Preschool in Menlo Park, San Mateo County, CA

Geokids / Menlo Survey Child Development Center:
The GeoKids / Menlo Survey Child Development Center is an accredited, nationally recognized, non-profit parent co-operative providing high quality childcare for children aged 3 months through to pre-kindergarten (5 years). The center is located on the Menlo Park, CA campus of the United States Geological Survey (USGS), and is supported in part by the General Services Administration (GSA) and the USGS. GeoKids is a developmental play-based program founded on the belief that children are capable, competent, self-motivated learners. Within our program, adults encourage children to participate in everything that concerns them and to do as much as they are capable of doing for themselves.

GeoKids believes that children, families, teachers and the community at large can work together as resources to develop curriculum. It is the belief at GeoKids that we are not preparing children specifically for kindergarten, but to have a life long love of learning.

Childcare Program:
GeoKids is a Reggio inspired, play and project based school for children aged 3 months through to pre-kindergarten (five years old). We are a place where children can be children, and learn through play. We offer a curriculum that challenges, encourages, and supports children in their quest for knowledge, recognizing the developmental stages of childhood and the unique gifts, talents and abilities of each child.

GeoKids is inspired by the Reggio Emilia approach, which encourages children's intellectual development through systematic focus on symbolic representation, as children are encouraged to explore their environment and express themselves through words, movement, drawing, painting, playing, and other natural modes of expression.

Through daily observations, the teaching staff can pay close attention to recurring themes in the children’s play, developmental issues, testing of hypotheses and theories, which is the foundation of the Emergent Curriculum practiced at GeoKids.