WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF DISCOVERY!
Preschool & Childcare In Germantown, MD
Now Enrolling! Full-day, year-round programs for children ages 18 months to 12 years old!
Our mission is to cultivate a community that respects and nurtures the rights of the learner in an environment that fosters life-long learning through collaboration, compassion, creativity, wonder, and curiosity.
OPEN Monday thru Friday 7 am to 6 pm
World of Discovery was established in January 2021 with a commitment to combine quality childcare with excellence in early childhood education. WOD is devoted to satisfying the diverse needs of families within our community. We approach this by providing optimal opportunities for learning and the highest standard of child-inspired and professionally nurtured care at our center.
We are currently enrolling children, ages 18 months to 12 years in various programs from Toddlers, Twos, Pre-K, Before and Aftercare, and our amazing Summer Program!
- The World of Discovery is a full-day, year-round program for children ages 18 months to 5 years.
- Our curriculum borrows and is influenced by emergent and constructivist teaching approaches. We believe that every child is not only capable but deserving of an early childhood experience that encourages them to achieve, develop a love of learning, foster curiosity, and build self-confidence.
- Our project & play-based learning approach helps children to learn how to think deeply, to ask questions, to engage in problem-solving, to wonder, to dream and to be an active participant in the learning process.
We believe that all children are born with exceptional abilities which emerge when immersed in learning environments that celebrate their individuality, foster their curiosity, encourage their critical thinking skills and their creativity.
WHAT MAKES US STAND OUT…
Small Class Size
At a high level, small classes allow teachers to focus more intensely on each child, interacting with each child more frequently and more extensively. Greater individual attention and smaller groups stimulate complex play and exploration and foster problem-solving skills and greater social interaction.
Safety First
Education and development are important, but we know that nothing matters more than the safety, security, and health of your child. That’s why protection and preparedness are critical considerations in everything we do.
Activities
Quality early childhood learning activities set a lifelong foundation for well-being and success. World of Discover provides high-quality toddler childcare and early childhood education services to families in Germantown, Maryland. We offer age-appropriate programs for children that creates a lifelong foundation for well-being and success.
Maryland EXCELS
World of Discovery participates in the Maryland Department of Education (MSDE) Maryland EXCELS quality rating program ensuring our school maintains a high-quality status.
Stay Together
We strive for children and teachers to stay together as a family group from 18 months to 3 years. This enables you and your child to bond with their teacher during their early, formative years.
Best Student/Teacher Ratio
We offer the best ratio of teachers to students in the area to ensure the highest quality of care, attention, and support for your children.
Extension of Your Home
Our center strives to be an extension of your home. We believe the best way to help a child develop socially, emotionally, cognitively, and physically is to recognize and celebrate the uniqueness of each child and to honor all children as individuals!
Accommodates Individuals
Children develop at different rates. We have selected a range of materials and equipment that can accommodate your child’s individual skills, needs, interests, and learning preferences.
Extracurriculars
WOD offers intriguing extracurricular activities such as yoga, music, and Spanish!
STEAM
WOD’s STEAM program introduces the concepts of Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics in all areas of our curriculum including an emphasis on the cognitive, physical, and social-emotional domains of development. Through project-based, inquiry-driven activities, the children explore and discover the world around them while learning literacy, problem-solving skills, and collaboration techniques.
OUR FAMILIES
- Parents are welcome any time to visit with their child or join in on our fun, planned activities and events.
- Parents are given class-specific email addresses as well as newsletters, parent boards, and an in-house app called Brightwheel to keep in constant contact with your child’s teacher.
- In addition to bi-yearly conferences, parents are welcome to request a conference with your child’s teacher whenever they may need.
Our highly skilled staff, small class sizes, low student-to-teacher ratios, language-rich, stimulating surroundings, age-appropriate curricula, and nurturing teachers make World of Discovery a place your child will never want to leave. We warmly encourage you to connect with us to learn more about how your child can thrive in this safe and engaging learning environment! We can’t wait to meet you!
PROGRAMS
(18-23 Months)
Our Toddler Program provides your child with opportunities to explore their new environment while learning through play and building independence. Our teachers work together to ensure your toddler is reaching important milestones such as potty training and language development.
(3-5 Years)
Your preschooler will be given more freedom to explore interest-based activities in WOD’s Preschool Program. Our learning centers are designed to give your child the tools needed to learn social skills, independence, confidence, and acquire the necessary skills for kindergarten.
(School Age)
Our convenient Before and After Care Programs are available to any school-age child who needs care before school starts, after school, or when your child’s school is closed for a holiday or break. This program gives your child the opportunity to unwind before their day starts or before going home in a comfortable, safe environment.
(School Age)
WOD’s inclusive Summer Program offers your school-age child amazing experiences in subjects like Art, Music, Spanish, Yoga, STEAM. The program also includes fun-filled field trips! Field trips include pumpkin patches, dramatic performances, educational experiences, and other exciting activities.
