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Our Programs
Nurturing care, meaningful learning, and a strong foundation from infancy through school age.
Bright Start Child Care & Preschool provides high-quality care and education for children from 6 weeks through 13 years of age. Since opening in Homewood in 2003, we have partnered with families to create a safe, welcoming, and engaging environment where children can learn, play, explore, and grow.
Our age-appropriate programs support the whole child—socially, emotionally, physically, academically, and spiritually. Each classroom offers hands-on learning experiences, purposeful play, and individualized support from caring, qualified teachers who recognize each child’s strengths and encourage continued growth.
Infant and Toddler Programs
Our youngest children receive attentive, responsive care in nurturing classrooms designed to support early development. Teachers build trusting relationships, maintain consistent routines, and provide developmentally appropriate experiences that encourage movement, communication, curiosity, and social-emotional growth.
Bright Start also partners with Illinois Action for Children to offer Prevention Initiative services within our Infant Room. This program provides eligible children and families with additional developmental support, parent-child activities, family resources, referrals, and opportunities for family engagement.
Preschool and Pre-K Programs
Our preschool classrooms combine purposeful play with teacher-guided learning to help children develop the skills and confidence needed for kindergarten and beyond. Children participate in experiences that strengthen early literacy, mathematics, science, creativity, communication, problem-solving, and social-emotional development.
Our Discovery and Shining Stars Pre-K classrooms offer Illinois Preschool for All programming. Preschool for All provides eligible children with high-quality, state-funded early learning experiences that support school readiness and future academic success. Our experienced Pre-K teachers use ongoing observation and assessment to plan meaningful learning experiences based on each child’s developmental needs.
School-Age Program
Our school-age program provides a safe, supportive environment for children through age 13. Children have opportunities to complete homework, read, create, play, build friendships, and participate in age-appropriate activities before and after school and during designated school breaks.
A Christian Foundation
Bright Start is a Christian child care center that introduces children to age-appropriate biblical principles, prayer, kindness, gratitude, respect, and compassion. These values complement our educational programming and help children understand the importance of caring for others and making positive choices.
Recognized Commitment to Quality
Bright Start has earned the ExceleRate Illinois Silver Circle of Quality designation. This recognition means our center has completed a rigorous quality-assessment process and meets or exceeds established benchmarks in areas such as the learning environment, instructional quality, staff qualifications, professional development, and program administration.
We also work to meet or exceed Illinois Department of Children and Family Services licensing standards and remain committed to the continuous improvement of our programs.
Healthy Meals Included
Children receive a nutritious breakfast, lunch, and afternoon snack prepared by our cook in accordance with applicable nutritional guidelines. Our meals are thoughtfully planned to support children’s health, energy, and development throughout the day.
We invite you to visit Bright Start, meet our team, explore our classrooms, and discover the program that is right for your family.
How to Enroll Your Child to a Class?
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Infant Program Highlights
- Hundreds of activities, including reading and singing to your child
- Weekly lesson plans which include age-appropriate activities designed to meet the individual developmental needs of your infant
- Activities to promote social, emotional, communication, and physical development
- Daily records that list the time and nature of all your infant’s activities – sleeping, eating, bowel movements and developmental milestones
Preschool Program Highlights
- Creative curriculum with learning activities that are completed throughout the entire day – this full-day child care program accommodates your schedule
- Includes A-Beka Curriculum activities to help reinforce phonic, reading skills, and writing skills
- Offers seven stimulating Learning Centers, including: Math & Manipulatives, Science & Sensorial, Reading & Listening, Writing, Dramatic Play, Construction & Design, and Creativity & Art
- Incorporates hundreds of new books that are used during group activities, as well as in the seven learning centers
- Illinois’ Early Learning Milestones span Oral Language, Phonological Awareness, Letter & Print Knowledge, Cognitive Skills, and Physical Development
- Ongoing assessments communicated to you twice annually via parent-teacher conferences to keep you informed of your child’s learning progress
- Portfolios and journals to help track your child’s progress throughout the year
School Age Program Highlights
- School-age kids and their parents know that Bright Start is a safe place to spend time before and after school. Kids can utilize energy outside, spend time reading, get help with homework, grab a snack, and meet new friends
- To engage your school-age child, Bright Start actively involves them in selecting themes and activities to complete throughout the year. In addition, your school-ager will help design and decorate the classroom environment, so he/she can enjoy the curriculum in a comfortable and stimulating setting.
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Toddler Program Highlights
- Engages your toddler in a more structured, academic daily schedule
- Age appropriate research-based activities
- Weekly lesson plans posted for your review
- Activities led by children’s individual skills and interests
- Promotes physical, creative, and social/emotional development
- Daily progress reports provide you with review of your child’s day, including diapering, naptime, and feeding.
Two Year Olds’ Program Highlights
- Lesson plan that provides continuity and structure – structure will prepare your child for the preschool experience
- Teacher-child interactions focus on talking, listening and expanding your child’s use of complete sentences
- Weekly lesson planning in which the teacher selects a daily focus for your child
- Portfolios kept for each child to gather and display all their work throughout the year — includes your child’s Developmental Progress Chart
- Age-appropriate activities to promote social, emotional, cognitive, verbal, and creative development
- Offers Interest Centers where your child can choose to participate in several learning-based activities – Book and Storytelling Center, Creative Arts Center, Water and Sand Center, Games and Puzzles Center, Dramatic Play Center and Block Center
Kindergarten Program Highlights
- Ongoing formal and informal assessments aligned with Illinois’ Kindergarten Learning Standards
- Full-day program incorporates individual, small group, large group and cooperative learning
- Smaller class sizes make for more one-on-one teacher/student interaction
- Monthly newsletter goes home to parents describing what activities the children participated in and activities they can look forward to for next week
- Concept calendars go home monthly that show all of the objectives that will be worked on throughout the month
- Journals and portfolios are always available for parents to review
- Parent-teacher conferences take place twice yearly
- Report cards are sent home three times a year
- Includes six learning stations that the children rotate through weekly. These learning stations include:
- Construction
- Writing
- Read & Relaxation
- Exploration
- Creation
- Imagination
- Each classroom utilizes a management system that encourages positive behavior and teamwork among the students
- A word wall that continues our focus on reading & writing by encouraging the students to read high frequency words everyday
- Hundreds of books from fiction to poetry and non-fiction are provided in all areas of the curriculum – math, science, social systems, etc.
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How to Enroll Your Child to a Class?
