Find answers to common questions about our childcare programs and services
We accept children from birth to 13 years. Our programs include Infant Care (birth to 11 months), Young Toddlers (12-23 months), Toddlers (2-3 years), Preschool (3-6 years), and Before & After School Care (5-13 years). Ages vary by location: infant care and our widest age range are at our Midway Blvd location.
Enrolling is easy! You can:
Once you submit your enrollment form, we'll contact you within 24-48 hours to discuss next steps.
Availability varies by age group and location. We encourage you to contact us early to secure your spot. If your preferred program is full, we'll add you to our waitlist and notify you as soon as a spot opens up.
Yes! We accept DSHS childcare subsidies (SSPS# 587902), MCCYN for Navy families (MCCYN Provider ID: 3000072010), MCCYN-PLUS (quality-rated provider for military families), and Child Care Aware Military for Army, Air Force & Marine Corps families (Child Care Aware Provider ID: 9245115). Military families can find us in the MCC Central provider search for ZIP code 98277. If you are not sure whether you qualify for DSHS help, Washington State DCYF has a prescreening tool on its Free or Low-Cost Child Care page, or you can call them on 1-844-626-8687. Contact us to learn more about payment options and assistance programs.
MCCYN and MCCYN-PLUS are fee assistance programs, so payment works a little differently from a subsidy we bill directly. You pay your tuition upfront, the same as a private-pay family, and submit your monthly Benefit Form to the MCCYN or MCCYN-PLUS program to release your monthly benefits. Once we receive your fee assistance payment from the military program, we credit that amount to your account and apply it to your future invoices. There may be a short period at the start where you pay full tuition while your first benefit payment is processed. Credits are applied against actual charges only.
Your Benefit Form comes from the MCCYN program, not from us. There is no blank copy posted for download, so if you do not have yours, check your account on MilitaryChildCare.com or request it from cnicclaimsupport@us.navy.mil.
For step by step instructions on filling it out and sending it in, MCC Central publishes the MCCYN Benefit Form Handout, along with a Benefit Form Tip Sheet, on its MCCYN Forms page.
This is a different form from your Cost Worksheet. The Cost Worksheet sets your rates on file once. The Benefit Form is what goes in every month to release that month's payment. If you are not sure which one you are holding, bring it to the Director and we will look at it with you.
Yes. If you receive MCCYN or MCCYN-PLUS fee assistance, it is your responsibility as the parent to submit your Benefit Form to cnicclaimsupport@us.navy.mil within 60 days from the last day of the month being claimed. For example, a Benefit Form for January 2026 must be submitted no later than April 1, 2026. Forms received after the 60-day deadline may not be processed. Please review your records regularly and submit any outstanding forms promptly. If you have questions, email cnicclaimsupport@us.navy.mil.
Fee assistance is applied against the care your child actually receives. Your monthly benefit is credited to your account and applied to your charges for that period. If your benefit exceeds the amount you were actually charged, for example if a full-month benefit was claimed but your child attended on a drop-in or hourly basis, the excess is not refundable to you in cash. Excess fee assistance funds remain on your account for future care, or are returned to the fee assistance program. If you leave our care with a credit balance still on your account, that balance is returned to the program rather than paid out to you.
Fee assistance funds are paid to the provider to reduce the cost of care delivered. They are not a cash benefit to the sponsor. Refunding program funds to a family would be a misuse of those funds and would put both the family's eligibility and our participation in the program at risk. Any refund owed is owed back to the program.
Your monthly claim should reflect the care you actually used and the rate on your current Cost Worksheet. If you move between full-time, part-time, and drop-in care, contact us before you file so your paperwork matches your actual schedule. Filing a claim for care you did not receive can result in recoupment by the program and loss of eligibility.
Drop-in and hourly care are billed at our published hourly rate. Fee assistance coverage for drop-in care depends on your individual authorization and your Cost Worksheet. A worksheet reflecting a full-time or part-time schedule does not cover drop-in attendance. Talk to the Director before assuming your benefit applies.
No post-dated checks are accepted. If your family is having difficulty with tuition payments, please speak with the Director to discuss a payment plan. For full details, see the payment policies in the Parent Handbook for your center.
Our tuition rates vary by age group and schedule:
Rates depend on full-time, part-time, or specific day schedules. To enroll, a $100 registration fee and two weeks of tuition in advance are due. The registration fee is non-refundable and is waived for DSHS families. If you cancel before your start date with at least two weeks’ written notice, the advance tuition is refunded. Visit our Tuition & Rates page for more details.
An extended absence is any absence exceeding two consecutive weeks. Please notify the Director in writing as early as possible (ideally 30 days in advance). You have three options:
No credits, refunds, or makeup days are provided for any absences, including illness, vacation, or medical leave. A child's spot is only guaranteed while tuition or an approved hold fee is being paid.
Yes. Nurture with Care Kids Academy is a NAEYC-Recognized Early Learning Program, recognized by the National Association for the Education of Young Children for our commitment to quality and continuous improvement in our toddler and preschool programs (valid through June 2027). We are also Washington's only Early Achievers Level 5 rated provider on Whidbey Island, the state's highest quality rating.
We maintain low ratios to ensure quality care:
Our days include a mix of structured activities and free play:
Yes. Breakfast, lunch, and snacks are included in your tuition at no extra cost, at every location. You do not need to pack a lunch.
Your child receives breakfast, lunch, an afternoon snack, and an evening snack if they stay past 5 PM. Meals meet USDA nutritional guidelines, and we can accommodate food allergies and dietary restrictions with advance notice.
