At 4:45 p.m., parents rush in the Campus Child Care Center to pick up their children after a long day of classes and work. The children happily chat away about the day’s activities while parents struggle to bundle them up for the cold weather.

The center is not filled with ear-piercing crying from children or yelling from irritated adults. Instead, a sense of peace and serenity fills the center, and parents and teachers are greeting one another like old friends.

The Campus Child Care Center, located behind Gabel Hall, caters to the needs of parents with children between the ages of two months and five years. The center is available only to NIU students, faculty and staff.

Assistant Director Lisa Schmidt said there are about 110 children enrolled in the program.

Tracy Ash, a graduate student in applied family and child studies, picks up her 3-year-old daughter Quarey from the center. Ash, a single mother, has depended on the center since Quarey was nine months old.

Quarey “loves it here,” Ash said.

The hardest thing about leaving Quarey at the center was missing her, Ash said. She said she trusts the teachers, and the teachers and parents are friends.

Jennifer Flahive, an assistant teacher and graduate student in applied family and child studies, loves working with the children. She said the center is more than just a day care center- it educates the children.

The children have various activities ranging in art projects, reading stories, building blocks and outdoor adventures. They have morning and afternoon snacks which consist of baked goods, cereal and fruits. The Volunteer Action Center of DeKalb, 1606 Bethany Road, provides lunch for children staying the entire day.

Ellen Rogers, associate director of the Volunteer Action Center, said they have had a positive experience with the Campus Child Care Center.

“Working with the staff over the years has been great,” Rogers said. “We certainly recognize what a great day care center they are running.”

The center is open year round Monday through Friday from 7:15 a.m. until 5:45 p.m. About 70 percent of the parents are students and 30 percent are faculty and staff.

The children are divided into four groups: infants, 1-year-old toddlers, 2-year-old toddlers and preschoolers.

The center has an infant room for babies two to 12 months old. Another room, the toddler room, is for children between one and two years old. There are two rooms for children between the ages of two and three. Four rooms are for children between the ages of three and five.

The center offers full-time and part-time services. Parents can leave their children for as few as three hours or as many as 10 hours a day.

Child care fees depend on whether the parent is a student or faculty/staff, how long the child will stay, the age of the child and the numbers of days the child stays in a week.

For example, a student-parent leaving his or her 2-year-old child three days a week for seven hours a day costs $82.50 per week. A faculty/staff-parent with the same age child and schedule pays $90.30. There is a non-refundable enrollment fee of $30 per child at the start of a child’s enrollment.