Nurturing Healthy Relationships
Learning through play in a warm, child-centered community in a spacious, enriching preschool environment in Davis, CA
Spiritual & Emotional
Experiencing God’s love while developing a strong sense of self and a shared language to communicate about emotions.
Social & Community
Gaining self-awareness and the language needed to communicate, cooperate, solve problems, and discover the joy of community.
Language & Literacy
Engaging in conversations, storytelling, songs, and language play that develop a lifelong love of stories, and a strong foundation for listening, speaking, reading and writing.
Cognitive
Growing in their ability to think critically, notice patterns, ask questions, and take the risks learning requires through exploration, play and guided learning experiences.
Physical & Nature
Exploring the great outdoors through play to develop self regulation, coordination, safe risk taking, and sensory integration.
Creative
Building the confidence, imagination and ability to express their ideas and emotion through art, and music.
The Heart of UCNS
Social, emotional, and spiritual development is the heart of our program. We explore a new character trait each month through Bible stories and everyday opportunities to experience God’s big love for each individual, child, and family. We intentionally foster connection and build community as we celebrate our interdependence and the joy of both giving and receiving help.
UCNS Character Traits
Respect — Honoring others, ourselves, and God’s world.
Kindness — Showing care for all of God’s creation.
Thankfulness — Appreciating the beauty in the little things.
Generosity — Giving and sharing without expectation.
Responsibility — Taking pride in doing our very best.
Honesty — Choosing the truth, no matter what.
Love — Treating others with genuine care and kindness.
Courage — Doing what is right, even when it’s hard.
Compassion — Caring for those who are hurt or sad.
Friendship — Taking an interest in others and sharing what we have.
Zones of Regulation — Learning to build awareness of emotions and self-regulation
Bucket Filling — Imaginative language to understand the effect of giving and receiving support
UCNS Stepping Stones
Our program is intentionally designed to provide children with supportive relationships and developmentally appropriate experiences in an enriching environment. This encourages strong relationships, confidence, and a lifelong love of learning, ensuring every child feels secure as they transition toward elementary school
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Focus: Building trust and sensory exploration.
Key Milestones: Learning to trust adults outside the family, practicing basic communication of needs, and transitioning into a group play environment.
Daily Rhythm: Emphasis on loving care, diaper/potty support, play and exploration, highly engaging, short circle times.
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Focus: Emotional intelligence and social connections.
Key Milestones: Developing empathy, engaging in collaborative play, practicing conflict resolution through the Kelso’s Choice curriculum, and building foundational phonological awareness.
Daily Rhythm: Individualized attention to meet children where they are developmentally while maintaining a balance of free exploration, play and teacher-led learning experiences
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Focus: Leadership, confidence, and early academics.
Key Milestones: Enriching learning opportunities to develop independence, deeper friendships, teamwork, and more complex problem solving skills. In addition to being prepared for the social-emotional demand of a large elementary school, children are introduced to pre-academics through Zoo Phonics, Handwriting Without Tears, thematic units and intentional hands-on learning experiences
Daily Rhythm: Individualized instruction that connects to each child's unique interests to ensure they thrive in Kindergarten.
Together We’re Better
At UCNS, we believe every child is a unique gift to our community. We are committed to an inclusive preschool experience where children of all abilities learn, play, and grow side-by-side.
UCNS Preschool Enrollment Admission Policy
UCNS welcomes children of any race, national or ethnic origin, and any religion to our program. UCNS is an inclusive preschool and we place students in classes that best meet the needs of each child. To enroll, children must fall within the age ranges appropriate for the class in which they enroll, and provide proof of immunization. We reserve the right to balance each class with respect to gender. Please read our entire Parent Handbook for more information about UCNS policies.