Sunny Days Early Learning Center, Riverdale Park

Sunny Days at USAPHIS features: Accredited by the National Associate for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) Serves children ages six weeks through age five in a nurturing, whole-child environment. Nutritious breakfast, lunch and snack catered daily Nurturing environment for infants and toddlers with plenty of natural light and stimulating materials An updated and accessible playground for daily outdoor fun Convenient to I495/95 and University of Maryland at College Park Programs offered at Sunny Days Campus: Campus hours: 7:00a.m.-6:00p.m. Infants through Pre-Kindergarten Newly renovated playground Enriching field trips and in-house special events, such as puppet shows and music performances. Morning specialist classes in Spanish and Music 9.5 hour or full day options available. Before care is available starting at 7:00a.m. After care is available until 6:00p.m. If you need more information, or if you would like to schedule a tour, please contact the campus for additional information at [redacted] or send us a message using the form on our Contact page. Infants & Toddlers Infants and Toddlers Nurturing is particularly essential for the healthy growth and development of infants and toddlers. Georgetown Hill’s infant/toddler program offers individualized schedules, sensory-rich environments, and loving relationships with caregivers. Trusting and responsive relationships will provide a foundation for growth and development. In a child-centered environment, a teacher: Nurtures children with love and empathy; Helps children learn trust and cope with adjustment challenges; Invites parents into a partnership of caring and shared responsibility; Routinely evaluates and, as needed, changes the environment; Monitors and records each child’s development daily; Provides children with safe, clean and stimulating materials, objects, and places to explore; Provides an indoor and outdoor environment that satisfies a young child’s need for both quiet and active play; Reinforces each child’s physical, emotional and social emergence; Provides a balance of one-on-one time with caregivers and independent exploration. Twos & Threes The emerging young child is increasingly interested in how an environment works, in the people who surround him and in his own reaction to a more challenging environment. The teacher affirms a child’s emotional and social development by establishing over time a relationship of trust and caring. Implicit in this initial “go slow” approach to early education is the knowledge that learning is an emerging and often unpredictable process – one that requires a delicate balance between work (skill-oriented activities) and play. Of great importance is the task of nurturing a disposition for learning that will prepare the young child for his next level of development. Counting raindrops, playing nonsense games, engaging in storytelling interactions, making letters in the dirt, are but a few examples of the many ways that children begin the transition process. In a child-centered environment a teacher: Encourages self-affirmation through independent and social play; Promotes sensitivity to one’s immediate and larger world; Encourages early literacy through meaningful activities, materials, and a print-rich environment; Encourages self-respect and respect for one’s environment; Begins to foster in children an ability and desire to function in a group; Presents as a role model – a person who children can trust and draw inspiration from; Encourages an “I can” attitude. Pre-K & Trans-K At this exciting level of development, the young child transfers what he has experienced to a new and more challenging world with more centers, more choices and more expectations. An emerging literacy and mathematics curriculum communicated through themes, projects and special activities invites children into a new world of ideas and possibilities that is something like but also quite different from what they have experienced in the past. Academic areas of the program become more formalized. To prepare children for the next step, teachers become facilitators for learning. Language, math, the arts, social studies, and science are not only woven through themes, but also very evident in learning activities that are more goal-centered. Our Level 2 programs are supplemented by well-regarded curricula such as Everyday Mathematics (UniversityofChicago), Handwriting Without Tears, and Primary Phonics. In a Level 2 environment, a teacher: Is continuously evaluating and enriching an environment; Is prepared and ready to teach the young child through multiple experiences in literacy and language development, the arts, theme-centered projects, math, science, physical education, creative play and field trips within the immediate and larger community; Provides hands-on and real-world experiences in mathematics and literacy; Offers children a wide-range of learning experiences to respond to varied learning styles; Presents exciting, integrated themes reinforced by in-depth projects; Encourages children to think and to solve problems; Encourages children to work and to learn together. There is a $50 fee to be added to the waiting list.