Keiki’s Learning Center opens up in Battle Ground

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For the past 20 years, Rebecca Westmoreland and Rhonda Meridieth wanted to open up a child learning center. On July 1, the duo took the next step and opened up Keiki’s Learning Center in Battle Ground. Serving children ages one month to five years, Keiki’s Learning Center offers a safe and healthy space for kids to learn, play and eat during a time when childcare is on the front of mind for many parents.

According to Westmoreland, she and Meridieth have each been working in childcare for more than 25 years and decided to finally get the ball rolling and open up the learning center after a trip to Hawaii together. Along with naming the center after the Hawaiian word for child, Keiki’s Learning Center has a Hawaiian theme for students in each of its five classrooms. Westmoreland said the duo was looking around for a location and the new place “fell into their laps” at the perfect time. 

Now open, the center has a “creative curriculum” for the students that includes hands-on activities, learning and more. Westmoreland explained that all age groups and classrooms follow the same schedule and format for learning and most of what changes throughout the age groups is what the kids are learning. With a maximum of 41 kids in the building at a time, Westmoreland and Meridieth said each classroom has a low student-to-teacher ratio. Having this low ratio allows teachers to become more personable with the children and gives them opportunity to help each child learn at their own pace in a hands-on environment. Younger kids work with spacial recognition and basic learning while older kids have discussion and work on communication skills. 

Westmoreland also explained how the center is working on becoming a member of the United States Department of Agriculture Food Program and hopes to be accepted into the program in the near future. Participants of the program can supply two meals and two snacks to students each day with no cost to the parents. Another future plan for the center includes hiring two more teachers in August to bring the total number of employees to five.

Further out in the planning process is the addition of a second building nearby to supply childcare and learning for children up to 12 years of age. 



“We want to give parents of older children the opportunity for childcare as well,” Westmoreland explained. 

In line with giving parents as many opportunities as possible, Keiki’s currently offers parents the ability to pay for the care they need. 

“Most of the time, our care is based on a monthly cost. However, we do offer a daily rate because some parents only need to drop their kids off once or twice a week,” Westmoreland said. 

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, student and teacher safety has been a widely discussed topic. Westmoreland and Meridieth said they’re working to ensure all students and teachers are as safe as they can be during the health crisis. Teachers and parents are required to wear masks while in the building and the team works to get the children to keep their masks on while they learn. Along with masks, Meridieth said students and teachers get their temperature checked every day and Keiki’s is staying up to day on all recommended health protocols as they come in.

More information about Keiki’s Learning Center can be found by calling (360) 342-8462 or by visiting bit.ly/2ZY7ry4.