Phone: 215-884-1992 / Fax: 215-884-0133

Welcome To Jenkintown Day Nursery!

Hilltop and Baeder Roads Jenkintown, PA

Our program is designed to promote growth through learning. Our professional teaching staff uses the Pennsylvania Early Learning Standards as a guide to create interactive lessons for all the children in our care. Our program at all age levels focuses on social and emotional skills, cognitive and physical development, math, language, creative arts, and science. During the day, the children develop self-confidence by participating in classroom routines and playing cooperatively with peers.  In our creative curriculum, children also enjoy weekly sports and bi-weekly music classes. Progress reports are completed three times a year with an opportunity for parent- teacher conferences. Jenkintown Day Nursery program endeavors to guide each child into reaching their fullest potential.

Programs

Toddlers (2-3 Year)

At Jenkintown Day Nursery, quality early childhood development for toddlers begins with plenty of opportunities for free-choice and independent learning. Teachers guide your toddler through early developmental milestones with art, music, dance and cooperative play. Your toddler’s busy day will include plenty of free play, with introduction to numbers, colors, shapes, letters and opportunity for quiet time. We keep families informed with daily toddler reports and weekly lesson plans on the classroom’s family information board.

Preschool (3-4 Year)

Jenkintown Day Nursery utilizes a creative approach for our preschool curriculum. Our open-ended classroom centers allow each child an opportunity to create learning experiences that are meaningful. We incorporate early literacy opportunities that use familiar topics to engage children’s natural interest to learn about the world around them. Our children enjoy an active day with opportunities to extend preschool learning in our outdoor playgrounds and gardens. Jenkintown Day Nursery preschool friends build on their alphabet knowledge, number concepts and engage in imaginative play. We foster independence and confidence in your preschooler as he or she learns all about taking care of belongings, eating, dressing, and socializing.

Pre-Kindergarten

In our 4-5-year-old program, we focus on preparing your child for Kindergarten. Using project-based small groups, children will have an opportunity to demonstrate new skills. Teachers use individualized ongoing observations to create developmentally appropriate lesson plans. Jenkintown Day Nursery thematic units allow children to learn in a fun, hands on way. Your child will enjoy an active day with learning activities focused on utilization of alphabet knowledge (identifying vowels and consonants), early numeration skills, handwriting, science, reading and math to prepare for kindergarten.

All About Us

We provide a safe, supportive and enriching environment for children ages 2-5. Our children get an outstanding start on their education. Jenkintown Day Nursery is a place that feels like home and where children develop a love for learning. We promote independence, self-esteem, positive attitudes and readiness skills. We prepare them for success! Our beautiful campus is enhanced by two large, outdoor, age-appropriate playgrounds. We also offer an Indoor Playhouse with age-appropriate gross motor equipment. Children also enjoy in-house activities like yoga, music, art as well as fun family events. Jenkintown Day Nursery provides breakfast, lunch and afternoon snack for children. For over 100 years we have remained faithful to our mission to provide affordable, quality, educational day care to our families in need. We look forward to meeting you and working together to help your child learn and grow!

Our History

It was a bitter cold February in 1903 when Mrs. Theodore B. Culver heard about small children who were left alone in a barn all day while their parents went off to work. When she went to see if this was true, she found the children huddled together in the straw to keep warm. Surmising that there were other families who had no safe place to leave their children while they worked, Mrs. Culver took immediate action. She quickly found a safe, warm place and volunteers to care for the children. In March of 1903, the Jenkintown Day Nursery opened its doors to six children, six days a week. Their parents were charged six cents a day. Within six months of opening, larger quarters were needed, and JDN was moved to Thomas and Water Streets in the Borough of Jenkintown. In the early years, the Nursery was sustained by contributions, charity teas, rummage sales, and donations of cash, wood, coal, food and clothing. Classes were held for the parents, teaching sewing, cooking and gardening. Lectures and entertainment were also offered. Fees were set on a sliding scale based on income, as they still are today. By the 1960s, the need for child care had increased. Our current facility at Baeder and Hilltop roads was built, and the nursery moved there in 1965. Thanks to generous donations for our Centennial celebration in 2003, we added our Playhouse, a multi-purpose building which accommodates art, movement and music classes and indoor play. For more than 100 years we have remained faithful to our mission to provide affordable, quality, educational child care to our families.

Jenkintown Day Nursery Foundation

For many decades, a volunteer board oversaw operations and raised funds to ensure the nursery’s ability to provide scholarships to its families. In 2015, the nursery’s board and operations structure changed. Operation of JDN was transferred to Play & Learn, a non-profit organization which has 12 early learning and childcare centers in Montgomery County. The Jenkintown Day Nursery Foundation was established, with several longtime members of the JDN Board of Directors as the new JDNF Board of Directors. The Foundation continues to have a close relationship with Jenkintown Day Nursery, continuing to provide many of its families with scholarship aid along a sliding scale. However, the scholarships now are more broadly available, with many families at other Play & Learn sites receiving assistance, and, as funding is available, for children attending other quality centers in the area. Download an application for a Jenkintown Day Nursery Scholarship. In addition, JDNF oversees distribution of assistance from the Jeanne Chauveau Trust, which offers one-time grants to families in our region who face hardship due to medical needs. These grants are generally distributed in the form of tuition assistance. Learn more about the Chauveau Trust. With these changes, the Jenkintown Day Nursery Foundation is well-equipped to continue supporting working families in our community well into the 21st century — in keeping with the mission set by Annie Culver so many years ago.

Directions

796 Baeder Rd, Jenkintown, PA 19046

Jenkintown Day Nursery is conveniently located just off 611 where Hilltop Road meets Baeder Road.