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Preschool Spotlight: Ardent Preschool & Daycare

Preschool Spotlight: Ardent Preschool & Daycare

Find out more about Ardent Preschool & Daycare and its two (soon to be three) Huntsville area locations via our Q&A with Tamara Harrelson, Marketing Manager.

View Ardent’s Website

Locations & Phone:
2400 Rideout Road SW, Huntsville, AL | 256-837-5437
1065 Four Mile Post Road, Huntsville, AL | 256-203-4208
176 Uncle Frank Blvd, Madison, AL | 256-678-8093

Facebook Page: Redstone | Jones Valley | Clift Farms
Instagram: Redstone | Jones Valley | Clift Farms
COVID-19: Protocols can be found here (updated frequently)
Ages of Students: 6 weeks through Kindergarten
Religious affiliation: Christian–Non-Denominational

Teacher/Student Ratio: Varies, dependent on classrooms

Please describe your school’s mission:
Ardent Preschool and Daycare pursues excellence in all areas to make our childcare experience an investment that parents (and their children) can’t afford to miss. By continually setting standards and by always seeking to exceed expectations, we ardently strive to become the most trusted and premier name in childcare. Setting Standards. Exceeding Expectations.

Describe a typical day for an infant / toddler / preschooler in your school.
An infant’s day at Ardent is designed to make the transition for both parent and child as smooth as possible! We’ve created a safe, “feels like home” environment that enables us to love and nurture our infants as we seek to meet their individual needs.

The day for a toddler aged student has been designed for children to get plenty of time to exercise their bodies, we also are committed to excellence when it comes to exercising their minds! We use the A Beka curriculum with our students and we provide daily instruction in letters, numbers, and language development. At Ardent, our goal is always to make learning fun!

A preschool student’s day includes Bible and catechism instruction which is taught by the Director. The instructional times during class are centered on the A Beka curriculum and we teach and encourage a mastery of reading one and two vowel words. Our small reading groups take the children through little readers which get sent home upon completion. The children in this room are also introduced to basic math concepts, as well as writing numbers and counting to 100.

Ardent Preschool & Daycare

Infants at Ardent

Are cloth diapers an option if provided by parent?
We generally approach the issue of cloth diapering on a case-by-case basis according to our teachers. Please call us at one of our campuses for questions about cloth diapering.

What kind of documentation is provided to parents at the end of the day regarding their infant?
Our Jones Valley and Redstone campuses uses KidReports, a web-based service which provides a variety of electronic parent engagement features specifically designed for child care and early education learning centers. The parent communication portal is designed to send daily reports, photos, activity information, and so much more, allowing parents the ability to stay connected with their children in real time.

All Ardent locations provide written and/or digital infant daily reports informing parents of diapering, meal and nap time information.

Ardent Preschool

Meals at Ardent

What meals (if any) are provided by the school?
Ardent Preschool & Daycare offers warm and nutritious meals to students twice a day (breakfast and lunch) along with an afternoon snack. Meals are included in tuition and we have worked with a nutritionist to develop menus that are not only healthy but are also enjoyable for young palates. We created monthly menus that are filled with entrees and accompanying seasonal sides (fruits and vegetables) that students are sure to find familiar and pleasing. Also included in the meal plan are drinks to accompany both meals and snack. We primarily serve milk to ensure that all children are receiving their suggested daily servings.

Describe how your school deals with allergies.
Ardent is a nut free school so there will never be any tree nut items included in our menus. All food allergies are posted both in the prep areas of our kitchen to serve as a daily reminder for the kitchen staff as well as in the classrooms for the teaching staff. Parents with children who have food allergies, note them on our Complete Diet and Health Profile Form within each student’s Enrollment packet. If you have any additional questions about the meal plan or our offerings, please schedule a time to meet with our campus directors. We are more than happy to work with families to accommodate within reason any food related issues.

Ardent Preschool & Daycare

Potty Training

Do you take students who are not potty trained? 
Yes! Potty-training a toddler can be an up-hill battle, especially if there isn’t consistency between home and preschool or daycare. A lack of consistent potty-training during the day can make those little victories won at home seem like a big loss in the grand scheme of things. This causes unnecessary frustration for both parents and the child!

At Ardent we uphold the hard work parents put in at home by implementing a proven potty-training program throughout the day. In fact, parents and children will begin seeing consistent results in just weeks!

Our “Potty-Training Boot Camp” is truly a partnership program which is guaranteed to provide a rewarding experience – not only for your toddler, but for YOU TOO!

Education Program & Admissions

What is your school’s predominant educational philosophy? 
Classical Education. It depends on a three-part process of training the mind called the Trivium. However, “a classical education is more than just a pattern of learning, though.  First, it is language-focused: learning is accomplished through words and images. Why is it important? Language learning and image learning require very different habits of thought. Language requires the mind to work harder; in reading, the brain is forced to translate a symbol (words on the page) into concept. Images, such as those on videos and television, allow the mind to be passive. In front of a video screen, the brain can “sit back” and relax; faced with the written page, the mind is required to roll its sleeves up and get to work.

Second, a classical education follows a specific three-part pattern: the mind must be first supplied with facts and images, then given the logical tools for organization of those facts and images, and finally equipped to express conclusions.

Third, to the classical mind, all knowledge is interrelated.” ~Susan Wise Bauer and Jessie Wise – The Well-Trained Mind

This is the big picture of classical education. However, at Ardent our focus is on the grammar stage where children are taught through memorization and recitation. We accomplish this through learning games, songs and age appropriate activities. Beginning with our infants, children are engaged daily in fun but structured class time including letter sounds, numbers, colors, shapes and language development.

Describe your admissions process. 
If you are interested in exploring the preschool and daycare opportunities that Ardent has for your family, we would love for you to come tour at any of our locations. There you can meet our amazing staff and experience the excellence at Ardent! Enrollment for the Jones Valley, Redstone and new Clift Farms locations are year around and you are invited to sign up today! We welcome you to call or email us to schedule a visit.

Click for Enrollment Info

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