A quick walkthrough of the new Family Tree Pre-Kindergarten Program building on Warwick Avenue reveals something quite clear – it’s a place designed for kids. Here every table is the kids’ table, with the chairs standing no more than a foot and a half tall.

The hand washing sinks are designed purposely low too. And there are plenty of soft cushioned chairs. There are toys, stuffed animals, an abacus or two for counting, blocks, puzzles, crayons for coloring. And books, as well, plenty of colorfully illustrated books.

The Family Tree School Age Enrichment Program has only been open for about a year and a half, since April 2008, but already it’s expanding. Family Tree’s original location is on West Shore Road. The program added another location on Edythe Road.

Erica Saccoccio, who co-owns Family Tree with her sister Christine Alexander, says they added the additional location because parents with school aged children in the program wanted a place to bring their pre-school kids.

“We then opened up a pre-K room last year at Edythe Road,” Saccoccio said. “It was full as soon as we opened. We had a waiting list.”

So it was time to open another location.

Of course, there are many other options for childcare in Warwick, from the Boys and Girls Club to YMCA and other child day care centers.

Saccoccio says these programs are all excellent. But she says her business brings a unique angle to childcare. It aims to surpass the industry’s certification and accreditation standards.

Family Tree’s focus is to not just keep kids busy throughout the before and after school hours – a time during which many parents work – but to supplement and build upon what they learn in school. The program also offers mid-day care for kindergarteners, Saturday child care and a summer camp as well.

On most days, parents will drop off their children at breakfast, around 7 a.m. Some may have already eaten, others haven’t. Breakfast will be followed by quiet table activity. School age children are driven to school in Family Tree’s van.

After school programs include homework time, and also acting, improvisational comedy, martial arts and hip-hop dance classes. These programs run until about 6 p.m., when the center closes.

Family Tree taps into outside organizations for these classes, Saccoccio says, but adds that they must be similarly minded – with shared goals of bolstering self-esteem and community interests. The business has also formed partnerships with several Warwick schools.

And in addition to its in-house programs, Family Tree also offers field trips like a recent excursion to the cove in Wickford.

The new pre-Kindergarten program helps children prepare for school.

The new location features several rooms. The building is divided into two age groups, a group of two and three year olds and then a group of four and five year olds. Each side of the build is then broken up into separate “learning areas.”

One room is devoted to writing, science and literacy. Another area is for arts. Then there’s also a math center.

The program’s teachers and staff keep track of the children’s progress. “We record what they do,” Saccoccio said.

For example, after a lesson children will be asked to draw a picture of what they learned. Teachers will then date stamp that picture, and put it in a file.

Saccoccio says her clientele are referred to Family Tree by word-of-mouth recommendation, and most were previously in other childcare businesses she and her sister have worked at.

Saccoccio, who is past president of the Rhode Island School Age Association, says the staff at Family Tree is “seasoned.” Family Tree’s staff of 18 employees is family centered. There are two teachers who have master’s certification, and everyone is certified and trained in childcare through the Rhode Island Department of Education.

Many of Saccoccio’s employees at Family Tree are previous co-workers, with whom she has worked alongside for “5, 6, 7 years.”

Saccoccio has two children of her own and has been in the field for 11 years.

She is a trained endorser for the National After School Association, but didn’t always know that she would be involved in childcare. As she puts it, “The profession chose me.”

Before she became involved with childcare Saccoccio worked in sales at Off-Track Bedding. She had children, who her mother looked after.

But as Saccoccio’s mother was becoming increasing less able to her for her children, she found that she would have to start looking at other options.

Saccoccio says she was always concerned about the quality of care her children would receive at day care programs. When she did enroll her children she found she was impressed with the care they received.

It prompted her to get involved, certified and change careers. Although the field “is not for everyone,” Saccoccio found that she particularly enjoyed watching and caring for children.

Saccoccio says her decision to open her own childcare business resulted from “small progressions over 11 years.”

“My previous boss was very generous,” she said. “I really ran my previous employers’ school for about four years.

In fact, “the scariest thing” about opening a new business “was having to go get loans,” said Saccoccio. “You are basically signing your life away and your home.”

The siblings got a loan through Bank R.I.

“My sister had been working with children for much longer than me,” Saccoccio said, noting that Alexander had worked with programs assisting low-income children in Woonsocket.

“This was her love,” Saccoccio said, but added Family Tree is a joint effort between the two, combining “my business sense and her teaching skills.”

Saccoccio says she enjoys the continuity of seeing the same children over the course of about six to seven years. “It’s kind of neat to see my kids grow up. It’s a rewarding profession,” she said.

The cost for full-time enrollment in the pre-school program is $195 a week. It’s $80 a week for the after school. The program has also begun to offer a corporate childcare discount. Chelo’s Bar & Grill has signed on. Chelo’s employees receive a 15 percent discount on childcare.

Family Tree also offers payment plans for those who need it.

In addition to expanding the business within her home city, Saccoccio has recently begun to offer her employees a 401k plan, and is looking into other benefits. Health insurance is too large an expense for her small business.

Saccoccio says there’s a possibility that Family Tree could expand with franchises outside of the city, but “the bigger you get, the less time you have at home.”

“I enjoy knowing my customers and kids by name. The bigger you get, you lose some of that. Family Tree has a family environment where everyone knows every child and every parent,” Saccoccio said.

A Family Tree will host an open house for new families this Saturday, Nov. 14, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The open house will be held at A Family Tree’s 1648 Warwick Avenue location.