Early Childhood Services

Director Katherine Hutchens |
Jordan Child & Family Enrichment Center | Barbara H. Curtis Center
serving ages 6 weeks through kindergarten

It’s a typical morning at the Jordan Center: Children are at play. Some are chasing balls outside or tending the herb garden; others are in their classrooms, busy with dress-up clothes, blocks, and books.

The pace is brisk, as always, at our 5-star childcare center.

But if you stop a moment to watch, you’ll see what sets us apart. You’ll see the beauty of our blended classrooms, where children of diverse backgrounds and abilities learn side by side.

In the Seahorse classroom, 4-year-olds are working in small teams, making ramps. They have some rules to follow: Use only what’s in their “center” – housekeeping, books, blocks – and work together on their design ideas. They build, test, and they try again. They learn that the tilt of a ramp will change the speed and distance a marble will travel when released from the top. They learn that a bumpy surface will slow or stop a rolling ball, especially a small one. They practice taking turns and using words to explain their ideas to each other. When they’re done, they demonstrate their ramps for the rest of the class.

Down the hall, a pair of 3-year-olds crouch on the floor of the Giraffe classroom, negotiating the construction of a wooden train track. One of them signs “my turn?” with a thumb and finger to his chest. The other understands and sits back to let his friend roll a train across the bridge. Their play goes on, as it does every day, unimpeded by the fact that one of them was born with Down syndrome.

At Methodist Home for Children, we believe experiences like these teach children how to solve problems and handle change in their lives. Each day offers opportunities to listen and talk, explore and explain, play in groups and alone, be loud and be quiet — all in a place where children are engaged and challenged to learn.

By the time they leave for kindergarten, these children are prepared to get along with their peers, manage their behavior, and follow instructions. In short, they are ready to learn.

Jordan Child & Family Enrichment Center

1305 Glenwood Ave.
Raleigh NC 27605

phone 919.833.5428
fax 919.833.5441

Barbara H. Curtis Center

1930 Milburnie Road
Raleigh NC 27610

phone 919.803.7308

Apply here:
waiting list application