Our Nurture Center’s Therapeutic Nursery

Most children in the Kate Ross neighborhood of South Waco are subjected to more than extreme poverty. They also often face violence, unstable living situations, and fear of abandonment. The desperate tasks of surviving poverty leave many families in physical and emotional chaos. It is around this chaos that the mind of an infant creates its reality; literally the brain constructs around chaos. It is the role of our therapeutic nursery to shape each child’s day with consistency of loving care, sensitivity to their individuality, and opportunities for self-expression. We have that opportunity weekdays from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Some of our toddlers receive weekly visits from a play therapist in our specially equipped play therapy room (thanks to a dedicated gift by a special friend, Kiwanians’ renovations and therapy toys donated by our skilled therapists, Dr. Keith Warren and Dr. Helen Benedict). This delicate form of therapy uses symbolic play and expressive art approaches to help children connect with their feelings and experiences.
Primary to our time with infants and toddlers in the classroom is our growing psychological understanding of each child. Our teachers have weekly consultations with the Nurture Center’s clinical director, Dr. Warren, giving opportunity to discuss special needs.

Besides love and affirmation, our Nurture Center provides a proven cognitive development curriculum. Research shows that this approach works. The High/Scope® curriculum has been longitudinally studied with the same group of subjects from age infant to 40. The results are astonishing, and support the kind of intervention we are doing in children’s lives. (Click here to view some of the research results.)

The Nurture Center is wholly dependent upon outside donations, grants, and limited government funding to survive. We also need volunteers to come and spend time with the children in our baby-mentoring program. We ask that you will come by our building at 1311 Clay Avenue in Waco, and prayerfully consider how you might help us to say to these little ones, “My child, get up!”