Now Enrolling in Parkville – Infant to School Age Programs
Exploring Minds Academy – Creekside in Parkville, MO is proud to serve families with a program structure that reflects Missouri's early childhood education expectations. We offer full-day care and learning experiences for children Infant through School Age, including before/after school care and seasonal camps.
We pick up from Aneline Washington Elementary School. The Parkville School District picks up and drops off at Exploring Minds Academy.
Our setting includes
We are able to facilitate a wide variety of activities, including yoga, music, art, gardening, and the learning of a second language.
Two-Year-Olds
The Two-year-old classroom plays a vital role by providing a safe, nurturing, and stimulating environment where young children can grow and learn. At this stage of development, children are becoming more independent, developing language skills, and learning how to interact with others. Our classroom supports these important milestones through play-based learning and responsive caregiving.
The physical environment of a two-year-old classroom is carefully arranged to encourage exploration and discovery. Learning centers such as blocks, dramatic play, art, books, and sensory activities allow children to choose experiences that match their interests and developmental needs. Furniture and materials are sized appropriately to promote independence and ensure safety.
Teachers in two-year-old classrooms focus on building strong relationships with children. Through warm interactions, encouragement, and consistent routines, educators help children feel secure and confident. Daily schedules typically include free play, group activities, outdoor time, meals, rest periods, and opportunities for creative expression.
Language development is a major focus in classrooms for two-year-olds. Teachers support communication by talking with children throughout the day, reading stories, singing songs, and introducing new vocabulary. These experiences help children develop listening, speaking, and early literacy skills.
Social and emotional growth is also emphasized. Children learn to share, take turns, express their feelings, and interact positively with peers. Teachers guide children through conflicts and model appropriate social behaviors, helping them develop important relationship skills.
Hands-on activities encourage cognitive development and problem-solving. Children learn through exploring materials, asking questions, and experimenting with their environment. Activities involving sorting, matching, counting, and sensory exploration help build early mathematical and scientific thinking.
Two-year-old classrooms provide a supportive environment where young children can develop physically, socially, emotionally, and intellectually. Through play, exploration, and caring interactions with teachers, children build the foundation for future learning and success.
6 Weeks to 12 Months
We offer a warm, cozy "home away from home" for your baby, with a passionate and highly qualified team dedicated to your child's well-being. Our caregivers use responsive play and introduce basic sign language to support your baby’s early communication skills—empowering them to express needs before they can speak, while fostering a deep sense of connection and security.
Our eco-healthy facility ensures a safe, clean environment, adhering to strict environmental best practices. We incorporate engaging learning themes and enrichment activities like music, yoga, art, and dance, encouraging your baby to explore and interact with the world using all their senses. With ample outdoor play areas, your child can enjoy fresh air and build both cognitive and gross motor skills.
We also provide a user-friendly parent communication app to keep you informed, and introduce your baby to fresh, nut-free foods prepared with care.
Toddlers (1 – 2 Years)
Our toddler classroom is where curiosity blooms. As your child transitions out of infancy, they begin to explore the world with increased independence and confidence. We support their budding sense of self through hands-on learning, parallel play, and social interaction.
Teachers gently guide toddlers through structured routines while encouraging choice and autonomy. Language development is a key focus, with daily songs, storytelling, and peer interactions. Outdoor play, sensory exploration, and age-appropriate fine and gross motor activities build physical strength and coordination.
Our goal is to help toddlers develop empathy, express their needs, and feel confident in a group setting—all while having fun and forming trusting relationships.
Two-Year-Old Program (2 – 3 Years)
This classroom, exclusive to our Parkville location, is designed specifically for the unique developmental needs of 2-year-olds—a stage full of big emotions, rapid language growth, and new challenges.
We’ve developed a stand-alone curriculum that bridges the gap between toddlerhood and preschool. Through thematic units and learning centers, children build early literacy and math skills, learn to follow multi-step directions, and strengthen their self-regulation and problem-solving abilities.
Teachers help children navigate transitions, toilet training, and cooperative play, creating a safe space to practice independence while still receiving plenty of emotional support. This age-specific focus ensures your child isn’t rushed into preschool expectations before they’re ready, and it honors their unique rhythm of growth.
Preschool (3 – 5 Years)
Our preschool program is designed to prepare children for kindergarten and life beyond. We focus on whole-child development—academics, social-emotional growth, and executive functioning skills are all equally emphasized.
Children explore weekly themes such as seasons, weather, world cultures, science, and storytelling through projects, circle time, guided lessons, and child-led inquiry. We use research-backed methods from Montessori, High Scope, and Conscious Discipline to help children build resilience, empathy, and a love for learning.
Outdoor exploration, Spanish language exposure, yoga, music, and gardening enrich the experience, and our experienced preschool teachers act as coaches and mentors, helping each child grow at their own pace while preparing them for a successful transition to elementary school.
Merging Teaching and Child Care
We offer a variety of programs for stages, including infants and toddlers, preschool, and pre-kindergarten.
We believe that it is never too early to start learning, and that it is vital to always present opportunities for children to learn and grow as soon as they start at our center. There are always chances to encourage growth within a child's mind, and it is our job as caregivers and teachers to nourish that potential.
By developing our programs with curriculum experts and childcare specialists, we have been able to hone in on what makes early education a success and create a learning program that allows our children to enter school seamlessly. It is our aim to equip every child in our care with the knowledge and skills to thrive in the next stage of their educational journeys and beyond.
What to Expect from EXPLORING MINDS ACADEMY
Our mission is to provide the highest-quality childcare!
As part of our commitment, we provide all of our kids with:
Our Gardens
Exploring Minds Academy has raised garden beds and planter gardens for our children.
Exploring Minds Academy are participants of the Farm to Early Childhood Education program.
Families and children plant the gardens together every May. We have a Master Gardener from the Farm to ECE program come and talk with our families and children about planting and growing vegetables and the benefits of healthy eating.
Each year Exploring Minds Academy plants tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, peppers, green beans, carrots and pumpkins. We also have blueberry bushes.
The children at Exploring Minds Academy take care of the gardens by watering, weeding and picking the vegetables.
When the vegetables at Exploring Minds Academy are ready to be picked, the children help. The children also get to wash them and taste them. They are also used in our lunch and snacks we provide for the children.
As part of the Farm to Early Childhood Education Program, Exploring Minds Academy uses activities provided by the Farm to ECE as part of their learning, providing children with books, art, taste testing, and cooking projects to go along with what they are growing.
Exploring Minds Academy was also a participant in a pilot program, Cooking in the Classroom. Taught by CSU Extension Health Specialist that provided hands on cooking and taste testing. It offered experiences that included sensory play with fresh produce, taste testing and exposure to new foods, singing about and discussing healthy food (basic food safety, color identification, making comparisons), and no-heat cooking, such as smoothies.
