For Rye families, finding childcare can be challenging, especially finding care that matches with parents’ work hours. But, there are options, especially for school-aged children.
The Rye YMCA
Located on Locust Street, the Rye Y offers a variety of childcare options – from 20-hour-a-week childcare to after-school programs to babysitting for parents using the facilities. Here’s a breakdown of the programs:
The Y’s After School Adventures program, which runs daily from September to June, serves children in kindergarten through sixth grade. The program offers homework assistance, outdoor play, and various activities. At 2:30 p.m., bus transportation to the Rye Y is provided from the Rye city, Parsons, and Resurrection elementary schools. A second ASA program is located at F.E. Bellows School in Rye Neck, and students receive transportation from Daniel Warren Elementary School. The children are dismissed by 6:30 p.m. every day.
ASA packages are available for two, three, four, and five days per week. Respectively, tuition for Rye Y members is $461, $586, $672, and $730 per month. For non-members, tuition is $522, $675, $772, and $838 per month.
The Y also offers evening programs for children aged one to 11 years that include food and activities while parents spend the night out. During school breaks, the Y offers “Fun Clubs,” which provide supervised play and activities.
The Y’s Child Watch provides up to 2.5 hours of supervised care for children aged 3 months to 11 years while parents use the Rye Y’s facilities. The children are supervised at a staff-to-child ratio of 1:5.
Childcare packages come in 5-, 10-, and 20-hour options. For those with a family membership, packages cost $31, $62, and $124, respectively, while individual membership packages cost $62, $124, and $247. The Rye Y also offers morning, afternoon, and full-day care through its Early Learning Center for young children.
The Rye Y’s childcare programs use the Y’s gymnasium, outdoor playground, and field, while also offering music, arts and crafts, and nature. The Y has adopted healthy eating and physical activity standards and the CATCH program, which encourage healthy nutrition and physical activity.
Kids’ S.P.A.C.E.
For 32 years, Kids’ S.P.A.C.E. has provided before- and after-school care for children in kindergarten through fifth grade. The program runs from September through June, at Osborn Elementary School. Children from Midland and Milton elementary schools are transported by bus to Osborn each day.
The after-school program runs from 3 to 6 p.m. Staff members help children with homework before they take part in a variety of activities, and an afternoon snack is provided. The program aims to create an atmosphere similar to a home environment while encouraging children to develop self-confidence, self-expression, responsibility, decision-making skills, and respect for others.
Kids’ S.PA.C.E. also offers a breakfast club from 7 to 8:30 a.m. at Osborn. Children are given breakfast and can play cards or catch up on studying before school.
The program’s curriculum emphasizes play and encourages children to pursue projects involving nature, architecture, science, and the arts.
The after-school program costs $452 per month for two days a week, $557 for three days, $630 for four days, and $678 for five days. Occasional single days are available for $62 a month. The breakfast club costs $206 monthly for two days, $267 for three days, $321 for four days, and $344 for five days, with occasional days costing $37.
The Rye Nature Center
The Rye Nature Center offers after-school nature clubs that focus on nature and the outdoors for elementary school students.
The “Forest Explorers” group serves kindergarteners and first graders and meets Tuesdays from 3:15 to 4:45 p.m. “Wilderness Encounters” is designed for students in second through fourth grade and meets Thursdays during the same hours. Activities vary by session and allow children to explore nature through outdoor play, observation, and hands-on experiences. Both the Forest Explorers and Wilderness Encounters packages cost $495 per session. The after-school clubs meet for 90 minutes once a week, and focus more on enrichment than full afternoon childcare.
The nature center also offers afternoon classes during the winter and spring, with sessions of 10 or 12 classes. Children in kindergarten through fourth grade enjoy studying seasonal wildlife, observing environmental changes, and learning about glass eel migration.
For days when school is closed, School’s Out Workshops provide full-day outdoor programming for children aged 3.5 to 10. Workshops feature themes such as local pollinators, the water cycle, and mammal diversity. The workshops cost $95 per day.
The Children’s Center at Purchase College
For 53 years, Purchase College has run a full-time childcare program for children aged eighteen months to five years old. Toddlers and preschoolers engage in computers, outdoor campus, and movement/dance. The curriculum includes assessment, inclusion, anti-bias, and planning.
The center is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5:15 p.m., with full-day programs available two, three, or five days a week for three calendar choices: academic (32 weeks), modified (42 weeks), and extended (47 weeks). Tuition varies based on the child’s classes, number of days per week, and calendar options. Tuition for Purchase College affiliates is based on a sliding scale according to income, and community families pay a flat fee. The most updated fee scale was not available at press time.
