Traditionally, many people have thought of daycare as a place to drop a young child off so the parent could go to work—without stopping to worry about the standard of care their child was receiving. The idea of “Early Childhood Education” did not really exist. In the early days, there was not much government oversight of daycare centers. If you had a space or facility, and resources to pay rent, you could operate a daycare center without much fuss. Daycare centers popped up around the country, which allowed many parents the freedom to work. 

However, parents were forced to make their decisions about daycare based upon location, affordability, hours of operation and recommendations or word of mouth. In turn, some daycare centers provided childcare at the bare minimum of costs and resources. The net result was that some daycare centers simply became babysitting services. This left many students unprepared to attend either preschool or kindergarten. An education deficit was created, which left many children playing “catch up” when they entered elementary school. Studies show that the most effective way to prevent an educational gap is to never allow children to fall behind in the first place. 

Today, our understanding of early childhood development has come a long way. The traditional notion of daycare centers has changed… and been replaced by early childhood centers. Universities and colleges grant undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees in early childhood studies… And we now know that early childhood education involves more than just sitting in front of a screen or having someone simply “watch” a child during the day. There’s an entire world to explore, and a child’s brain is ready to absorb most of it. 

Early childhood professionals are now armed with decades of research regarding early childhood development from birth to five years old. We know that during this period exponential brain and social development takes place, which is shaped and characterized by a child’s relationships (parents, adults, siblings and peers) and their environment. In fact, during this time, a child’s brain produces more than a million neural connections each second… every day before the age of five. Try adding those numbers together!

To this end, traditional daycare centers are becoming dinosaurs. 

Now is the age of early childhood centers.

This is the time for Oak Village Academy.  

The Oak Village Academy Way

Oak Village Academy is an educational preschool focused on Early Childhood Education with full time operational hours. We enroll students starting at six weeks… up to five years old. Our classroom groups are Infants (6 weeks-12 months), Toddlers (12-24 months), Preschool Prep (2-3 years old), Preschool (3-4 years old) and Pre-K (4-5 years old). We operate year-round, and our primary focus is on the educational, social, physical and cognitive development of all students at every age. 

At Oak Village Academy, we have educated teachers who provide complete, age-appropriate lesson plans for every age. We provide an educational environment for all ages and all classrooms, starting with our Infant classes. 

Our Classrooms 

Infants (6 weeks-12 months) & Toddlers (12 months-24 months)

Each Infant in our classrooms has an individual lesson plan created for them based upon both age and developmental stage of the student. To this end, we:

• Encourage exploration and discovery
• Implement brain-based instructional principles
• Make use of multi-sensory materials

Our Toddler curriculum is designed to address each child’s individual needs, interests, background, learning style and rate of learning. Our toddlers receive the support and guidance necessary to:

• Observe and respond to their environment
• Actively participate in daily routines
• Acquire social-emotional skills in a nurturing environment
• Preparing students for Preschool Prep

Preschool Prep (2-3 years)

Our Preschool Prep classrooms are ideal learning environments for 2 & 3 year-olds. At this age, we are creating ways to instill a love of learning in them as they:

• Enthusiastically explore their world
• Actively seek out and participate in new experiences
• Further develop social-emotional skills
• Build language and communication skills
• Begin to understand math and science concepts
• Preparing students for Preschool 

Preschool (3-4 years)

At this age, we are continuing to instill a love of learning in students from our Preschool Prep classes. Students continue to:

• Enthusiastically explore their world
• Actively seek out and participate in new experiences
• Continue to develop social-emotional skills
• Build language and communication skills
• Understanding math and science concepts
• Preparing for our PreK classes

Pre-K (4-5 years old) 

By this point, we are already preparing students for a lifetime of reaching their goals. This includes:

• Vocabulary and literacy development
• Listening skills
• Mathematical principles, such as geometry and patterns
• Scientific principles
• Emotional development

Oak Village Academy: The Highest Standards

We operate at the highest standards when it comes to our staff and the early childhood education learning environment. Our core beliefs begin with respecting individual differences, honoring every child’s culture and seeing family members as equal partners in a child’s growth and learning. Through exploration and play, children build relationships and develop a variety of social, language and cognitive development. We use the NCDHHS Foundations for Early Learning & Development program supplemented by tearly learning and age appropriate toys, materials and other learning tools as a basis for curriculum for all ages. We also use the Kaplan Learn Every Day™ program to supplement our early childhood education program for infants and toddlers, as well as our 2 and 3-year-olds, and the Kaplan Connect4Learning® (C4L) program for our 4-year-olds.

Explore The Oak Village Academy™ Difference

At Oak Village Academy™ preschool in Cary, NC we learn the natural way by encouraging indoor and outdoor learning environments with low child to teacher ratios. Contact us to learn more: info@oakvillageacademy.com or (919) 377-1802