Our Learning Programs

                                   Empowering at Every Age:

    Alpha Classroom: Infants/Toddlers:  6 weeks to 23 months: 

Early childhood education and development is critically important. At Early Start Daycare Academy, our experienced teachers and staff help facilitate this period of learning, and that’s what separates us from traditional childcare facilities. Your infants and toddlers will be paired with a primary teacher who will provide personalized attention and nurture them through every milestone—within a caring and cohesive community. Children will be provided opportunities for sensory play with water tables, paints and various textured books. Children will begin to have a small circle time to begin engaging them with sitting down for a brief period to learn basic letters and words. This time period for children of this age is crucial and we offer various opportunities for brain development. Our teachers will engage children in speaking or using their hands with small sign language signals to help them communicate. Offering children of this age group an opportunity to be understood is vital in having them have a voice and feel heard, even when they are speaking yet. Infants will be provided with hands-on bottle feeding, tummy time, sensory play, holding of small rattles and finger play with puppets. Infants will be provided opportunities to hand feed themselves when they become the proper age to offer small amounts of food. Remember, food before 1 is just for fun. This gives the infants an opportunity to self-feed, squish in their hands which encourages fine motor skills and being able to learn to hold a sippy cup, another fine motor skill that will be getting developed throughout the days.

We follow Strict health and safety procedures throughout our center in all classrooms to ensure all the children in our care have the healthiest opportunities for growth and development. While your child is at our Academy, you’ll have the peace of mind knowing that they’re in a healthy and safe environment thanks to Health Essentials, our enhanced health and cleaning initiative based on CDC guidelines. 

                            Faith Classroom: 2-year-olds

Our 2-year-old program offers our children an opportunity to learn about sharing, side by side play, art activities, circle time, open play areas, song, dance and music, outdoor time that includes large gross motor skills, developing and strengthening their muscle development and also includes planting in our garden. Children will learn about being self-sufficient and learning to do things for themselves. We encourage individuality in each child and will encourage them to step out of their comfort zones. As teachers, we will enhance their everyday lives by engaging them to try new things, new foods and new activities. We will provide a loving and safe environment for all our children. 

                         Miracle Classroom: 3-year-olds

The children in this classroom will begin to follow a more guided curriculum that will strengthen their understanding of social and emotional development. We will offer the children various ways to engage with peers either collectively or on an individualized basis. Children in this classroom will further develop their fine motor skills by creating artwork with paint and paint brushes, by playing heavily with play dough, puzzle, interlocking blocks, scribbling and writing on paper, cutting with scissors and using various tools to enhance their skills. Children in this classroom will be offered a more structured circle time that will teach the children about days of the week, the weather, seasons, numbers, letters, colors, various songs and how to sit and raise their hands to ask questions. 

Faith Classroom: 4-year-olds

This classroom will follow a guided curriculum that will strengthen their confidence in being able to complete tasks individually or with their peers. We will offer the children various ways to engage with peers either collectively or on an individualized basis. Children in this classroom will further develop their fine motor skills by being offered opportunities to use scissors for cutting, using glue for projects, how to begin to hold writing utensils such as crayons, markers, colored pencils and regular pencils within their day-to-day tasks. This classroom will further enhance the circle time opportunities for children to have a more enhanced learning experience with a themed curriculum that will engage them to learn about subjects that aren't and possibly are aware of. This classroom will offer the children more opportunities for self-awareness. awareness of their peers and how to engage properly with them, how to raise their hands and wait to be called on, how to ask for help when needed and to build their self confidence in their own capabilities. Children will continue to be offered a more structured circle time that will continue to teach the children about days of the week, the weather, seasons, numbers, letters, colors, various songs and how to sit and raise their hands to ask questions. We will be preparing the children for their next classroom, the Omega Classroom which is for the 5-year-olds.

Omega Classroom: 5-year-olds (Pre-K)

This will be the final classroom that your child will be in while at our center. This classroom will be preparing children for their Kindergarten year in a public-school setting. We have individualized desks and have arranged the classroom to be a replica of what they will experience once they enter Kindergarten. In this classroom, the teacher will focus on school ready, age-appropriate activities. Some of these activities will include learning and reading site words, learning how to properly hold their pencils and write their names. It will also include various opportunities for the children to complete art projects that will include using their fine motor skills for cutting, glueing, folding, holding a pencil, raising their hands, asking for help, engaging in a more interactive play with their peers. This classroom will have your children ready for kindergarten and more than likely, have them ahead of their peers in kindergarten. We will ensure that your children are ready for school and have an understanding of what school will look like when they get to kindergarten. This class also shows the children the Pledge of Allegiance, as a lot of the schools still offer this opportunity to children in our area, and we would like them to be prepared as needed. The children will occasionally receive homework to take home and be completed and returned the following day. This again ensures that the children are familiar with what they will endure when they reach Kindergarten. 

Below you can find additional information:

“Early Start Daycare Academy has been a blessing for our family. The staff is so caring and attentive, and our child has learned so much in their care. We couldn't be happier with the experience!”

— Sarah Johnson

“I was surprised to see that a Childcare center offered a Gymnasium, Library and Science Center for the children. I have never seen this before in a childcare center. I was very impressed and glad we took the tour and registered. 

— Cynthia Juarez

About us

Early Start Daycare Academy is a premier early childhood education provider in Chicago, dedicated to offering the highest quality care and education for young children. Our team of experienced educators is passionate about creating a nurturing and stimulating environment where children can learn, grow, and thrive.