As the tots at the Flex-care preschool program curl up on carpet squares to take their afternoon nap, their parents take a nap of their own during a long, drawn-out class lecture.

These children attend a preschool created specifically for the children of ISU student families.

The Flex-care program, 1052 Pammel Court, has been operating since 1991 and provides part-time child care for 3 to 5-year-old children of ISU students. Families may leave their children at the daycare for less than 15 hours to more than 35 hours per week, depending on their class and study schedules.

“The program is very flexible — that’s why we call it the Flex-care program,” said Penny Pepper, director of Flex-care.

The daycare center was created specifically for students who can’t afford standard daycare.

Salma Atroon, sophomore in management information systems, said the program can be a lifesaver for student parents.

Atroon, a 31-year-old mother, has lived in Ames with her husband for the last 13 years. It would be impossible to juggle classes and raise three children without the Flex-care program, she said.

Atroon’s children have been going through the University Child Care program for the last eight years. Her three-year-old son, Shihab, is currently attending the program, and the next oldest son, Mustafa, graduated from the preschool two years ago. He still recognizes the daycare workers and usually greets them with an enthusiastic smile.

As Atroon praised the Flex-care program, her three sons work intently on building a miniature fortress out of wooden blocks. They put the finishing touches on the building, but quickly abandon the project as snack time was announced.

Their preschool experience is typical, but it’s making their mother’s undergraduate education possible.

“If it weren’t for this daycare program, there’s no way I’d have time for my degree,” she said.

The main difference between the Flex-care program and typical child care is its part-time nature.

“Other programs look after children eight or nine hours a day, while we can look after children as little as two or three,” Pepper said.

The program was developed to meet a need among university students, she said.

“We responded to a Story County survey conducted a few years ago, indicating that affordable part-time child care was an unfulfilled need,” Pepper said. “This program was created at the university’s request to meet that need.”

The student families who enroll their children in the Flex-care program don’t fall within any type of demographic niche. They are single moms, two-parent families, Americans and every other type of nationality in between, said Sue Larson, program coordinator.

“We’ve had some years where nearly all the children were from international families and other years where the children had American parents,” she said. “One year, out of 20 children, all their parents were international students with the exception of one parent.”

Working with children from such a wide variety of backgrounds has been a truly unique experience, Larson said.

“We’ve had 26 different countries that have been represented through our program,” she said.