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Sensory Play Activities

Sensory Play Activities in Orlando: Hands-On Learning for Infants, Toddlers, and Preschoolers at Ladybird Academy of Dr. Phillips

Ladybird Academy of Dr. Phillips builds sensory play activities in Orlando into your child’s full day of care. Our nursery for babies from 6 weeks offers a gentle start to hands-on learning. Sensory play means learning through the senses: touch, water, sound, and movement. Infants, toddlers, and preschoolers each get play that fits their age and stage. As a Gold Seal day care center, we connect sensory play to developmental milestones, which are the skills most children reach around a certain age, like grasping a toy or stacking blocks. We’re open Monday through Friday, 6:30 AM to 6:30 PM. A tour is the best way to see these spaces for yourself.

From 6 Weeks Old

Infant Sensory Play in Dr. Phillips Builds Early Developmental Milestones

Infant sensory play at Ladybird Academy of Dr. Phillips helps babies from 6 weeks old start building their first developmental milestones. For a baby, the senses are the main way to learn. Simple textures, gentle sounds, and safe objects give babies a reason to reach, grasp, and follow things with their eyes. That eye-following skill is called tracking, and it comes before later skills like reading a line of text.

With babies, safety comes before anything else. Babies explore with their mouths, so any object in a sensory activity has to be safe to mouth and safe to hold.

Parents often name our infant teachers in their reviews. Our teachers stay with the same age group all day, and we keep ratios at all times. A teacher who sees your baby every day learns that baby’s cues, such as the yawn that means a nap is near or the fussing that means a bottle is due.

Sensory play works best when it fits around a baby’s feeding and nap times. A tired or hungry baby won’t explore much. Play works best when your baby is fed, rested, and alert.

Many Dr. Phillips parents work in hospitality jobs near Universal, Restaurant Row, and International Drive. Our 6:30 AM drop-off, 6:30 PM pickup, and flexible scheduling help those early and late shifts work.

Low shelves of labeled bins in a toddler classroom
  • Infants from 6 weeks
  • Outdoor play 12 months
  • Weekdays 6:30 to 6:30
  • Quality Gold Seal

Busy Hands

Toddler Sensory Activities in Orlando Turn Busy Hands Into Early Skills

Toddler classes at Ladybird Academy of Dr. Phillips give Orlando walkers and talkers hands-on sensory work as part of their day. In our Creative Play Centers and art room, toddlers squeeze, pour, stack, and paint, and each of those actions builds a specific skill.

Squeezing and pouring build fine motor skills. Fine motor skills use the small muscles in the hands and fingers, the same muscles your child will later use to hold a crayon, button a shirt, or use a spoon. Stacking teaches balance and cause and effect. When the tower falls, your toddler learns something about how things work.

Sensory play also grows language. A toddler who pours water can learn words like “full,” “empty,” “wet,” and “cold” while doing the action. New words stick better when they’re attached to something your child can touch.

Shared materials teach turn-taking. When two toddlers want the same cup or scoop, they practice waiting, sharing, and using words instead of grabbing. This is social-emotional learning, which means learning to handle feelings and get along with others.

Classroom learning center shelves with labeled bins

Sun and Storms

Water, Outdoor, and Rainy-Day Sensory Play Fit Central Florida Weather

Central Florida weather shapes how Ladybird Academy of Dr. Phillips plans sensory play through the year. Our spaces are set up for both sun and storms, so children from Bay Hill, Sand Lake, and Dr. Phillips can keep moving and playing in every season.

Outdoors, children use our on-site water play area and shaded playground equipment. Water play works on several senses at once. Children feel temperature, watch water move, and learn how pouring, splashing, and filling work. Shade matters here, because the Orlando sun can make bare equipment too hot for comfortable play. Our playground also has safety surfacing under the equipment.

Our Summer My Way Summer Camp, for ages 5 to 11, adds Monday water days. School-age children get a set day each week built around cooling off and playing with water.

Orlando summers bring frequent afternoon thunderstorms, and hurricane season runs June through November. Storms can cut outdoor time short with little warning. When that happens, sensory play moves indoors: stories and books in the library, role play and movement in Playtown, our dramatic play room, and painting, textures, and hands-on projects in the art room.

