Summer at Park Plaza: What Daycare Looks Like in Sherwood Park This July
July in Sherwood Park is short, bright, and full of the kind of days childhood is made of — long shadows on the playground, sand under fingernails, and popsicles at snack time. If you're a parent searching for summer daycare in Sherwood Park, licensed childcare near Broadmoor, or a Sherwood Park preschool with real outdoor space, this is a peek at what a July day actually looks like inside Park Plaza Daycare & OSC.
We've been caring for Sherwood Park families since 1985 — more than 40 years of infant care, toddler programs, preschool learning and Out of School Care (OSC) for children ages 0 to 12. Summer is when a lot of families start looking for a new daycare, whether it's for a September start, a maternity-leave return, or full-time care for the school-age kids now home for the holidays. Here's what makes summer at Park Plaza different, and what any Sherwood Park parent should look for in a quality childcare centre this season.
Our backyard does most of the teaching in July. Children spend the bulk of the morning outside in our large, fully-fenced Sherwood Park playground — shaded sandbox, bikes and trikes, water tables, gardening beds, and the sunshine mural our older kids love to race across. Outdoor play in the early years builds gross motor strength, balance, confidence, better sleep, and a stronger appetite. It's also where the best social learning happens: taking turns on the trike track, negotiating who gets the yellow shovel, calling a friend over to see a beetle. When you tour a Sherwood Park daycare this summer, ask how much time children actually spend outdoors — at Park Plaza, weather permitting, it's most of the morning and a big chunk of the afternoon.
Inside, our infant, toddler and preschool rooms lean into summer themes: pond-life sensory bins, ice-and-water experiments, garden-to-snack tasting, Canada Day crafts, and lots of open-ended art. Play-based learning isn't a slogan for us — it's how we've prepared four decades of children for kindergarten in Elk Island Public Schools and Elk Island Catholic Schools. Preschoolers work on self-help skills (zipping their own jacket, opening their own snack container, pouring their own water), early literacy through storytime and songs, and the social-emotional muscles that matter most in kindergarten readiness: asking for help, taking turns, and bouncing back from small frustrations.
Our Out of School Care program hits its stride in July. School-age kids ages 5 to 12 come in for full-day summer OSC with a weekly rhythm of themed activities — art projects, science experiments, cooking, outdoor games, sports afternoons, and weekly field trips around Strathcona County. It's a Sherwood Park summer camp alternative that feels less like a program and more like a really good day with friends. Before-and-after school care resumes in September for families with kids at nearby schools like Wes Hosford, Brentwood, Ecole Campbelltown, Glen Allan and Woodbridge Farms.
Meals matter more in the summer than parents sometimes expect — hot days mean kids need steady fuel and lots of water. Every meal and snack at Park Plaza is prepared fresh on-site, follows the Canadian Food Guide, and rotates on a four-week menu we publish for families. In July you'll see cool, hydrating options: melon and berries at morning snack, chilled cucumber and hummus, grilled chicken wraps, homemade muffins with grated zucchini, and lots of water breaks throughout the day. We accommodate allergies and dietary needs — just talk to us at your tour.
A few things every Sherwood Park parent should check when comparing summer daycare options: (1) Is the centre licensed and accredited by Alberta Children's Services? (2) What are the educator-to-child ratios in each room — infants, toddlers, preschool, OSC? (3) Is there a real outdoor space, and how often is it used? (4) Are meals prepared on-site or brought in? (5) Do they accept the Alberta Child Care Subsidy and the Affordability Grant that lowers fees for many families? (6) How do educators communicate with parents during the day — photos, notes, an app? At Park Plaza we're licensed, we hit low ratios (1:4 in our toddler room), we're outside daily, we cook from scratch, we accept the subsidy and affordability grant, and families get regular photo and milestone updates so you know what your child actually did today.
If you're thinking about care for September — whether that's a full-time infant spot, a preschool space, or before-and-after school OSC — July is the month to book a tour. Waitlists at licensed Sherwood Park daycares fill fastest between now and the end of August, and touring in person is the only way to really feel a centre. You'll meet Maneet and the team, see the classrooms in action, walk the backyard, and get honest answers to every question.
Book a tour on our contact page, or head straight to enrolment to reserve your child's spot through our KinderLogix portal. Whether your family is new to Sherwood Park or has been here for generations, we'd love to show you why so many local families have trusted Park Plaza with their little ones for over 40 years.
