A Typical Day at the Preschool Program
6:30-7:45 AM Center opens. Children of all ages arrive. Morning program includes various activities such as; construction projects with blocks and accessory materials, language and literature activities with books, stories, discussion and conversation.
7:45-8:15 AM Breakfast. Children are invited to enjoy a healthy breakfast provided by the center.
8:30–10:00 AM Structured time. This includes group circle time, music and movement exposure, such as; dancing, games, stretching, obstacle courses and open center choice time which includes dress-up, sand/water table, blocks, library and science experiments.
10:00-10:30 AM Clean-up time and morning snack time. The snack is provided by the center.
10:30-11:15 AM Project time. This consists of arts and crafts, woodworking, nature exploration, holiday and or seasonal activities and gift making.
11:15-11:45 Morning outside time. During this time children are invited to explore nature, play in the sand box, use balance bikes play on the playground etc.
11:45 AM MCPS preschool children arrive. Children come in from outside, wash-up and are offered opportunities which help meet physical needs, establish routing habits and foster positive health attitudes.
12:00-12:30 PM Lunchtime – Staff sit with the children and encourage them to enjoy lunch as a social time with lively conversation.
12:30-2:30 PM Story time, rest and quiet time. Staff individually read stories to the children. For those children who require only rest time not sleep time, the loft library and table games are available.
2:30-3:00 PM Wake up and free play. Children awake and are given the opportunity to choose which activity center they would like to play at.
3:00 - 4:30 PM Snack and Outdoor Play Time. Preschool children are invited to enjoy a snack. After snack they go outside and take advantage of the sand box, wheel toys, swings and playground equipment.
4:30 - 5:45 PM Structured project time. Children are invited to participate in cooking, arts and crafts and music activities.
Key Program Information
Open from 6:30 AM - 6 PM, Monday-Friday, 12 months a year (see "Calendar" tab for center closure dates)
Children age 2-5 years old, must be toilet trained to enroll
Tuition: $100 annual registration fee + $320/week. Scholarships accepted from Working Parents Assistance Program (WPA) and the Maryland Department of Social Services Child Care Scholarship Program.
Address: 1102 Jackson Rd, Colesville, MD 20904
Telephone: 301-680-0665
The Role of Parents
The role of the parent is to be the primary advocate for their child. Horizon Child Care is a service organization in partnership with the family. We support the parents by hearing their needs and putting a plan in action for their child. Our goal is to give the parents complete peace of mind. While we enjoy and value any contribution of parent’s time we are aware that we are here to serve them. We ask parents to come into the center when dropping off or picking up their children to encourage them to spend a little time with their children. We invite parents to participate in our program. We value and appreciate it when they join us on field trips, read stories to the children, play dodge ball or meet us at the pond for an afternoon of fishing. Some parents have special talents, and we encourage them to come and share their talents with the children. This creates a feeling of warmth and stronger home/center rapport. In the past we have had parents teach pottery, sign language, yoga and soccer.
Parents Access to the Facility
Horizon Child Care maintains an open door policy. Parents are allowed and encouraged to visit any time throughout the day. Parents may call their children on the phone and talk to their child. They can also send notices through email.
Accredited by the Maryland State Department of Education
Preschool Program
Program Philosophy. The preschool aged child needs nurturing affirmation in a setting that is both secure and home-like. Horizon strives to meet these needs with a program that provides both group and individual activities, designed to enable the child to explore the world around him or her while developing social skills. We provide a setting that allows children to explore with their imaginations through block building, dress-up, story telling, dramatic presentation, sand and water creations, music and rigorous outdoor play. We balance these individual and small group activities with developmentally appropriate large group activities such as circle time, puppet presentations, cooking activities, balance activities, kinetic learning opportunities and organized games. We use language development as the building block of all these skills. Given our privileged location at MLK Park children are provided with ample opportunities to explore the natural world around them.