Preschool / Child Care Center in Denver, CO

Iliff Preschool & Kindergarten:
Iliff Preschool & Kindergarten is a child care center located in Denver, Colorado. We offer quality child care programs for toddler, preschool, kindergarten and school-age children from 1 - 14 years of age. We also offer preschool and kindergarten programs as well as Summer Adventure Day Camp for post-Kindergarten and school-age children. We aim to provide warm, loving care, a stimulating educational curriculum and a full range of services in support of all families. Enrichment classes include dance and Spanish.

Quality Childcare Programs for Children Ages 1-14:
Toddler Program:
We know that toddlers learn best when they feel secure in a loving environment that gives them the confidence to explore. Our toddler classrooms support the development of social skills and encourage self-help. Good literacy beginnings - including trusting relationships, two-way communication, exploration and play and the enjoyment of stories, books, rhymes and songs help insure children's later success as readers and writers. Child observations are recorded and shared in daily parent reports.

Preschool for 3 Year Olds:
Building Language for Literacy, a research-based program, is a favorite in our 3 year-old preschool classrooms. Nina the Naming Newt, Leo the Letter Loving Lobster and Reggie the Rhyming Rhino help children have fun while building their skills by providing a foundation in oral language, phonological awareness, concepts of print and alphabetic knowledge. Integrated with early literacy are other child initiated experiences designed around centers which include drama, blocks, creative arts, science and nature, math, and small and gross motor skills.

Pre-Kindergarten Program:
With the help of the Letter People, our pre-kindergarten classrooms are introduced to phonemes-the individual and separable sound units in words. The children, with the help of the Letter People, associate the sounds of oral language with the letters. Phonemic awareness is achieved through play and games as the children sing songs, hear and tell stories, read trade books, do finger plays and invent and repeat poetry and rhymes. Math concepts include counting, shapes, patterns, calendar, seasons and money. Large and small motor skills are emphasized as well as self-expression through art and dramatic play.

Kindergarten:
Our program makes language come alive with just the right blend of reality and imagination, allowing the children to interact with the teacher in whole-group and small-group settings. Literature, songs, read-along tapes, games, poems, art posters, maps, PREdecodable and Decodable Books, and take-home books are just a few of the ways children experience print awareness, phonological and phonemic instruction, alphabetic word recognition, vocabulary development and reading fluency and comprehension. Writing often emerges naturally as children incorporate it into their pretend play. Learning centers equipped with journals for non-directed writing, provide the opportunity for children to apply their increasing knowledge of sound-letter relationships.

Our program integrates literacy with social studies, science, health and safety, fine art, mathematics and music. Daily activities address social-emotional skills including self-efficacy as well as approaches toward learning; emphasizing curiosity, initiative and task persistence.

School-Age Program:
Our popular school-age program provides transportation to and from University Park during the academic year. The children enjoy hanging out with buddies during the morning and after arriving at the center in the afternoon. They organize playground activities, enjoy table games and plan art and craft projects away from the pressures of school. Snacks and help with homework are welcomed in the afternoons. Back-up care is offered when the public and private elementary schools are closed for holiday, breaks, snow days and teacher planning days during the school year.

Enrichment Programs:
All programs include age-appropriate activities in music, computer instruction, drama, physical awareness and art. Enrichment programs are optional. Children and parents can choose Spanish with Club Amigos, dance with Dancin’ Dreams, and/or piano lessons with Tickled Ivories. Art with Miss Vanessa is included in the tuition in both the Kindergarten and Summer Adventure Day Camp programs.

Summer Camps:
Our unique weekly summer theme camps for post kindergarteners and school-age children emphasize fun, recreation, adventure, creativity and learning. Our summer camp counselors focus on experiences that encourage children to form positive peer relationships by planning activities like swimming, sports, and popular field trips which enrich the weekly themes.