About Us
YOUR CHILD IS IN GREAT HANDS
You Will Love It Here
The F.M. Kirby Children’s Center of the Madison Area YMCA is a state-renowned early childhood education center that offers curriculum-based, comprehensive programs for infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and school-age children. With ongoing enrollment, families can enroll in Kirby any time of the year. Teacher longevity, child-centered curriculum, STEM programming at every age, a Madison Area YMCA membership, and a sprawling campus, complete with five playgrounds, away from busy streets make Kirby an ideal location for early childhood education.
Kirby provides a developmentally rich environment supported by a specially trained and caring staff who help children develop strong skills and physical, social, and emotional confidence.
Kirby uses a recognized, developmentally appropriate curriculum for all ages delivered by caring, experienced teachers. Our average lead teacher tenure exceeds 10 years, and our child/teacher ratios typically exceed New Jersey state requirements.
As the site of a former elementary school, the F.M. Kirby Children’s Center is specifically designed for children. It is situated on almost three acres of property and boasts a full-size gym, a full kitchen that prepares breakfast, lunch, and snacks as approved by the NJ Department of Agriculture Childcare Food Program, and five state-of-the-art playgrounds to serve all age groups.
The F.M. Kirby Children’s Center offers Summer Day Camp for children from preschool (age 3 and must be reliably toilet trained) to second grade and the Madison Area YMCA offers Summer Day Camp for our youth through grade 11.
WHAT PARENTS SAY
Parent Jessica
The open communication from our teachers is wonderful, and we truly appreciate the partnership in caring for and nurturing our children in their development. Special recognition to Ms. Lynne and Ms. Sandra!
Parent Alicia
Everyone at Kirby is the best!!!!
Go Bumble Bees!!
Parent Marcie
The teachers go above and beyond to create engaging activities to promote learning, social-emotional development, and play skills. Kirby is exceptional childcare at any age!
Prioritizing Health & Safety
We continue to be vigilant in maintaining the health and safety of all those in the Kirby community. We each have an important role in keeping each other safe and we must continue to follow guidelines set forth by the CDC and Department of Health. We're all in this together!
Our staff are held to the highest health and safety standards and they are urged to take every day preventative action to limit the spread of all illness. In addition to the regular protocols for hand washing and disinfecting, all staff follow supplementary procedures, including wearing face covers at all times while onsite, daily health screenings conducted for all children and staff, and increased disinfection of high-touch surfaces.
We are pleased to announce that we have upgraded our HVAC units and have installed a new air filtration system known as Bipolar Ionization. This safety measure produces cleaner, safer air by reducing pathogens, viruses, dust, pollen and odors.
DID YOU KNOW? We have implemented other safety enhancements including the installation of no-touch sinks, increased sanitizing stations and fumigators for disinfections. We also continue a regular Clorox 360 cleaning.
Our Credentials
GOLDEN ACORN AWARD
for maintaining quality standards in preschool education
GROW NJ KIDS RATED SCHOOL
for quality programs and services
