose to dedicate her sponsorship week in loving memory and tribute to the one and only Dolly Parton. Today, Mrs. Tammy had the honor of gathering our kiddos together and sharing Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes — another wonderful story being placed into the hands and homes of our little readers. 📖💜

And we can’t think of a more beautiful way to honor Dolly.

The world knew Dolly Parton for the rhinestones, the big hair, that unmistakable voice, and songs that became part of generations. But millions of children and families also know Dolly for something incredibly special: **her love of books and her belief that every child deserves the opportunity to grow up surrounded by them.📚

Through Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, she turned that belief into something extraordinary — helping put books directly into the hands and homes of children.

Dolly once said:

“You can never get enough books into the hands of enough children.” — Dolly Parton

That quote feels especially close to our hearts at Elm Tree. ❤️

Our 100 Books Before Kindergarten project was created from that same belief — that books belong in children’s hands, on their bookshelves, tucked into bedtime routines, read over and over again, and carried home until their pages are well loved.

And we have something especially exciting to share with our Elm Tree families:

📚💗 Villa Park is now among the communities where families can participate in Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library!💗📚

That means eligible children from birth through age 5 can be enrolled to receive FREE books mailed directly to their homes through the program.

So, Elm Tree families — SIGN THOSE LITTLE READERS UP!🥰📬📚

Our kiddos are already building some pretty amazing home libraries through 100 Books Before Kindergarten, and the Imagination Library is another wonderful opportunity to add even MORE books to those growing collections.

More books at home.
More bedtime stories.
More “read it again!” requests.
More opportunities to fall in love with reading.
More memories made together. ❤️

What an incredible way to continue Dolly’s legacy.

Today, 33 more children took another book home because Kim Dewey chose to invest in their love of reading.

That might feel like a small number compared with the millions of books Dolly’s vision has helped put into children’s hands — but we think Dolly would have understood exactly how important those 33 books are.

Because every big dream starts somewhere.

Sometimes it starts with a teacher opening a book.

Sometimes it starts with a child turning the page.

Sometimes it arrives in the mailbox.

And sometimes it starts with someone like Kim saying, I want to make sure a child has a book of their very own.❤️

Thank you, Kim Dewey, for making this week possible and for choosing to use your sponsorship to celebrate a woman whose legacy reminds us just how powerful literacy, generosity, and a really good story can be.

Thank you, Mrs. Tammy, for opening this week’s book and sharing that magic with our kiddos.

And thank you, Dolly. 🌸🦋📚✨

The rhinestones will sparkle.
The songs will keep playing.
But perhaps one of the most beautiful pieces of your legacy will continue every time a little hand reaches into a mailbox, pulls out a brand-new book with their name on it, and asks someone they love:

“Will you read this to me?”

We’ll keep reading.
We’ll keep sharing.
We’ll keep filling those bookshelves.
And we’ll keep putting books into little hands.

✨ Dream More. Learn More. Care More. Be More.✨

And Villa Park families — don’t forget to enroll those littlest readers in Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library! 📬📚💗

📚🌳 100 Books Before Kindergarten — Week 12!🌳📚As we wrapped up the final week of our summer program, we shared a book tha...
08/26/2026

📚🌳 100 Books Before Kindergarten — Week 12!🌳📚

As we wrapped up the final week of our summer program, we shared a book that felt especially perfect for this time of year: Wemberly Worried by Kevin Henkes. 💛

Wemberly worries about everything—and starting school is no exception! As some of our Elm Tree littles prepared to leave the place they know and love and head off on their biggest adventure yet: KINDERGARTEN, this story gave us the perfect opportunity to talk about those big feelings that can come with new beginnings. 🎒✏️

We talked about how it’s okay to feel excited AND nervous. It’s okay to wonder what your new teacher will be like, who you’ll sit with, or what your new school will look like. And sometimes, once we get there, we discover there was a whole lot less to worry about than we thought. ❤️

A HUGE thank you to Industrial Graphite for sponsoring Week 12 of our 100 Books Before Kindergarten project—and for becoming one of our repeat sponsors!🎉 Industrial Graphite also sponsored Week 2, making this their second time helping us put a brand-new book into the hands of every Elm Tree kiddo.

We are incredibly grateful for community partners who believe in early literacy and continue to invest in our littlest learners. 📖🌱

And to our kiddos heading off to kindergarten: It’s okay to be a little Wemberly Worried. You are ready for this.💛

One summer ended, a new school year began, and another book was added to our journey toward 100 Books Before Kindergarten!📚🌳✨

🎨 Every Kiddo Is an Artist at Elm Tree!🎨We spent a few days last week preparing our classrooms and getting everything re...
08/26/2026

🎨 Every Kiddo Is an Artist at Elm Tree!🎨

We spent a few days last week preparing our classrooms and getting everything ready to welcome our kiddos back for a brand-new school year! 🌳❤️

One of our favorite new additions this year is our Artist Walls! 🖌️✨

At Elm Tree, we believe every child is an artist. Art in early childhood isn’t just about making something cute to take home—it’s about creativity, exploration, confidence, self-expression, and giving children the freedom to proudly say, “I made that!”

