Creative Kids Lake Wylie coming in spring

A new children’s learning center is under construction with plans to open mid-May.

Creative Kids Lake Wylie will be a 13,500-square-foot facility on 4 acres purchased three years ago at 5699 Charlotte Highway, according to creativekidslakewylie.com/. The site is currently under construction by Charlotte-based Southside Constructors.

“We feel like the need is there for Lake Wylie with the growth coming to the schools and the demographics will support another child care facility,” said project manager Shane Cunningham of Rock Hill. “For years we’ve wanted to grow our Christian preschool market and Lake Wylie has taken off.”

The entrance to the facility will be off the new road from Charlotte Highway leading into Paddlers Cove neighborhood, also under construction. The center will offer enrichment programs in science, music, art, culinary, theater and sports for infant 6 weeks to age 12.

“It’s a curriculum that involves Christ,” he said. "We like to tell children about Jesus."

Cunningham said the family business started with his mother, Teresa Lawson, when she founded the brand Carolina Kids in 1997 opening a child development center in Rock Hill and later a Fort Mill site. Both won 12 times as Best Child Care Center in The Herald’s annual Readers’ Choice Awards, Lawson said.

“I’ve been doing it ever since I can remember,” Cunningham said. “She would go to inner cities and talk to students about Jesus. She just has a love for children.”

Cunningham said he joined her full time in 2002, along with his father Tim.

“We have a passion for it and are involved in it every day. We like to be hands on,” he said. “It’s a family-owned business and we run it like that.”

They recently sold both operations as his parents semi-retire, so Cunningham will focus on Creative Kids that has room for 275 students, including space for 55 in after-school programs. The center will pick up children from school, like other area facilities, he said.

“We plan to enroll a limited number of children and keep quality as a top priority,” Lawson said.

The building will include 11 classrooms, a gym and a multipurpose room for culinary studies.

“We also put a lot of emphasis on outdoor classrooms, including a covered area outside,” he said. “We rotate them around so they’re not inside all day long.”

A father of 5-year-old triplets - two boys and one girl - he said he’s looking to put his own “twist on things.”

Cunningham said he will hire 45-49 employees, with about 30 full-time staff. Applications are being accepted online. Applicants should have a degree in preschool program or childhood education.

Cunningham said they are working out enrollment rates.

“It’s been a blessing. We love what we do,” he said.

To apply or for more information, email enrollment@creativekidslakewylie.com.

This story was originally published January 27, 2016 at 4:58 PM with the headline "Creative Kids Lake Wylie coming in spring."