PHILOSOPHY
HIGH QUALITY CARE
Our hope for The World of Discovery is to cultivate a community full of wonder, dreams, and possibilities: a unique place where we value diversity and progressive education based on research.
This vision guides our beliefs about how children learn and give charity to our curriculum expectations.
The curriculum begins with a strong image of the child. Our curriculum uses a contextual, constructivist approach to education. By contextual, we mean that children learn information in a meaningful way – in the context of their daily lives and current experiences…
In out toddler classroom, children develop their independence through fun learning experiences as they build valuable skills, they need to interact with the world around them. Patient, caring teachers guide toddlers through playful exploration while helping to establish crucial social-emotional skills.
(2-3 Years)
The preschool program starts your child’s journey into a cooperative learning environment where they can discover interest and learn in a more structured setting. In the preschool classroom, caring and compassionate teachers help your child turn everyday experiences into fun, educational opportunities.
(4 - 5 Years)
As your child prepares for kindergarten and beyond, our pre-k classroom features lots of fun opportunities for learning and innovation to occur every single day!
Come and see our World of Discovery
We'd love to show you what we have to offer your child.
ABOUT US
World of Discovery’s mission is to provide state of the art early childhood education that recognizes and respects the rights of children, teachers, and families.
We at World of Discovery are moving into the future to enhance the positive and professional relationships within the community. Our mission is to cultivate a community which respects and nurtures the rights of the learner in an environment that fosters life-long learning through collaboration, compassion, creativity, wonder, and curiosity.
We are committed to a mutually respectful, supportive, and relaxing way of working and being together to create the best possible learning environment for our children and their families
In our collaboration, we will:
- Recognize and nurture the stories, experiences and learning potential that enrich our image of the child
- Provide an environment rich with materials that enable children to express their ideas and explore their experiences
- Observe, listen, question, and interact with the children, acting as research
- document the children’s work as it progresses
- Recognize parents and include them as an integral part of the educational process
OUR ACTIVITIES
YOGA ClASSES
Children will have the opportunity to practice yoga in a fun way. The class will be a fun mixture of animal poses, art, music, breathing and relaxation that is age appropriate. This active and playful yoga session encourages self-expression, sensory and motor development, and building social skills.
Having fun, connecting to each other, and doing simple breathing exercises are all part of this class. At this age, when children are sponges, we teach them simple and fun yoga poses. Adding features such as art, music, ecology, math, reading and more, the children have a chance to practice their social skills, connect with others as well as increasing strength, flexibility, sensory and motor skills.
steam ClASSES
In all our early education programs, we teach a curriculum founded on the integration of Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts, and Mathematics, into every learning experience. We want our little learners to develop and grow so they can navigate the world successfully. That’s why we use STEAM to build and teach 21st century skills (the 4 Cs):
- Creativity: Innovation and personal expression
- Collaboration: Working with and leading others to solve problems
- Critical Thinking: Ability to gather, analyze, and interpret information and solve problems
- Communication: Listening, presenting, public speaking
Because young children learn best through active participation, all these concepts and skills are learned through exploration, investigation, play, and focused intentional teaching. By making connections between diverse skills and concepts across learning domains, we support children in becoming critical thinkers, problem-solvers, and innovators.
- We all know the classic story of Jack and the Beanstalk. With STEAM, this familiar tale can truly come to life through a variety of learning experiences and discussions.
- Read or tell the story. Offer critical thinking questions, such as, “Why do you think that happened?” (Language Arts
- Introduce the concept of seeds and how plants grow. (Science)
- In small groups, work together to design and build a classroom garden. (Visual Arts/Engineering
- Use a variety of tools and materials to create and maintain the garden. (Technology)
- Provide children with seeds, including beans, to plant and observe how they grow. (Science)
- Measure and chart plant growth and compare the results. (Math)
- Discuss and hypothesize ways to promote plant growth. (Science)
- Create a new collaborative version of the story, using the children’s ideas. It can be written and illustrated on a tablet. (Language and Visual Arts/Technology)
SPANISH ClASSES
Vocabulary & phrases, conversation, comprehension, composition
SECIAL ACTIVITIES / FIELD TRIPS
An important part of World of Discovery curriculum is exposing the children to many and varied experiences within the community. Staff and teachers will introduce special activities throughout the week including yoga, music, STEAM and more.
In addition, field trips are built into the school year. Parents will be informed of field trips in advance through newsletters and a permission form will be sent home that is signed for each trip. A general permission consent form is also provided with your enrollment form for walks. Children will be transported by a certified bus company that meets the regulations of Department of Transportation.
MUSIC ClASSES
Singing and movement with music fundamentals theory
CONTACT US
World Of Discovery
13521 Clopper Rd
Germantown, MD 20874
(240) 912 4408
info@worldofdiscoverycenter.com