Monday – Friday 6:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
6 weeks – 9 years of age
Cheerful Home is licensed by the Illinois Department of Children & Family Services.
Cheerful Home was the first child care center in the area to be nationally accredited. (1998) We are accredited by the National Accreditation Commission for the Association of Early Learning Leaders.
Cheerful Home has maintained the highest award of excellence: a Gold Circle of Quality in ExeleRate Illinois since 2013.
New Year’s Day
March teacher training day (a Friday in March)
Good Friday
Memorial Day
4th of July
Labor Day
October teacher training day (a Friday in October)
Thanksgiving Day
The day after Thanksgiving
Christmas Eve
Christmas Day
New Year’s Eve
Cheerful Home is the only child care center in our community providing subsidized care on our Sliding Fee Scale Program. Therefore price is determined by both the child’s age and the total household income of the family. This allows children from all backgrounds to get the same excellent quality of care. To find out how much our services would be for your child, please contact Cheerful Home at 217-228-0654.
Yes, Cheerful Home provides electronic payment processing, where you decide if you would like payments drawn weekly, bi-weekly or monthly for your convenience.
Making sure the children have the skills to succeed in school and life is a priority at Cheerful Home. To read more about our curriculum, please visit the Curriculum page.
Before a child begins attending Cheerful Home, the parent or legal guardian must provide a list of people that can drop off and pick up the child. That list can be modified by the parent or legal guardian at any time.
Cheerful Home provides a locked facility with a fingerprint entry system. All new parents, guardians, and those on the approved pickup list can be entered into the fingerprint system which allows access into the building and records who is entering the building.
For those not in the fingerprint system, a photo id is required upon entering the building before the child can be picked up and/or the adult can be entered into the fingerprint entry system.
Additionally, all adults dropping off or picking up a child must bring the child to his/her room and sign the check-in and out log before dropping off or picking up the child. If the adult is not recognized by the teacher, the teacher will also request to view photo id before releasing the child to the adult.
All teachers are provided with the list of parent/guardian approved drop off and pick up adults for each child, which along with the check-in and out log, will be with the class no matter if the class is in a different part of the building, on the playground or on a fieldtrip. This allows for safe and smooth drop offs and pickups at any time during the day.
The safety of your child is always a top priority at Cheerful Home.
Cheerful Home rarely closes during regularly schedule work hours. If there is a closing due to extreme weather, power outage, etc., all major media outlets will be notified of and broadcast the closings to the general public. Additionally, whenever possible, an announcement will be displayed on our website, on our door, and through our Parent Engagement App.
The Cheerful Home staff understands that food allergies are a major concern for many families, so great care is taken to provide children with the necessary foods to ensure their safety and well-being. As part of the enrollment process, Cheerful Home requires families to submit documentation regarding allergies including a signed note from a health care provider for the child’s file. This information is posted in the kitchen and privately maintained in a folder for the classroom staff.