Because Orlando stays warm all year, outdoor sensory play runs 12 months, not just in summer.

3s and VPK

Sensory Play in Our Nursery School Program Prepares Preschoolers for Kindergarten

The preschool program at Ladybird Academy of Dr. Phillips uses sensory play to build kindergarten readiness for children in our 3s and VPK classrooms. At this age, hands-on work starts to turn into real questions. Our Science Lab, Art Studio, and cooking activities give preschoolers a place to ask those questions and find answers.

For example, a child might notice that ice melts faster in the sun than in the shade and ask why. Or a child might see that flour feels different once water is added.

Play alone can leave gaps in skills that kindergarten will expect. Structured lessons alone can lose a young child’s attention. We pair hands-on work with the Abeka curriculum and Saxon Math, so your child gets both clear lessons and real things to touch and test.

This mix builds three skills that matter for kindergarten:

  • Focus

    Focus, from finishing a hands-on task from start to end

  • Early Math

    Early math skills, from counting, measuring, and sorting during activities like cooking

  • Vocabulary

    Vocabulary, from naming what your child sees, feels, hears, and tastes

Families new to Florida are often surprised to learn about VPK (Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten). Florida VPK is free for eligible 4-year-olds. We’re a Florida VPK provider, and our VPK runs during the school year only. We also accept School Readiness, formerly known as 4C. Our VPK classroom is the last step before your child heads to kindergarten.

Watch From Work

Parents Can Watch Sensory Play Through Live Cameras and App Updates

Live parent camera access at Ladybird Academy of Dr. Phillips lets you see your child at play during the day. For MetroWest and Dr. Phillips families who just moved to Orlando, that view matters. You may not have friends or family nearby to recommend a day care, so seeing the classroom for yourself helps you decide.

Classroom web cameras let you see your child in the classroom during the day. Real-time app updates and direct teacher messaging keep you informed through the day. You can see what your child did and send a question to the teacher without waiting until pickup.

If something worries you, our front desk addresses concerns the same day.

See It in Person

Touring the Sensory Play Spaces Is the First Step to Enrolling Your Child

A tour of Ladybird Academy of Dr. Phillips lets you compare our classrooms in person before you enroll. Photos and reviews help, but walking the halls shows you how the rooms are set up for your child’s age.

On a tour, you can see:

  • The water play area
  • The Art Studio and Science Lab
  • The Library
  • Playtown, our dramatic play room

Bring your questions. Ask about flexible scheduling, infant care, toddler classes, and Pre-K openings. Ask how sensory play fits into each age group’s day.

Ladybird Academy of Dr Phillips is an owner-operated school that has served Dr. Phillips families since 2013. We’re 2.6 miles (about 13 minutes) from Universal Studios, the closest day care to Universal Studios Orlando.

Ladybird Academy of Dr Phillips 6809 Daisy St, Orlando, FL 32819 (407) 412-6908

Ms. Yliana Gomez

Director

You can also meet our Director, Ms. Yliana Gomez. Ms. Gomez has more than 15 years in childcare and holds a National Child Development Associate (CDA) credential from the Council for Professional Recognition in Washington, D.C., along with the Florida Director Credential. She has been with our school since it opened in 2013.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

What Dr. Phillips parents ask us about sensory play for babies, toddlers and preschoolers.

Still have questions?

Our team is happy to help. Call during school hours or send us an email.

(407) 412-6908 drphillips@ladybirdacademy.com

Ladybird Academy of Dr. Phillips includes infant sensory play in its infant care, led by named, consistent infant room teachers. Babies explore simple textures, sounds, and safe objects. The same teachers stay with the infant group all day, so they learn your baby’s cues. Play works best around feeding and nap times.

Schedule a Tour

Come See Where Their Adventure Begins

Walk the classrooms, meet our team and bring every question on your list. You’ll know quickly whether Ladybird Academy of Dr. Phillips feels right for your family.

  • See the classroom for your child’s age
  • Meet the teachers and our director team
  • Learn how check-in, cameras and daily updates work
Front entrance of Ladybird Academy of Dr. Phillips, a yellow building with the Ladybird sign

Prefer to talk? Call (407) 412-6908

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