Kiddie Kingdom

1968

Kiddie Kingdom was started in September 1968 as an outreach ministry of the Sunday School Department of Ashland Christian Church. Originally a half-day program, it was expanded to provide all-day care in 1969, and became the first licensed childcare facility in Hanover County.

In March 1974, Kiddie Kingdom was incorporated and no longer a ministry of the church. Simultaneously, Kiddie Kingdom was proceeding to qualify as a non-profit school. This status was granted in June of the same year. Since its incorporation, a Board of Directors has governed Kiddie Kingdom. The Board of Directors is made up of community members, including parents, who express an interest in the well being of the children and in Kiddie Kingdom. Kiddie Kingdom has no religious affiliations.

In September 1975, the center moved from the Ashland Christian Church to St James the Less Episcopal Church. By September of 1979, the Half-Day program had outgrown the facilities and moved to Holy Cross Lutheran Church on Ashcake Rd. with the full day program remaining at St James.

In September 1997, Kiddie Kingdom began to meet additional needs within the community. Kiddie Kingdom joined forces with Hanover County Public Schools and became the site for the first Inclusion Program serving Preschool children with developmental delays in Hanover County. Also, the demand for additional space for the half-day preschool program was met with the use of new space at St James the Less Episcopal Church.

In the spring of 2000, Kiddie Kingdom once again felt the need for a larger facility. We moved to a former restaurant on Washington Highway consolidating all programs into the new facility. Knowing this was a temporary location, we began searching for a permanent home. In November 2001 the Board of Directors negotiated the purchase of our new home located at 813 Thompson Street in Ashland!