Discovery Preschool

Early Education for 2-3 year olds

KinderCare Early Foundations^® Discovery Preschool Program

At this age, children make new discoveries daily. And as two-year-olds begin to express their independence, our Early Foundations Discovery Preschool program introduces them to a world of learning, sharing, and exploring.

Our holistic approach in the classroom engages young minds with the early learning fundamentals they'll need as they continue on to preschool, with a rich blend of music, art, and dramatic play.

Everything we do is designed to prepare your child for preschool education.

Discovery Preschool Program Features

Encouragement and support that builds your child's self-confidence and self-help skills
Opportunities for your child to express him or herself creatively through music, arts, dance and drama
A classroom environment that focuses on building your child's cognitive, emotional, social, and physical skills
Age-appropriate activities and materials that help your child master important learning concepts
Regular teacher-family communication, including daily updates to keep you informed
Engaging small and large-group experiences

Your child's early education at KinderCare

Discover how our five areas of focus give your child endless opportunities to learn and grow.

Communicating With Others
KinderCare helps your child increase language skills.
We stimulate vocabulary development by prompting imitation and repetition of words and sentences; build alphabet recognition through play with letters and writing centers; and strengthen conversation skills with group sharing and reading experiences.

Building Brain Power
KinderCare immerses your child in experiences designed to expand the mind.
We encourage investigation and problem solving; provide opportunities to practice sorting, matching and categorizing; and use blocks and math cards to teach counting, number identification, and patterning.

Making New Friends
KinderCare helps your child experience a sense of community.
We support cooperative play; use whole- and small-group activities to model sharing, communication, and cooperation; and demonstrate how to recognize others' feelings and respond appropriately.

Growing a Healthy Body
KinderCare coaches your child to develop new physical abilities.
We strengthen large-motor skills with riding equipment, balls, and movement activities; improve fine-motor and eye-hand coordination through pouring, stringing, and cutting activities; develop coordination using beanbags, hula hoops, and balance beams; and help children learn to serve themselves at meal times.

Nurturing Creativity
KinderCare encourages your child to express individuality.
We support pretend play and role-playing with props and costumes; encourage creative expression through age-appropriate art materials; and stimulate imagination through storytelling and block-building.

Your Two-Year-Old’s Day

Open to 9 a.m.	Breakfast, Learning Centers, and Child-Directed Play: Children participate in quiet activities and eat breakfast. As children finish breakfast, they can visit learning centers or participate in individual or small-group activities until most of the children have arrived and finished eating.
9 a.m. to 9:20 a.m.	Morning Routines and Whole-Group Activity: Teachers bring the group together for morning routines, calendar, sharing, discussion of the day’s planned activities, and featured activity.
9:20 a.m. to 10:15 a.m.	Learning Centers and Small-Group Activities: Children choose from activities in the library and language arts, math and manipulatives, blocks, science and sensory, dramatic play, and creative arts learning centers. Teachers implement small-group activities with a few children at a time, focusing on skill-building activities and observational assessments.
10:15 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.	Snack
10:30 a.m. to 10:45 a.m.	Group Time: Children come together to listen to a daily read-aloud and/or to finish or repeat activities from the morning group time.
10:45 a.m. to 11:35 a.m.	Outdoor Play: Children select from a variety of outdoor activities.
11:35 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.	Lunch: Children wash hands and help prepare to eat lunch.
12:15 p.m. to 2:15 p.m.	Rest Time and Quiet Time: Most children nap or rest quietly. As children wake from rest time, they can select from a variety of quiet choices, such as manipulatives, drawing, books, or puzzles.
2:15 p.m. to 3 p.m.	Learning Centers and Small-Group Activities: Children choose from activities in the library and language arts, math and manipulatives, blocks, science and sensory, dramatic play, and creative arts learning centers. Teachers implement small-group activities with a few children at a time, focusing on skill-building activities and observational assessments.
3 p.m. to 3:15 p.m.	Group Time: Children come together for an afternoon featured activity and closing routine.
3:15 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.	Snack
3:30 p.m. to 4:15 p.m.	Children select from a variety of outdoor activities.
4:15 p.m. to Departure	Learning Centers, Small-Group Activities, and Book Sharing: Children select from a variety of activities that are easy to clean up, such as books, listening center, and manipulatives.

Find a Discovery Preschool program near you >
Learn more about KinderCare's approach to early education >

PLEASE NOTE: While personal-care activities, such as hand washing and diapering, are scheduled throughout the day, these will also occur outside of the schedule to meet individual children’s needs.

More students that attended prekindergarten at KinderCare tested fully ready for kindergarten than their non-KinderCare classmates

Did you know?

When your two-year old repeats nursery rhymes and sings songs over and over she is developing reading skills. Recognizing the sounds of letters is called phonological awareness.

Learn how we develop well-rounded children!

Monthly Program Themes