Center for Young Children, UMD

Center for Young Children, UMD The Center for Young Children is the laboratory school at the University of Maryland. Welcome to the Center for Young Children (C*C)!

Playground Project Fundraisor ⬇️

https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/donation-form/e51ad830-0baf-48db-9119-44dd6caaa3c8 As a laboratory school under the College of Education since 1948, C*C has provided a sound early childhood program for children from 3 to 5 years of age. Our program is grounded in the philosophy of John Dewey who believed in the ability of children to learn from high quality first hand experiences. Children study their world by questioning, hypothesizing, and summarizing information on how the world works. The University community is a rich primary source of discovery for the children. Our mission is three fold:

Educating preschool and kindergarten children
Providing professional opportunities for both pre-service and veteran teachers
Supporting research on how children develop and learn
Please join us to learn more about the C*C. The intent of this page is for the C*C to share information about our center, as well as current happenings. Our confidentiality policy requires that we maintain the privacy of children. Any children pictured here have permission from their families to appear on this page. However, in respect of this confidentiality policy, please refrain from naming a child pictured on this page in the comments or otherwise.

Welcome back! We had a great start to the school year with our week of gradual entry. We are so excited to be welcoming ...
08/28/2026

Welcome back! We had a great start to the school year with our week of gradual entry. We are so excited to be welcoming our new and returning families to C*C! ✏️🏫

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Last week, the C*C teachers and staff worked to prepare for the school year by setting up the classrooms, participated i...
08/25/2026

Last week, the C*C teachers and staff worked to prepare for the school year by setting up the classrooms, participated in professional development, as well as went on a field trip to Planet Word Museum in Washington, D.C. Planet Word provided us an opportunity to problem solve and use our brains in different ways.

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Come celebrate the end of the school year with a pizza party to support PTP! We look forward to seeing you there! 🍕You c...
06/01/2026

Come celebrate the end of the school year with a pizza party to support PTP! We look forward to seeing you there! 🍕

You can support by dining in or carrying out at Potomac Pizza College Park this Wednesday, June 3rd, from 4-9pm. 20% of associated sales will be donated to the PTP!

Online: look for the “FUNDRAISER” tab on the far left menu panel. You MUST open that tab, select the fundraiser button, and add it to your cart before checkout, or your order won’t count toward the fundraiser. The button goes live by 4pm on Wednesday.

We are so thankful for all of the hard work from our "helper teachers" throughout this school year. Some of these amazin...
05/27/2026

We are so thankful for all of the hard work from our "helper teachers" throughout this school year. Some of these amazing aides graduated last week. We will miss them so much but cannot wait to see what great things they will accomplish! Congratulations!

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What will you find on C*C’s playground? At C*C, our children explore in all kinds of weather including rain, sunshine an...
04/20/2026

What will you find on C*C’s playground? At C*C, our children explore in all kinds of weather including rain, sunshine and even snow!

Children take risks, build confidence and strengthen both fine and gross motor skills. They are climbing, jumping, balancing and digging while they are exploring the playground.

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University of Maryland’s Lion Dance Team came to C*C to share the tradition and the history of the Lion Dance. They demo...
04/09/2026

University of Maryland’s Lion Dance Team came to C*C to share the tradition and the history of the Lion Dance. They demonstrated a routine through movement and music!

Thank you, ✨

At C*C classrooms follow the project approach that consists of 3 phases. During the third phase, children work together ...
03/27/2026

At C*C classrooms follow the project approach that consists of 3 phases. During the third phase, children work together with their peers and teachers to think about how they will culminate their study. This is an exciting phase because the children become experts in their study and is able to teach their own families all they have learned.

🔴Red Room: Held a dance party
🟠Orange Room: Created a light and shadow museum
🟡Yellow Room: Created a sculpture museum
🟢Green Room: Went to the US Botanic Gardens
🔵Blue Room: Filmed a video about Weather

At C*C, we are so fortunate to have a wide-open outdoor space where our children can explore, play, and grow every day. ...
02/27/2026

At C*C, we are so fortunate to have a wide-open outdoor space where our children can explore, play, and grow every day. Our outdoor space includes climbers, sandboxes, a basketball court, various gardens, and a track for riding bikes and scooters.

One of the most sought-out spaces of all is the hill. Children run up and down it, roll through the grass, play games and sports, and in the winter it becomes our favorite sledding spot.

Unfortunately, after years of varying weather, our cherished hill is experiencing significant erosion. There are now tripping hazards and exposed pipes, and for safety reasons, we’ve had to close off portions of it to the children.

We’re grateful to Tom Mazzone, instructor in the Institute of Applied Agriculture, who will be leading his college students in a project to restore the eroding hillside. He was awarded a Do Good Grant that will fund much of the work but not the full amount needed to complete the project.

We are reaching out to our community for support in helping us reach our goal in raising $16,000. If you are able and would like to help restore this special space for our children, please consider contributing to our playground fund using the link below. Every donation brings us closer to reopening and improving one of C*C’s most valued spaces.

https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/donation-form/e51ad830-0baf-48db-9119-44dd6caaa3c8?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAdGRleAQO_CFleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA8xMjQwMjQ1NzQyODc0MTQAAae0RDUs5O5QKVY2o1WUalVRG88Iw307mxY1gWn8V7ME1qU2sNs1MHIRk-ipZg_aem_dK9UnTjnqjelWHytfl2LCg

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This past snow storm gave our students many opportunities for exploration! From sledding down our hill to digging throug...
02/19/2026

This past snow storm gave our students many opportunities for exploration! From sledding down our hill to digging through ice and snow, and working together to make igloos.

Outdoor play like this builds teamwork, creativity, problem-solving and so much fun!

Did you know that the C*C is a laboratory school? As such, we partner with researchers inpsychology, human development, ...
01/20/2026

Did you know that the C*C is a laboratory school? As such, we partner with researchers in
psychology, human development, linguistics, and hearing and speech sciences, among other
programs, to advance cutting edge research on child development. Children have recently
participated in studies on memory development in childhood, contextual parameters of novel
word learning, and how different ways of designing number lines helps children more accurately
locate numbers, just to name a few.

These studies take place at the C*C during school time
and are fun, interactive opportunities for children to help propel science forward.

*C EarlyChildhoodEducation

Address

4028 Valley Drive
College Park, MD
20740

Opening Hours

Monday 8:30am - 4:30pm
Tuesday 8:30am - 4:30pm
Wednesday 8:30am - 4:30pm
Thursday 8:30am - 4:30pm
Friday 8:30am - 4:30pm

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