phoenix day janis merrill education center

providing quality early childhood education

early childhood phoenix day

helping your child learn and grow

A New Leaf’s Phoenix Day Janis Merrill Education Center has offered quality early education to families from across the Valley for more than 100 years, providing a solid educational foundation for children ages 0-5 from a diversity of households. The center is a Four-Star Quality First rated school through First Things First. Curriculum adheres to the Arizona Department of Education’s Early Learning Standards and Infant and Toddler Developmental Guidelines documents.

The Janis Merrill Education Center focuses on each child’s unique characteristics, developmental needs, and interests to support their growth and development. Our role is to facilitate, assess, support, and nurture each child in their personal growth and development by providing access to a child-centered, emergent curriculum, health care, nutrition education, and parenting support services.

Additionally, all classrooms are immersion-based bilingual environments, exposing children to Spanish and English. This mix of students offers a diversity of language, culture, and backgrounds – greatly enriching the educational experience for all children. Through the Phoenix Day Janis Merrill Education Center, A New Leaf is bringing affordable, quality early childhood education to households across the Valley.

available classrooms

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Infants

6 weeks to 1 year old

Infants develop new skills every day and explore their world through their senses and emerging motor skills.

 

Since they are born curious, we create learning environments that respond to infants’ natural curiosity. Providing these active learning opportunities during the first year of life is crucial for later development.

 

Language development is particularly crucial. We provide many opportunities for infants to engage in meaningful dialogue, teaching them American Sign Language and basic Spanish.

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Toddlers One

1 to 2 years old

 In our toddler room, our teachers have a strong understanding of the growing toddler. Each day is spent fostering the growth of the individual child as they learn and grow together.

 

Because toddlers are learning at a fast pace, the teachers keep their day moving by planning plenty of activities in all developmental areas while keeping them fun and hands-on. Our teachers also know and understand that a toddler’s needs may change quickly and are ready to adapt in the classroom to accommodate the needs of the children.

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Toddlers Two

2 to 3 year old

The toddler classroom is constructed so that every experience is a potential learning experience. As toddlers become aware of themselves and maneuver through their world, they develop independence. They are egocentric, but are interested in and enjoy interacting with their peers.

 

Problem-solving experiences for toddlers involve manipulating, experimenting, figuring out how parts relate to the whole, discovering one–to–one correspondence, cause and effect, and creativity. Toddlers enjoy building and constructing, sorting and matching, and carrying items.

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Preschool

4 to 5 years old

The preschool classroom promotes the healthy growth of each child as they prepare for kindergarten.

 

Our teachers focus their daily activities on individual growth and quality group experiences with an exciting hands-on approach.

 

The classroom is equipped with developmentally appropriate materials and equipment. Children of this age need freedom to explore and experiment, a safe environment to make mistakes, and engaging projects. They benefit from a combination of individual, shared, and teacher-led activities.

hours

monday – friday: 6:30am-6pm

location

115 E Tonto St, Phoenix, AZ 85004

115 E Tonto St, Phoenix, AZ 85004

Support Phoenix Day by Donating!

Your donation will directly support children attending Phoenix Day, providing them with a top-quality, early-childhood education!

Whether your child attends Phoenix Day, you want to support education in your community, or you want to make education more accessible, donate today!

Give the gift of education to a child!

families forever changed

Alison

“As working parents, it’s been hard for me and my husband to find childcare that would accept an infant. More so, it is hard to find childcare I would trust with my infant,” says Alison, mother of Addison, 5, and Bishop, 9 months. “Kids can easily fall behind or go to...
Alison Spark
Alison Spark

Alison

“As working parents, it’s been hard for me and my husband to find childcare that would accept an infant. More so, it is hard to find childcare I would trust with my infant,” says Alison, mother of Addison, 5, and Bishop, 9 months. “Kids can easily fall behind or go to...

learn more

download the program fact sheet

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we can help

Toni Davis

Program Director
602-601-7204
tdavis@turnanewleaf.org