School-age children receive an afternoon snack and an evening snack on school days, since they eat breakfast and lunch at school. On non-school days such as summer, winter and spring break, teacher in-service days, and snow days, they receive all meals.
For several Oak Harbor schools, yes. Children at Hillcrest Elementary, Oak Harbor Intermediate and North Whidbey Middle School can ride their regular school bus to and from our Fort Nugent and View Ridge locations. Oak Harbor Elementary buses to Fort Nugent. Oak Harbor Intermediate also buses to our Midway Blvd location.
For Oak Harbor Elementary and North Whidbey students at Midway Blvd, the district counts those children as walkers because the school is so close, so no bus runs. We walk them instead. A member of our staff collects your child from school and walks them back to us.
Broad View, Crescent Harbor and Olympic View fall outside our attendance areas, so the district does not bus from those schools to us. See Before & After School Care for the full table.
Tell us first, so we can confirm the route serves us and add your child to our arrival list. The request itself comes from you rather than from us: complete Oak Harbor School District's Transportation Request Form and give our address as the stop.
The district asks families to allow up to five business days for a new route, and to take your child to and from school yourself until it is confirmed. Children may only ride the bus they are assigned to, so the request needs to be on file before the first ride. There is an August deadline each year to guarantee a route for the first week of school, and routes are reviewed annually.
Whether a particular child qualifies is the district's decision, so it is worth calling OHSD Transportation on 360-279-5570 to check your own situation. If you are not sure whether this works for you, call us on (360) 682-8920 and we will help you find out.
Fort Nugent Center: Monday - Friday, 7:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Midway Blvd Center: Monday - Friday, 6:00 AM - 6:00 PM
View Ridge Center: Monday - Friday, 7:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Core hours are 9:30 AM - 4:00 PM. Please notify us in advance if your child will arrive after 9:30 AM.
For the health and safety of all children, we cannot accept children with:
Children must be symptom-free for 24 hours before returning to care.
We are closed on major holidays including New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving (2 days), and Christmas (typically Dec 24 - Jan 2). A full holiday schedule is provided upon enrollment.
Drop-in care is flexible, hourly childcare for ages 1 to 13 years. It's perfect for appointments, errands, work meetings, or self-care days when you need occasional care without a full-time commitment. Drop-in care runs seven days a week at the same rate, weekdays and weekends alike.
$15 per hour any day of the week, with a 4-hour minimum ($60 minimum). A daily cap applies: $120 for 12-35 months, $105 for 36+ months, so a long day never costs more than that. Pay by cash, Venmo or Zelle, due at drop-off. Late pickup fee is $1 per minute after 6:00 PM. See payment details for Venmo and Zelle.
Visit our Drop-In Care page to check real-time availability. You can see open spots for toddlers and preschool/school-age children for the next two weeks. To reserve, call or text us at (360) 682-8920. We recommend 24-hour advance notice.
Yes, first-time visitors need to complete enrollment forms and a liability waiver before their first drop-in visit. You'll also need to bring immunization records. After the initial paperwork, you're all set for future visits - forms only need updating if medical conditions or immunizations change.
Please bring:
Meals and snacks are included for drop-in children staying through meal times, so you will not need to pack food.
Weekend care is a drop-in weekend childcare program for ages 1 to 13 years, on Saturday and Sunday from 8 AM to 5 PM. You book the days you need, week by week, and pay only for the hours your child attends. The program uses the same Creative Curriculum and qualified teachers as our weekday program. See the full Weekend Care page for details.
$15 per hour, with a 4-hour minimum ($60).
A daily cap applies: $105 for 36+ months, $120 for 12–35 months. You will never pay more than the daily cap for a single day, however long your child stays.
Pay at drop-off by cash, Venmo or Zelle. See payment details.
There is no invoice and nothing to pay in advance. At drop-off you tell us how long your child will be staying and pay for that time.
If they end up staying longer, the extra time is charged at pickup, up to the daily cap.
Example: a 4 year old attending 9 AM to 2 PM is 5 hours, so $75 at drop-off. The same child staying 8 AM to 5 PM pays $105, the daily cap for 36+ months.
Complete the Weekend care enrollment form on our Weekend Care page, then book the days you need by Friday 3 PM. Days are subject to availability. If you book a day and do not attend without telling us, there is a $60 no-show fee.
If your child is already enrolled at NWCKA for weekday care, we already have their paperwork on file. You only need to complete the Weekend care enrollment form.
Yes. We accept DSHS Working Connections (SSPS# 587902), MCCYN and MCCYN-PLUS (MCCYN Provider ID 3000072010), and Child Care Aware Military (Provider ID 9245115). Weekend coverage depends on your individual authorization. Please contact us before enrolling so we can review your authorization and help you understand what's covered. Any hours beyond your authorization are billed at the private-pay hourly rate.
Yes. Weekend care is a standalone program. You do not need to be enrolled in our weekday program to use it.
Your child's slot is held regardless of attendance, so the day is still billed. Please let us know as early as possible if your child won't be there so we can plan staffing.
There is nothing to cancel. Weekend care is booked day by day, so if you do not need a day, simply do not book it. If you have already booked a day and cannot attend, let us know before it, or a $60 no-show fee applies.
We use our parent app to provide daily updates including:
We also send monthly newsletters and host family events throughout the year.
Safety is our top priority:
Yes. All of our Oak Harbor locations are licensed by the Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF). You can look us up on the state’s Child Care Check website at any time.
We're here to help! Contact us and we'll be happy to answer any questions you have.
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