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    • Home
    • About
    • Programs
    • Toodler Care
    • Preschool & Pre K
    • community resourses

  • Home
  • About
  • Programs
  • Toodler Care
  • Preschool & Pre K
  • community resourses
Teacher and children joyfully sharing healthy snacks around a table.

Dinky’s Preschool

Fostering developmental growth and essential readiness skills through purposeful play.

  

Our program gives you full confidence by combining a secure, healthy environment with a curriculum designed specifically for future success. Guided by experienced teachers and grounded in child development research, we focus on what truly prepares children for kindergarten and beyond. 

Schedule a Tour Today

Want to see our facility and meet our staff? Schedule a tour of Dinky's Childcare Child Care today and discover all that we have to offer!

Schedule a Tour

DEVELOPMENTAL CARE CUSTOMIZED TO YOUR CHILD’S STRENGTHS

  • Exploration-Based Learning: Independent and group activities designed to spark curiosity.
  • Student-Centered Approach: Lessons that adapt to your child’s unique interests and pace.
  • Creative Literacy & Arts: A diverse curriculum featuring music, writing, and creative expression.
  • Confidence-Building: Empowering children to solve problems and make their own decisions.
  • STEM Focused: Future-forward activities in science, tech, engineering, and math.
  • Uncompromising Safety: Health and security practices that lead the industry.
  • Joyful Literacy: Making the journey to reading an engaging and successful experience.

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LEARNING ESSENTIALS

  

Everyday Math: Making sense of numbers through daily habits.


Kitchen Science: Learning math and chemistry through cooking


Full-Circle Literacy: Connecting speaking, listening, and reading every day.


Young Authors Center: Inspiring a love for writing with  professional materials.


Science Lab: Experimenting and exploring with the wonders of nature.


STEM Lab: Building the future through engineering and math challenges.


The Construction Corner: Using a variety of real-world materials and tools to tinker, build, and explore concepts of weight, balance, and structural strength. 

Dinky’s Prekindergarten

Where early curiosity transforms into lifelong capability.

  

The final year before kindergarten is a season of incredible transformation. We believe children should thrive in this moment while preparing for the future.   

We combine a nurturing environment with an award-winning curriculum to ensure your child is socially ready and academically prepared for the road ahead. Experience a program where children thrive and parents feel confident.

Dinky's Childcare Child Care: Where Learning is Fun!

BRINGING LEARNING TO LIFE THROUGH PLAY AND PRACTICE

  

Designed around proven research, our program honors the unique path of every learner while building the essential skills needed for their next academic chapter. 

What sets us apart:

  • Our teachers cheer on every child as they hit important developmental and academic goals.
  • We believe in getting messy and staying curious through hands-on, creative projects.
  • From early math and science to reading and writing, we support the whole child.
  • We focus on helping children learn to work together and believe in themselves.
  • Your child’s health and safety are our top priorities, with standards that go above and beyond the requirements.
  • Our Reading program helps children recognize familiar words and share their favorite stories, sparking a lifelong passion for books.

LEARNING ESSENTIALS

Our curriculum features specialized Core Methods designed to cultivate critical thinking and solidify the foundational skills essential for long-term academic achievement. 

  

· Student-led documentation of daily activities designed to strengthen fine motor skills and narrative writing abilities.


· Custom literacy tools used to reinforce individualized letter-sound correspondence and high-frequency word recognition.


· Kinesthetic learning modules focused on mastery of foundational concepts like sequencing, data graphing, and estimation.


· A culminating project-based learning event that builds public speaking skills and a passion for scientific inquiry.


· An integrated literacy practice where students organize and express complex concepts across math, science, and language arts.

Eligibility Information for Pre-K Expansion Grant

Tier 1 Eligibility & Coverage for Free Full-Day Pre-K (6.5 hours)

  

Free full-day pre-K is available to 3- and 4-year-old children from families at or below 300% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL), as well as children experiencing homelessness.

Please note what the grant covers:

  • Included: 6.5 hours of daily care for the 36-week school year.
  • Not Included: Before-school care, after-school care, and summer programs (these require separate enrollment and fees).

              All children must first meet the applicable income eligibility requirements.

  • Children with disabilities (CWD) and multilingual learners (MLL) must also meet income eligibility requirements for FY27, regardless of disability or multilingual learner status.


Acceptable Income Eligibility Documentation

  Documentation of age and income eligibility must be verified and maintained on file for all children enrolled in grant-funded classrooms.


 Children must be three or four years old by September 1, 2026 

Examples include:

  • Current tax return (1040, W-2, Schedule C/1099)
  • One month of consecutive, most recent pay stubs
  • Medical Assistance documentation
  • Notarized employment letter
  • Notarized letter of no income
  • Military income verification (excluding Basic Allowance for Housing)
  • Unemployment verification
  • Documentation of other income (TCA letter, child support, rental income, etc.)

Note: Families of children experiencing homelessness are not required to submit income documentation for eligibility 

Acceptable documentation includes:

  • Birth certificate
  • Valid unexpired passport (with accompanying legal or notarized identification verifying the child and parent)
  • Physician certificate
  • Hospital certificate (proof of live birth)
  • Parent notarized affidavit (if birth certificate is unavailable)
  • Baptismal or church certificate
  • Birth registration or other legal/notarized proof of identity and date of birth.

Additional Support and Resources

Pre-K Cost Calculator

To support programs and families in determining eligibility and estimating potential family cost share, the Maryland State Department of Education’s official Pre-K Cost Calculator is now available: https://marylandpublicschools.org/about/pages/pre-k-calc.aspx

 Please note: Sliding scale eligibility applies to Blueprint Pre-K Formula Grants only. It does not apply to Pre-K Expansion Grants.

We have also included the FY26 Federal Poverty Level chart for your reference: https://earlychildhood.marylandpublicschools.org/system/files/filedepot/4/fpl_detailed-guidelines-2026.pdf

Pre K Eligibility & intake Form

 Please note: Sliding scale eligibility applies to Blueprint Pre-K Formula Grants only. It does not apply to Pre-K Expansion Grants.


intake & Eligibility Form

forms

emergency form (pdf)Download
health inventory form (pdf)Download
lead testing (pdf)Download
immunization form (pdf)Download
guide_to_regulated_child_care for new parents (pdf)Download

medication authorization forms

Allergy and Anaphylaxis Medication Administration Authorization Plan (pdf)Download
Medication Authoriziation Form (pdf)Download
Asthma Action Plan (pdf)Download
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Dinky's Childcare & Pre-School

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