Backyard Bears Day School
Center in Tampa, FL 33614
Backyard Bears originated as a family owned business in the backyard of our home located in New Bern North Carolina. The historic building was built in 1880 as a doctors office later to become an engineering firm. The building sat dormant until 1992 when it was remodeled for a retail store in the Tyron Palace historic district of down town New Bern. The idea was a Teddy Bear Shop with a complete assortment of specialty bears and bear memorabilia. With the original sales of Teddy Bears and the new craze of Beanie Babies the shop has been a national success in it’s own limited stuffed animal market. In June of 1996 the idea of retiring early from corporate America and establishing a unique day school facility came about. Using the family name Backyard Bears in conjunction with a pre-k program Dianne Henry – President of Henry Ventures Inc. started the first of two “Backyard Bears Day Schools” in Tampa Bay.
The schools have a minimum of one acre play grounds with trike paths cross fenced to provide age appropriate play areas and more! The facilities are licensed for a total of 228 children and our record shows we have become a leader in the day school community. Recognized by child care licensing as high compliance centers. Working with Southeastern Nova University in the corporate “Stride for quality program” we have developed a true foot hold in the child development program.
Additional Services: Before School After School Food Served Transportation
- Licenses & Accreditations:
- Florida Department of Children and Families - Accredited Professional Preschool Learning Environment - NAEYC Accredited
- Hours of Operation:
- Monday_Friday 6:30 AM - 6:00 PM
Want more information?
- Classroom Ratios
- Director and Teaching Staff Bios
- Course and Teaching Material
- Menus, Activities, and more...
We believe that the first years of life are extremely important in influencing the child. The Center will dedicate its efforts to providing a happy healthful environment to nurture the intellectual physical and emotional growth of the children in our care. Our philosophy promotes understanding of the child’s need to examine their environment to be able to deal effectively with all kinds of people and situations and to handle and use their own feelings. We are aware that children need to feel good about themselves and their accomplishments to be self-confident and to have a well developed self-esteem. We know that the experiences we provide the attitudes we show the behavior models we expect them to copy all influence their development.
Intellectually our program and materials provide a solid foundation for the student. Goals for our children include: developing skills for creative thinking making wise choices arriving at workable solutions living with responsibility and developing a sense of humor.
Physical education is an integral part of our program and very important for young children. It is important to help each child develop a strong healthy body and an informed attitude toward the care of his body. An appropriate level of fitness can lead to a more confident outlook emotional stability and better mental health in general.
We recognize the importance of the teacher’s role in the classroom. Training natural abilities and personality are crucial in setting the stage for learning. By the experiences that the teacher makes possible for the children and by her knowledge of child development she will be able to turn the classroom into a mini lab of structured centers where children can “discover” for themselves the real world. A teacher having a soft voice being an enthusiastic listener in a creative classroom can inspire a child. We believe our teachers are an excellent resource for answering age appropriate questions for the client.
At Backyard Bears professional growth of our staff is assured by workshops annual revisions of the curriculum researching new ideas and materials as well as the spirit of coordination and guidance that prevails throughout the school. As owners it is our job to promote staff team work leadership safety and a positive attitude which are character strengths recognized by children attending our schools.
