Caterpillar Days of Spring
Flowers are blooming. The days feel longer. Spring is here! In tandem with new life emerging and a sense of renewal that the spring season brings, little learners at UICS have been active in exploring the natural world around them. This includes creatures they find...
Pennies in Pre-K: Financial Literacy from the Start
Recently, three of our United Inner City Services (UICS) classrooms were visited via Zoom, for a “Break with a Banker”. UICS used this interaction to counterbalance gender stereotypes in classroom lessons and reinforce the fact that people of all gender identities...
More Please! – Delicious Nutrition & Education
Adobo chicken. Chicken alfredo from scratch. Homemade cream of mushroom soup. Breakfast frittatas. Fresh baked croissants. Mmmmmm….! Are these menu items from a five-star restaurant? Nope! They’re breakfasts and lunches at United Inner City Services (UICS)! (If you...
UICS Celebrates Week of the Young Child
Music. Art. Health. Collaboration. Teamwork. Friends. Family. Community. At UICS, we believe all of these subjects should be widely recognized and celebrated. This is why we are overjoyed to participate in Week of the Young Child (WOYC)! Launching on Saturday,...
Art Connects Us
At UICS, creativity means that an ordinary box is not just an ordinary box. It is a treehouse, a rocket ship, or a secret hiding place. It can even transform into a kind Robot…. UICS-St. Mark Center Arts Coordinator, Brianne (Bri) Pegg encourages little learners to...
Creating Community during COVID
At UICS, we believe in the nurturing strength and support of community. For our three centers, that community includes the parents, caregivers, and families of our little learners. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, one of the biggest challenges has been continuing...
Learning in Motion
Vroom vroom. Honk. Beep beep. Chugga-chugga-choo-choo. Clackety-clack-clack. Eee ooo eee ooo. Zoom. We hear these sounds every day en route. They are incorporated in our everyday lives. As many move through the work day, they play on a constant loop as background...
UICS Welcomes Roberto Diaz, New UICS-Metro Center Director!
United Inner City Services (UICS)-Metro Center looks a little different in 2021. There are updated art display areas, interactive resource boards, and new spaces dedicated to showing appreciation for teachers. All are results of a very special new addition to the...
Brown is Beautiful
What’s your favorite color? Blue. Green. Yellow. Pink. Purple. Red. These are typical responses. But have you ever heard anyone respond that brown is their favorite color? Probably not. UICS – St. Mark Center’s recent art project might have you looking at the color...
Trucks, and Buildings, and Project-Based Learning – Oh My!
At United Inner City Services (UICS), our educational goals are to enhance a child’s intellectual, social, physical and emotional skills and prepare them for entering kindergarten. These skills are vital to a child’s development and growth… and also offer...
Play is FUN-damental
“Play gives children a chance to practice what they are learning.” If you grew up during the 70s, 80s, and 90s, you probably remember Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, the nationally recognized preschool television program. This quote above about play, from Mister...
Big Feelings – Mental Health in Early Childhood Education
At United Inner City Services (UICS), we believe that people who are taught to become strong will be unstoppable. Throughout the turbulent year we’ve had, that strength has been needed now more than ever: for teachers, for parents, for the community, and especially...
Kansas City Chiefs and GEHA Give Back
Sunday is a day many Kansas Citians wait for all week. It is a day for savory snacks, red and gold jerseys, and cheers that can be heard for miles. It’s GAME DAY for the Kansas City Chiefs! While the Chiefs thrill us through nail-biting games and fill us with...
Hallmark’s Gift of Generosity AND Safety
"When you care enough to send the very best." Hallmark’s signature phrase rang truer than ever for United Inner City Services (UICS) through a special delivery on Monday, December 6, 2020. Hallmark Cards, Inc. delivered 300 face shields to UICS-Metro Center to be...
Dog Days of Learning at UICS-Metro Center
Dogs aren’t only a man’s best friend… They are also best friends to pre-K students at United Inner City Services (UICS)! The Animators classroom at UICS-Metro Center includes animal enthusiasts who recently expressed interest in exploring the lives of household...
Snow Much FUN at UICS
Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way. Oh what fun it is to… join United Inner City Services (UICS) friends, families, and staff for a virtual holiday gathering! That’s exactly what students, families, and employees did on December 18, 2020 to celebrate...
Early Childhood Education and Multicultural Literature
When you ask the question, “What was your favorite book as a child?”, you’ll get a lot of different answers. From childhood classics like “Goodnight Moon” or “The Velveteen Rabbit”, to more contemporary offerings, like “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” and “The...
New Opportunity to Build Bridges: Northland Expansion
During the last several months, most of us have seen or heard a child on the other end of a Zoom session. Many parents and caregivers have gained new “office assistants” this year as they work from home: their children. In the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, parents...
In Appreciation of Teachers
Think about your favorite teacher(s). What made them your favorite? Do you have a fun memory of them that makes you smile? How did they make your least favorite subject enjoyable (or at least tolerable)? What dreams did they inspire you to chase with full force? ...
UICS: Where Diversity is Our ‘Normal’
Super heroes don’t always wear capes and fly through the air. Some of them wear glasses, utilize service animals, and use wheelchairs. United Inner City Services (UICS) happens to have many superheroes in all of our centers. We call them teachers. One of those...
