Call it a late holiday present. Following the winter break, preschoolers returning to daycare at the JCC in West Orange were greeted by a new early childhood center.

The Sharon and Stephen Seiden Early Childhood Center is part of the $22 million renovation of the Leon & Toby Cooperman JCC, Ross Family Campus.

It includes 10 new classrooms as well as a children’s library and teacher resource area, a large indoor play space, a nurse’s office, and a covered and heated drop-off and pick-up area for the sole use of its clients.

The indoor play space is dedicated to developing large motor skills with climbing toys, bouncing balls, and many other play opportunities, according to JCC marketing director Karen Edelstein.

“The children’s library is in an open area with comfortable seating so parents can spend some quiet reading time with their children before or after class, or any time in between,” she wrote in an e-mail. There are 55 staff workers attending to nearly 300 children.

Arlene Sherman, an assistant director of early childhood services, said parents were “thrilled” with the new layout. No longer do they have to traverse through the JCC to get to the classrooms, which heretofore had been scattered throughout the vast facility.

ECC director Jo Sohinki said the transition was seamless, and the children had been prepared for the move. “Prior to Hanukka, the children began working on mezuzot for the new rooms; they studied about them, and we’ll be putting them up soon,” she said.

“It’s fantastic,” said Candace Rosu of West Orange, who has been bringing her children to child-care programs at the JCC for eight years. “We’re just really happy with the new facilities. There are no stairs, it’s easy access, [and] the teachers are fantastic.”

Accompanied by her one-year-old son, Arthur, Rosu was waiting for three-year-old Ari to be dismissed from class. Her other kids, Andre and Abby, have already “graduated” from the ECC and are in area public schools. Although the physical structure is brand-new, the programs themselves are the same, which suits Rosu just fine.

“They do everything from Shabbat to reading to playing; the usual preschool stuff, but they’re very hands-on in the classes,” she said.

For further information about the Early Childhood Center, contact Sohinki or 973-530-3511.