Each classroom now has its own gallery-style art wall, where every single kiddo will have their artwork displayed throughout the year. Their masterpieces deserve more than a spot on the fridge—they deserve their own gallery! 🖼️🎨

We also added something extra special to our entrance: our Artists of the Week Gallery! Each week, three kiddos will have their artwork featured front and center for everyone who walks through our doors to admire. 🌟

We can’t wait to watch these walls change, grow, and become filled with the personalities, imaginations, and creativity of our little artists throughout the school year.

Because at Elm Tree, there’s no such thing as “I’m not an artist.”

Every kiddo is an artist. Every creation has a story. And every masterpiece deserves to be celebrated.🎨🌳❤️

What a whirlwind of a summer! ☀️💚 It truly flew by, and we couldn’t think of a more Elm Tree way to wrap up our summer p...
08/22/2026

What a whirlwind of a summer! ☀️💚 It truly flew by, and we couldn’t think of a more Elm Tree way to wrap up our summer program than with a Summerween Party! 🎃👻

We traded sunshine for spooky season a little early and celebrated with costumes, Halloween fun, lots of laughs, and of course… trick-or-treating! 🍬🍭

There’s something pretty perfect about saying goodbye to summer with one of our favorite fall traditions. 🍂🎃 We made so many memories this summer, and now we’re ready to turn the page and begin another amazing year together.

Goodbye, summer. Hello, new school year! ✏️📚🍎 We can’t wait to see what this year has in store for our Elm Tree family! 💚🌳

08/21/2026

🎃🧪 ERUPTING PUMPKINS & BUBBLING CAULDRONS! 🧪🎃
What better way to wrap up our summer program than with a little Summerween science?! 👻🧡
Erupting pumpkins and bubbling cauldrons were definitely one of the highlights of our final day! Our kiddos got to mix, pour, experiment, and watch their spooky creations bubble, fizz, and ERUPT! 🫧💥
There were lots of giggles, a little bit of chaos, and PLENTY of messy hands—which means it was basically the perfect Elm Tree activity. 😂🧪
We couldn't think of a better way to say goodbye to an amazing summer and get ourselves ready for a brand-new school year!
🎃 + 🧪 + 👻 + a whole lot of mess = SUMMERWEEN SUCCESS!

Sometimes the most memorable moments don’t go quite according to plan. ❤️📚⛈️Yesterday, our Week 11 mystery reader, Debor...
08/12/2026

Sometimes the most memorable moments don’t go quite according to plan. ❤️📚⛈️

Yesterday, our Week 11 mystery reader, Deborah, arrived at Elm Tree just as the skies decided to put on quite the show! With the wild storm rolling through, our normal reading plans quickly turned into a shelter-in-place storytime. But somehow, it made an already meaningful visit even more special.

This week’s book sponsorship is in loving memory of Donald and Rosemary Argus, Deborah’s parents, and we are so honored to celebrate the legacy they left behind.

Deborah shared with us that Donald and Rosemary invested deeply in their four children as loving parents who believed in the importance of learning, caring for others, and giving back. Their home was filled with books — even a complete set of Encyclopedia Britannica, which was a significant investment for their family at the time. Education wasn’t simply something they talked about; it was something they intentionally made part of their children’s lives.

But their impact extended far beyond their own home. Donald and Rosemary generously gave their time and resources to support youth and neighbors throughout their community. They modeled what it meant to show up for others, to give what you can, and to leave your community a little better than you found it.

Deborah described them as her role models for giving, loving, and parenting— and we can’t think of a more beautiful legacy. ❤️

How fitting that, all these years later, their love of learning and giving continues through Deborah and into another generation of children. Because of this sponsorship, every Elm Tree child received a copy of One Is a Piñata: A Book of Numbers to take home and enjoy. Deborah also surprised each child with their very own set of number flash cards so the learning can continue at home! 📚🔢

The storm may have changed our plans, but it certainly didn’t stop us. We read, we learned, we laughed, and we made a pretty incredible memory together.

Thank you, Deborah, for sharing your parents’ story with us and allowing Donald and Rosemary Argus’s legacy of learning, generosity, and love to become a small part of our Elm Tree story, too. ❤️🌳📚

🤍In loving memory of Donald & Rosemary Argus. 🤍

🧘‍♀️🌳 YOGA IS COMING TO ELM TREE!🌳🧘‍♂️We had SO much fun with our Rumi Yoga experience that we decided… why stop there?!...
08/10/2026

🧘‍♀️🌳 YOGA IS COMING TO ELM TREE!🌳🧘‍♂️

We had SO much fun with our Rumi Yoga experience that we decided… why stop there?! 💚

We’re officially adding YOGA to our weekly routine at Elm Tree this school year!🎉

Our kiddos will get a chance to stretch, move, breathe, practice mindfulness, and maybe even find a little calm in all that preschool energy. 😂🧘‍♀️✨

We can’t wait to make yoga a regular part of our weeks!

🙋‍♀️ Who’s excited for YOGA this school year?!

Address

545 S Ardmore Avenue
Villa Park, IL
60181

Opening Hours

Monday 7am - 5:30pm
Tuesday 7am - 5:30pm
Wednesday 7am - 5:30pm
Thursday 7am - 5:30pm
Friday 7am - 5pm

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