Little Hands Preschool

Bright Eyes Early Learning Center is one location of a family-run Maryland child care company (Bright Eyes Inc., led by Diane and Pete Holzberger) that has operated since 1991 and serves families across Montgomery, Frederick, and Washington Counties. The Damascus center at 9625 Main St offers early learning programs grouped by age: Infants and Toddlers, Twos, Preschool and Pre-K, plus School Age and a School Age Summer program. Families can choose full-time or part-time enrollment, and the center markets flexible scheduling meant to fit most family work schedules. The curriculum is drawn from the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) approved list. Infants, toddlers, and twos follow Teaching Strategies Creative Curriculum, with weekly lesson plans built around each child's observed abilities and play-based activities like art, sensory work, circle time, sign language, songs, and multicultural music. Preschool and Pre-K classrooms use the InvestiGators Club curriculum, which holds a 5 Star rating from MSDE. That program rotates children through 7 themed units across the year and 13 classroom learning centers (math, science, social studies, language arts, writing, arts and crafts, dramatic play, music, technology, library, calming, sensory, and blocks). Daily small groups of 3 to 4 children work with a teacher on math, science, or language arts, and children practice phonological awareness, sight word reading, shared writing, and think-pair-share. Classrooms work on coping skills, conflict resolution, teamwork, and expressing emotions, and staff support each child's primary language through songs, activities, and learning words and phrases to communicate with the child and family. Teachers run observation checklists at the end of each unit and meet with parents twice a year to review progress, and the program welcomes individuals of all abilities and treats parents as active participants. On cost and access, Bright Eyes accepts all state and local vouchers and serves healthy snacks and lunches following MSDE guidelines at several locations. Teachers are trained in first aid and CPR. The company has been recognized in local Best of the Best and family-choice awards in Frederick, Montgomery County, Hagerstown, and Gaithersburg.

KidsCo Jr. runs a year-round early learning center at 24555 Cutsail Drive in Damascus, MD, one of three KidsCo Jr. locations in Montgomery County alongside Gaithersburg and Rockville. The center cares for children from 6 weeks through 5 years old and splits its enrollment into two age groups: the Jr. Babies program for infants and toddlers (6 weeks to 24 months) and the Preschool program for children 2 to 5 years old. Scheduling is built around working families. The Jr. Babies program runs as a Full Day Plan from 6:30am to 6:30pm, Monday through Friday. Preschoolers can choose a Full Day Plan (6:30am to 6:30pm), a School Day Plan (9am to 3pm), or a Half Day Plan (9am to 1pm), and they can attend 5 days a week (Monday through Friday), 3 days a week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday), or 2 days a week (Tuesday and Thursday). Enrollment is handled online through an EZChildTrack parent portal, with registration open for the 2026 to 2027 school year. The classrooms use The Creative Curriculum, which aligns with the Maryland Model for School Readiness (MMSR). The program is organized around the core areas of literacy, mathematics, science, social studies, and the arts, and the staff build a learning plan around each child based on social, emotional, physical, and academic goals. Learning is child-directed, with an emphasis on self-reliance, self-esteem, and the development of fine and gross motor skills, problem solving, and listening and speaking. The center prepares children for kindergarten and works closely with families to tailor each child's experience.

ASDEC is the only IMSLEC-accredited center providing reading and math specialists who are nationally certified by ALTA and AOG. Your child will have access to specialists who have trained for up to 1000 hours to deliver intensive one-to-one or small group instruction designed to meet their unique learning needs.