Our Programs

Providing An Inclusive, Safe, And Caring Environment For Children.

Montessori Inspired Play Based Curriculum

One test of the correctness of educational procedure is the happiness of the child.

-Maria Montessori

BUMBLEBEES

INFANTS

6 Months – 12 Months

Sunflowers

YOUNG TODDLERS

13 Months – 23 Months

DANDELIONS

TODDLERS TWO

24 Months – 36 Months

BLUEE JAYS

THREES

3 Years – 4 Years

MARIGOLDS

Mixed Aged Montessori Inspired

Primary Classroom

3 Years – 5 Years

GOLDENRODS

Kindergarten Preparatory Academy

4 Years – 5 Years

Infants

BUMBLEBEES

INFANTS

6 Months – 12 Months

INFANT 1

Full-Time

$290 per week

Part-Time

3 days: $185

2 days: $130

Full-Time

$290 per week

Part-Time

3 days: $185 | 2 days: $130

INFANT 2

Full-Time

$265 per week

Part-Time

3 days: $175

2 days: $125

Full-Time

$265 per week

Part-Time

3 days: $175 | 2 days: $125

Nurturing the natural development of the whole child

During this stage of development, a child’s sensory motor skills are the focal point. The children are relying upon their senses and environment to teach them about the world in which they live. They are exploring through their senses; therefore, it is important to provide them with new experiences that will allow them to learn more about the world. Simple concepts like wet and dry, big and small, smooth and rough are all concepts that infants are interested in. With appropriate guidance and safety, children are able to allow their environment to teach them more about the world they live in.

During the infant stage, structured activities are not often used

• Creating an environment that will allow children to learn through play and optional participation in
the activities of the older children (if appropriate) are the foundations for early childhood
education.
• “Teachable moments” are constant in this stage of development.
• Snack time and other meal times are providing stimulation for them. Feeding themselves not only
helps with autonomy but it stimulates the sensory motor skills, develops good eye-hand
coordination and other fine motor skills such as the pincer grasp (the thumb and forefinger being
used to pick up a small object rather than an open hand) and not to mention it provides nutrition.
• One activity that is among the favorites of infants is “pudding paint”. While older children are
allowed to use paint, our infants can use pudding, yogurt or baby food on a blank paper or paper
plate to finger paint. This allows them to smell the pudding, taste it, feel it, and be creative with
it.
• By discussing the activity with the infants, this also stimulates language development.
Early infancy requires a sense of trust and nurturing that is a quality and characteristic of Family
Daycare which cannot always be attained in a larger group setting. By talking, reading, responding,
cradling, and soothing an infant they develop a sense of trust which is essential for their development.

TODDLERS

SUNFLOWERS

YOUNG TODDLERS

13 Months - 23 Months

Full-Time

$240 per Week

Part-Time

3 days: $155 | 2 days: $115

Learning can be FUN!

During this stage of development, language skills, gross motor skills and social and emotional skills are our areas of focus. Cognitive development and the introduction of new concepts hinge on the child’s ability to express themselves verbally, interact with other children and adults, and express their emotions (not being forced to control them). We express how we feel to children and discuss their feeling with them (even those that are non-verbal). This is also a time when potty training is introduced both at home and at the daycare.

Some activities used to develop language skills

• Story time
• Reciting nursery rhymes, chants and poems
(from memory using repetition)
• Circle time
• Interactive Play

Some activities used to develop gross motor skills

• Dancing
• Outdoor play
• Games including: Ring around the Rosy, Head Shoulder Knees and Toes etc.
• Throwing and catching a ball
• Building Blocks

Some activities used for Social and Emotional Development are

• Cooperative Play
• Story Time (Children learn how different emotions are expressed through watching and listening
to stories)
• Imitation and modeling behavior (Using manners, respect for the feelings of others-including the
children, etc.)
• Circle Time

PRE-SCHOOL CHILDREN

DANDELIONS

Toddler Twos

24 Months - 36 Months

Full-Time

$215 per Week

Part-Time

3 days: $135 | 2 days: $95

Inspiring Independence

Using a research based curriculum that aligns with the Maryland College & Career Readiness Standards (formerly common core) for pre-k 3 & pre-k 4 we prepare children for kindergarten with a hands – on play based approach.

Reading readiness

Visual Discrimination or Perception – The ability to recognize how objects, pictures, shapes,
letters, and words are similar and how they are different.
• Visual Memory – The ability to remember what you have seen, which is necessary for letter and
word recall.
• Perceptual Motor Skills – This includes eye-hand coordination, which helps us track a line of print
with our eyes, and fine motor skills, which allows us to be able to write.
• Orientation – This refers to the ability to move our eyes from left to right and top to bottom,
which is the way a page of print is read.
• Auditory Discrimination or Perception – The ability to discriminate between sounds, necessary for
learning letter sounds.
• Auditory Memory – This is the ability to remember the sounds letters make, and be able to
reproduce them and blend them together to decode words.
• Concept Development – This involves providing children with first-hand experiences that can be
related to language and reading, which brings meaning to a printed page.
• Book Readiness – Children should know how to care for books, open them and turn pages properly.
• Oral Language – The ability to put words together to form sentences to convey thoughts and
information.
• Letters – This includes consonants and vowels, as well as diagraphs, learning the sounds they
convey, and the ability to blend these sounds together to make words.
• Attitude – To develop a love of reading and books.

Writing Readiness

We also focus on fine motor skills that will develop good writing skills in the future.
• Using scissors to cut on a straight line and eventually graduating to a zig-zag line
• Introduction of writing with a pencils and crayons
• Name Recognition
• Tracing
One test of the correctness of educational procedure is the happiness of the child.

Daily Schedule

A Typical Day at S2S

Please remember that our schedule is flexible and times are not exact times, but they are approximate times.