Preschool / Daycare Center in McKinney, TX

Daffodils Preschool:
Daffodils Preschool, located in Mckinney, TX, is a Progressive Montessori Preschool offering programs for children aged 6 weeks to 6 years. Our curriculum is unique because it has developed and evolved through years of experience and observing what actually works with children. In designing our curriculum we have used the Montessori philosophy as the foundation and combined it with aspects from other impressive programs, such as the Steiner Philosophy, the Reggio Emilia Approach and Developmental Play.

Nursery Program:
(Ages 6 weeks - 18 months)
At Daffodils Nursery our smallest students are lovingly cared for in a self-contained nursery. The environment is set up to foster infants' physical, sensory, social, emotional and intellectual development. Teachers can be found singing, talking and reading to, cuddling, playing or rocking with the babies every day.

Toddler I Program:
(Ages 18 months- 2 years)
The toddler program is designed to provide a gentle transition for children starting preschool. Teachers and parents work together to help children become comfortable in their new surroundings and the concept of being separated from their parents for extended periods of time. The program focuses on helping children develop independence, motor skills, physical coordination, communication skills, concentration and sensory discrimination. Children are active learners who learns best when interacting with other children, making major choices, discovering, grappling with challenges and solving problems.

Toddler II Program:
(Ages 2 years - 3 years)
In the Toddler II program children start working on phonetics and letter recognition through the letterland program. They are also introduced to number concepts, shape and color recognition. Children start working with Montessori materials through practical life and sensorial activities; designed to help improve their fine and gross motor skills as well as hand-eye coordination. During the day children are encouraged to engage in enriched play and teacher-designed projects. A variety of extracurricular activities are offered to enhance learning.

Primary/Kindergarten Program:
(Ages 3 - 6 years)
By the age of three most children are developing independence and are eager to learn about the world around them. The Primary program is designed to help children develop and discover new interests and skills. The program focuses on five key learning areas: practical life, sensorial, language, maths and science/geography. Each class has learning centers equipped with specially designed materials. Children are free to move around between the different centers and choose activities of their interest. A variety of supplemental activities, such as: arts and crafts, story time, imaginary play, computers, etc., are used to enhance learning.

Programs and Timings:
We offer 2 Day , 3 Day and 5 Day programs
Half Day Program : 8:30 -12:30pm
School Day Program: 8:30 - 3:00pm
Full Day Program: 7:00 am - 6:00 pm

Extracurricular Activities:
Computer Program:
We offer a Computer Education Program to all the children enrolled. Classes are held in a custom designed computer lab. Children play with age appropriate educational software programs. The programs are designed to help children develop hand-eye coordination and build on their academic skills.

Music Program:
Before your child learns the ABC's and 1-2-3's, there's a critical area of development that can have a lifelong impact. It's music education, and it is very important to a young child's development. Research showsthat music helps build children's self confidence, enhances complex reasoning skills and focuses listening skills. The program is designed to offer a unique blend of multi-level activities that include creative movement, vocal play, object and instrument exploration, to stimulate children's growth and development and engage all their senses.

Gymnastics with Tumble On The Go:
Tumble on the Go is a 38-foot International Bus completely equipped with fun & exciting tumbling & gymnastics equipment including bars, beams, mats, vaults, rings, zip lines, trampolines, monkeybars and more. This gym on wheels is carefully designed to create a fun, safe, non-competitive environment for children ages 2-10 to gain confidence & self-esteem as they learn the basics of gymnastics. The programs main objective is to increase each child's strength, agility, balance & coordination on a individual level creating a great basis for all future sporting activities. TUMBLE ON THE GO provides the ultimate in "Fitness & Fun......All in One".

Spanish Lessons:
Spanish classes are offered twice a week. Tapes, boards, flash cards and a variety of materials are used to expose the children to the language. Stories and nursery rhymes help children develop new vocabulary.

Chidren's Yoga:
Children learn an introduction to Yoga through animal poses, imaginative play, stories, and songs. We focus on yoga through imitation during the preschool years, therefore we do not do adjustments, hold poses or practice breath retention. Yoga teaches children body and breathing awareness, spatial orientation, gross motor skills, cross-lateral movement (providing foundations for reading and writing),balance, and concentration. Each session features a different “theme” involving familiar objects, concepts, and animals. (Example: “Trip to the Zoo”, complete with Yoga poses as various zoo animals and riding the zoo train.) Children learn through repetition. Children will see how easy and fun Yoga can be! Participation in Yoga class meets or exceeds the guidelines set forth for public school physical education standards.

Cooking Classes:
Once a week children get to be gourmet chefs and cook exotic "Toddler Cuisine", with mouth watering dishes such as: jell-o, marshmallow snowman and more. The most important step in cooking is the process during which children learn to follow directions and improve motor skills by learning how to measure, pour and mix.

Nature Study:
The study of nature is an integral part of our curriculum. Children must learn about and interact with nature in order to truly appreciate its wonders.Unfortunately children living in urban environments get less of an opportunity to see the beauty of nature. A green-house at the school helps children learn about their environment and also teaches them the importance of caring for it.