DAIRY ROAD DISCOVERY CENTER, INC.
W. MELBOURNE, FLORIDA

The Philosophy of Learning by doing: Meaningful experiences are the best foundation for reading. By giving your child pleasant involvement by doing, we are also providing a solid base for future reading. Each child will be read to daily, in both the mornings and afternoons. This is often made even more exciting through the use of flannel board stories, finger plays or big books. We consider the individual needs of each child our prime responsibility. In order to accomplish this goal, the child will be placed according to their development needs, rather than strict adherence to their age. When making this determination, we look at all aspects of the child’s development– not just academically, but socially and physically as well. Classrooms are identified by color and animals names, rather than age groups. Your child is encouraged to participate in activities within their own comfort level and their individual accomplishments are celebrated with the class! Mission Statement: Our mission is to nurture children in a loving, safe environment, providing quality education for children, teachers and families. Owner Natalie Ward grew up at Dairy Road Discovery Center. Her mother, Jo Godwin, opened the preschool when Natalie was just 13 years old and it quickly became her home away from home, every summer and afterschool job, and eventually, her own business. Although she wanted to be an architect back in 6 Natalie and her husband, Kevin Ward, were raised in Melbourne and met at Dairy Road Discovery Center when he was hired to work with the before and after school program. They got married in 1998 and started their married life in Gainesville. Both graduated from the University of Florida with Master’s Degrees in Elementary Education. Upon graduation and returning to West Melbourne, Natalie came back to the family business, first as a teacher, then as an administrator. Kevin is currently employed as the Media Specialist at Meadowlane Intermediate School. He also wears the hats of handyman, IT specialist, mulch spreader, part time bookkeeper, toilet plunger, amateur painter, and any of the other many needs that come along with owning and operating a preschool! The couple have 3 wonderful and very busy children of their own, Jake, Avery and Kate. All three attended Dairy Road Discovery Center and now attend Meadowlane Elementary, Westshore Jr./Sr. High, and Melbourne High School. We take pride in providing developmentally appropriate environments and activities for all of our children, and along with the socialization that preschool provides to young children, we do not underestimate the importance of kindergarten preparedness for our “graduates.” Our Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten program for 4-year-olds is top notch. We send children from our preschool to both public and private school settings and find them successful in both arenas. Our VPK staff is well qualified and experienced in purposeful planning for the numerous standards that the State of Florida mandates for pre-kindergarteners. For more information on the state standards for VPK, Our VPK program also has the unique opportunity to take field trips into the community twice a month. We visit so many fun and exciting places throughout the year: the post office, performing arts center, public library, animal hospital, restaurant, dentist office, home improvement store, supermarket, just to name a few. We find that children are so engaged and interested in learning about the “behind the scenes” workings of the places they visit with their parents. We’ve developed great relationships with businesses in the community and appreciate their willingness to invite us into their workplace and teach so much more than we can in the classroom alone. In addition to regular observation and feedback to parents informally, each VPK student receives 3 formal assessments throughout the year, once in the beginning, once midterm, and once at the end of the year. Parents receive written reports once their child’s results are entered into the statewide VPK assessment database. We invite parents to arrange conferences if they would like to discuss specific areas in which they can help their child’s progress. All VPK children who enroll in public schools in Brevard County for kindergarten will be administered an assessment at the beginning of their kindergarten year to determine whether they are considered “kindergarten ready.” programs for families in the Melbourne and West Melbourne area. Since 1991 we have been providing quality education in a loving environment to every child who walks through our door. Learning by doing is our philosophy! We strive to give every student the opportunity to become involved in the learning process, and to discover the world for themselves. We provide experiences in library, music, sign language, Spanish, cooking, gardening, dramatics, art and science. Every detail, from our literature-based curriculum to the layout of our five playgrounds, is designed to aid in number and reading readiness and the development of fine and gross motor skills, not to mention fun!