Dean Family Child Care Home & Preschool
🌿 Our Preschool
A Small Place for Big Growth
At Dean Family Child Care Home & Preschool, we believe childhood should be filled with curiosity, connection, movement, creativity, and plenty of time to explore. Located in Harleysville, Pennsylvania, our licensed, Keystone STARS 4 program offers children ages 3–5 the educational experiences of preschool within the warmth and consistency of a small home-based environment. With a maximum of six children, our program provides something that's becoming harder to find—a truly small preschool community where every child can be known, supported, and celebrated as an individual.
🍃 Learning Through Play & Exploration
Children learn best when they're actively involved in their learning. Instead of spending the preschool day completing worksheets or sitting through long teacher-directed lessons, children are encouraged to investigate, create, build, move, imagine, experiment, ask questions, and solve problems. Our environment and experiences support development across the whole child, including:
Language and early literacy
Early mathematics and problem-solving
Science and discovery
Creative arts
Fine and gross motor development
Social-emotional development
Independence and self-help skills
Communication and friendship skills
And much of that learning happens naturally through purposeful play.
🌱 Small by Design
Just six children. One consistent teacher. Meaningful relationships.
Our small group size allows me to build genuine relationships with each child and understand their individual interests, strengths, needs, and learning styles. Children have opportunities to develop close friendships, participate in meaningful conversations, explore without becoming overwhelmed by a large classroom, and receive individualized guidance throughout their day. Small doesn't mean fewer opportunities.It means more opportunities for each child to be seen.
🌿 Nature Is Part of Our Classroom
Learning Doesn't Stop at the Door.
Our outdoor environment is an extension of our preschool classroom. Children have opportunities to dig, build, create, climb, observe, collect, investigate, make mud pies, explore natural materials, and experience the changing seasons firsthand.Nature provides endless opportunities for children to practice problem-solving, creativity, cooperation, physical development, and scientific thinking—all while developing a meaningful connection with the world around them.
❤️ Supporting the Whole Child
Learning How to Be Part of a Community
Preschool isn't only about preparing children academically for kindergarten. Children are also learning how to identify and communicate their feelings, solve problems with friends, wait, take turns, advocate for themselves, respect boundaries, navigate disappointment, and become increasingly independent. Social-emotional development is intentionally woven throughout our day. Children are supported as they learn to recognize their emotions, communicate their needs, develop coping strategies, build friendships, and become confident members of their classroom community.
🌿 Spaces to Pause, Reset & Reconnect
Our preschool includes thoughtfully designed indoor and outdoor calming spaces where children can step away from the activity of the group when they need a quieter moment.
These spaces offer calming and sensory materials that support children as they practice recognizing what their bodies need, regulating their emotions, and returning to play when they feel ready.
Rather than being used as a consequence, our calming spaces are available as supportive tools for all children and are part of helping children gradually build lifelong self-regulation skills.
Indoor Calming Space
A cozy place for quiet, connection, and regulation.
Outdoor Calming Space
A peaceful space to reset while staying connected to nature.
🎨 Inspired by the Reggio Emilia Approach
Children are capable, curious learners with ideas worth exploring. Our program is inspired by principles of the Reggio Emilia approach, including respect for children as capable learners, an emphasis on relationships, thoughtfully designed environments, and curriculum that grows from children's interests and questions. Teachers observe, listen, document, and provide materials and experiences that encourage children to take their thinking further. The environment itself becomes part of the learning process—inviting children to wonder, investigate, collaborate, and create.
🏡 The Best of Preschool & Home
Not a Babysitter. Not a Large Center. Something Different.
Dean Family Child Care Home & Preschool combines the professional standards and intentional learning experiences families expect from a high-quality preschool with something a large center can't always provide—the intimacy, consistency, and comfort of a small home environment. Children spend their day with one consistent teacher and a small group of friends rather than moving between large classrooms and multiple caregivers. At the same time, families receive the structure and professionalism of a licensed early childhood program.
⭐ Keystone STARS 4🌿 Maximum 6 Children👩🏫 Experienced Early Childhood Educator🏡 Licensed Home-Based Program🍎 Meals & Snacks Included🕐 Full-Day Care
🌼 Come See What Makes Us Different
Choosing a preschool is about more than finding a place for your child to spend the day. It's about finding a community where they will feel safe, connected, challenged, and excited to learn. We welcome families looking for a small, relationship-centered preschool experience for their child. Ages 3–5 • Harleysville, PA • Monday–Friday • 7:00 AM–5:00 PM