Bright Minds Academy Now Enrolling

For Ages 12 Months - 6 Years

Bright Minds Advantages

Availability (no sick day closures)
Schedule (open from 6 AM - 7:30 PM)
DCF Certified Provider
Fun + Engaging Themes
Planned Class Outings
Nutritious School Meals
Caring Staff (3-15 years of experience)
Age-Appropriate Curriculum +Milestones
Age-Based Classrooms
Structure + Consistency (center rules + expectations)
Real-Time Updates (Procare communication portal)
Exploratory Outdoor Play (amazing new playground!)
All Day Pre-K (no more shuffling littles after preschool)
Kindergarten Readiness Objectives
TRANSPARENCY
- Live-view cameras in every classroom hosted by childcare-based platform, WatchMeGrow
Contactless Sign-In + Out
Secure Facility (Phone Ap Entry Required)
And A Whole. Lotta. FUN!

Why Bright Minds?

Early Years Are Vital

Experts say 90% of a child’s brain development happens from ages 0-5.

The early years are critical for a child to be actively engaged in age-appropriate activities, form strong relationships with their peers and teachers, and grow on an emotional level.

At Bright Minds, we strive to provide a warm, safe, loving environment where the children in our care can learn and grow while having an absolute blast.

Age Specific Units

At Bright Minds Academy, we provide a specified setting for each age as children learn and grow.

This makes providing targeted, age appropriate curriculum a breeze for our staff helping the children in our care develop all of the skills at an age appropriate pace.

Highly Qualified Staff

Our team of lead teachers have experience ranging from 3-15 years, and our support staff all has amazing experience in a childcare setting as well.

Our staff understand that care and love come first at BMA, so that children can easily focus on learning and growing, socially, emotionally, and academically.

Important Milestones Happen At Bright Minds Academy

While not all milestones are as big as first steps seem to us grow-ups...

Each milestone holds a core places in our little learners' lives.

The New Bright Minds Location In Hays Is Projected To Open September 25, 2023

And we are SOOO excited about it!

Not Just A Daycare

We Provide All-Day Preschool + Childcare!

Preschool FAQ

How is this different from a licensed preschool?

As far as structure and education, it really isn't! We ARE a licensed preschool. Our preschool is just located within a childcare center.

We provide a structured curriculum, weekly themes, scheduled field trips, advanced circle time, engaging crafts, social and emotional skill building, dramatic play, outdoor exploratory play, kindergarten readiness objectives, and SO MUCH MORE!

Where we really differ is that we are allowed to keep children for THE ENTIRE DAY! When attending a licensed preschool that is NOT located within a child care center, a child can only attend for up to 3 hours per day.

So, your child will get all the social, emotional, and educational benefits of preschool WITHOUT the hassle of figuring out what the rest of their day would entail that comes with attending a half-day style preschool.

With that, we provide an entire structured day from 6-7:30 with all meals, snacks, nap times, activities, education, and everything else you would expect to find in a preschool and childcare setting. The best of all worlds!

What will my child learn at BMA's preschool?

Great question! Most importantly, we want each child that attends Bright Minds Academy to learn to be a great friend and build meaningful relationships. Caring about each and every one of our friends is something we hope every child leaves our program with.

Educationally, Bright Minds Academy utilizes the Big Day For Pre-K (now Pre-K On My Way) curriculum as a guide to build what our lessons will include on a weekly basis. The units in Big Day For Pre-K are as follows:

Ready For School
My Family
Our Community
Awesome Animals
Imagine It, Make It
Growing Up Healthy
Nature All Around Us
Moving On

We pull from each unit and pair the lessons up with our weekly themes, letter, and number. Our Pre-K Professionals create FUN and engaging crafts, activities, and experiments to help your child reach important milestones and have a blast as they learn and grow!

What's a normal day like at BMA's preschool?

Below is what a typical day in the life of a preschooler looks like at BMA:

Normal Hours

6-8 AM: Arrival + Quiet Free Play Stations (coloring, puzzles, magnetiles, etc.) + Exploratory Outdoor Play (weather permitting)
8-8:30 AM: Potty Break + Prepare For Breakfast
8:30 - 9 AM: Breakfast Snack
9 - 11 AM: Structured Curriculum + Circle Time + Centers
11 - 11:45 AM: Outdoor Free Play
11:45 AM - 12 PM: Prepare For Lunch
12 - 12:30 PM: Lunch
12:30 - 1 PM: Potty Break + Brush Teeth + Prepare For Nap
1 - 3 PM: Nap Time
3 - 3:15 PM - Potty Break + Prepare For Snack
3:15 - 3:30 PM - Snack!
3:30 - 5:30 PM: Teacher's Choice + Outdoor Play (weather permitting) + Structured Free Play

Extended Hours

5:30 - 6 PM: Potty Break + Prepare For Dinner
6 - 6:30: Dinner
6:30 - 7:30: Teacher's Choice + Outdoor Play (weather permitting) + Structured Free Play

What is the difference between Jr. Preschool and Preschool at BMA?

This is another advantage of attending Bright Minds Academy. We are able to split our preschool program into two age groups that each get to learn, explore, and grow in their own age-appropriate classroom.

Typically, our Jr. Preschool ranges from 2.5 - 4 years of age, while our Preschool accommodates 4 - 6 year olds.***

This allows us to have more age specific centers, activities, and crafts for each room while the themes and curriculum follow the same structured goals.

***Since every child is different and may not have the same needs as the next, these age ranges aren't set in stone. In our experience, however, this is typically when children are ready to move from Jr. Preschool to Preschool.

What are the expectations of students attending BMA's preschool?

Students starting in Preschool are typically able to write their name, know their ABCs, colors, and shapes, be able to count to 10, hold a pencil, use scissors, participate in a short circle time period, engage in centers, activities, and crafts, and be potty trained.

The beauty of having a Jr. Preschool program like we do, is that we are able to provide ample time and attention on developing all of the above skills prior to students entering Preschool.

Our Jr. Preschool room will be licensed to accommodate students from 2.5 - 6 years while our Preschool room will be licensed to accommodate 3 - 6 years.

So, even though our typical age ranges in the Jr. Preschool and Preschool rooms will be 2.5 - 4 and 4 - 6 respectively, children in our care will always have the opportunity to learn, grow, reach milestones at their own pace, and move up when they (and you) are ready!

How many teachers and students are in the preschool room?

Our Jr. Preschool room will be licensed for up to 20 children while our Preschool room will be licensed for up to 24 children.

Each room is only required to have two teachers at a given time. However, we always have at least a third teacher in the room during the busy, educational times of the day when these rooms are at or near full enrollment.

What The People Say

Who We Are

Greetings from the Felder family! We both grew up in the Hays area before college life took us to Manhattan and Topeka. Eventually, we each made our way to Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Kansas in Topeka where we met each other, got married, and worked for nearly eight years.

Our love for children, education, and the desire to be near family sparked an interest in exploring bringing a childcare center to Hays. We have four amazing children – Rhett, Remmi, Rowan, and Ryker. The process to bring Bright Minds Academy to Hays was challenging, but we are honored to be able to provide this service to the community!

Our goal is to provide excellent care, structure, and educational beginnings to the children of Hays. Helping kids learn and grow has become our life's purpose, and we appreciate you considering joining us in this dream journey. We look forward to meeting you as we expand into the new childcare center on the HaysMed campus!