Flooded out in January, Just 4 Kids Early Learning Center is getting back on solid ground.

The business reopened May 1 in its downtown Snoqualmie location, following an extensive remodel. It took months of work, volunteer effort and thousands of dollars, but the building now rings with the sound of youth.

School is broken

Children who attend the center didn’t fully understand what happened when flood waters claimed the building on Wednesday, Jan. 7.

“We told the children the school had a lot of water,” owner Henrietta Cranford said. Parents were encouraged to drive by and show the damage from the flood to the children.

‘The school is broken,’ children were told. ‘The man’s going to fix it.’

Cranford said the center normally sandbags in times of flood, but there wasn’t time last January. One staffer stood outside in ice cold water for hours to ensure children got out safely.

“It was almost too late,” she said.

Ed Evans, a business associate with Just 4 Kids waded over to the center to survey the damage.

“When I saw his face, I knew it wasn’t good,” Cranford said. “We just stood and looked at each other. We did not know what to do.”

The business had to close for four and a half months for repairs. The children were moved to classrooms at Calvary Chapel in North Bend in the interim.

Floors had to be replaced, walls cut and repaired. Just 4 Kids needed new paint, new doors, “new everything,” Cranford said. “We pretty much had the building back the way it was two years ago — it was like remodeling it all over again.”

Repair costs ran to $124,000. Cranford was lucky enough to have flood insurance — many of her neighbors did not, she said.

Insurance money didn’t replace everything. The center replaced priority needs first, such as toddler items, books, tapes and CDs, but toys and computer games are still being replaced.

“We had to get new balls, new trucks,” Cranford said. “If flood water touched it, we didn’t want to use it. We were afraid of contamination.”

So, for a time, children had to go without certain toys or items.

“I missed the A box,” said Sarah Long, age 4.

The box, filled with items that start with the letter ‘A,’ was one of the casualties of the flood.

Cranford’s daughter Isabella remembers being afraid during the flood. She said she missed the Care Bears game on the computer.

After the flood, volunteers helped clean, wash and sanitize, and helped with bringing food.

“People just walked in, it was amazing,” Cranford said.

“The first two weeks is when you get the most volunteers,” she added. “After that, people forget. Which is sad, because the church next door, they’re still not open.”

Despite the challenges, Cranford said she loves working with children and could never contemplate a desk job.

“I try to see through the child’s eyes and understand what they’re trying to say and do,” she said. “If you look at each individual child, they’re amazing. I feel I’m privileged to provide care.”

Opened in 2007, Just 4 Kids has room to grow. As enrollment increases it may expand into two extra rooms.

Just 4 Kids is located at 8470 Falls Ave. S.E. Call the center at (4250 651-4042.