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2245 Orange Ave, Costa Mesa, CA 92627, us
"Devoted to igniting curiosity and creativity beyond basic early education, emphasizing socialization & emotional well-being"
"Each class has an educational curriculum based on the children’s age, needs, and skills."
Best Preschool in Costa Mesa
Coastal Children's Learning Center is a preschool and daycare in Costa Mesa, California. Our school provides toddler, preschool and pre-k classes for children 18 months - 6 years old. We are open from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday-Friday. Coastal CLC is a learn through play, developmental program. We are licensed for 39 children and have 8 staff members. Please email or call the center for tuition pricing specific to your child's age and schedule needs.
Learning at Coastal
We believe that learning is most effective for children when it is provided through ‘play’. The children are in groups according to age, and teachers encourage their developmental progress individually. Our teachers become facilitators to problem solving in each child’s world.
Our Goal
At Coastal, our goal is to nurture and encourage each child to develop socially, cognitively, physically, creatively, and emotionally in their own unique way and at their own pace. While we value academics, we believe that socialization and emotional well-being are essential for children in today's world.
Preschool Costa Mesa: Where Your Child's Learning Journey Actually Begins
Every morning around 7:30, families walk through our doors at Coastal Children's Learning Center, coming from South Coast Metro, Eastside Costa Mesa, Westside Costa Mesa, Mesa Verde, Newport Beach, Huntington Beach, Irvine, Santa Ana and surrounding neighborhoods. They tell us the same story - they visited other preschools, but something felt off. The classroom was too crowded. The teachers seemed stressed. Their toddler cried at every single dropoff.
We get it because we've been part of this Costa Mesa community since 2015. When you're searching for a preschool that Costa Mesa families actually recommend to their friends, you want a place that feels less like a business and more like a second home. You want teachers who remember that your three-year-old is obsessed with dinosaurs or that your daughter needs her special blanket at naptime.
That's what we do at our preschool Costa Mesa location. We serve families from Eastside, Mesa Verde, College Park, and beyond, and we've learned that good early childhood education isn't about fancy marketing - it's about showing up every day, caring about these kids, and delivering quality programs that actually prepare them for kindergarten.
Day Care Center Costa Mesa Programs That Work Around Your Schedule
Last year, a mom called us at 6:45 in the morning. Her regular babysitter canceled, she had a huge presentation at work, and she was panicking. Our day care center costa mesa program starts at 7:30 AM for exactly these reasons.
Life happens. Traffic on the 405 gets bad. Meetings run late. Your boss needs you to stay until 6. We designed our day care center schedule knowing that Costa Mesa parents aren't working 9-to-5 jobs anymore. Some of you are commuting to Irvine, some to Newport Beach, some all the way to LA.
What Our Day Care Center Actually Includes
We're open from 7:30 AM to 5:30 PM at our day care center costa mesa location because we know your commute is unpredictable. The program covers everything - breakfast if you drop off early, snacks throughout the day, and we don't charge extra fees if you're running ten minutes late. We've all been stuck in that South Coast Plaza traffic.
Your child gets the same teachers every day at our day care center. Not random staff, not college kids doing this as a side job. Real early childhood educators who know that consistency matters when you're two or three years old. Our Costa Mesa families say this is what makes the biggest difference - their kids actually get excited to come here.
Learning Center Costa Mesa - Education Through Play
Here's something we hear a lot: "My kid isn't ready to sit at a desk all day." Good news - neither are we ready for that. Our learning center costa mesa approach means your three-year-old learns numbers by counting blocks, not filling out worksheets.
We run our learning center based on how kids actually develop. Your toddler learns social skills during circle time. They learn problem-solving when they're building towers that keep falling down. They learn patience waiting their turn for the slide (which is harder than it sounds for a preschooler).
The Costa Mesa families we work with appreciate that our learning center focuses on the whole child. Yes, we teach letters and numbers. But we also teach your kid how to make friends, how to handle frustration, how to ask for help. These are skills that matter in kindergarten and honestly, for the rest of their lives.
Daily Learning Center Activities
Morning circle time starts our learning center day. Kids share what they did last night, practice taking turns talking, and learn to listen to each other. Then we rotate through activity stations - art, building blocks, reading corner, outdoor play.
No two days look exactly the same at our learning center costa mesa location. Sometimes we're learning about ocean animals (we're close to the beach, so this one's popular). Sometimes we're planting seeds and talking about how plants grow. The goal is keeping them engaged and curious, not bored.
Nursery School Costa Mesa Programs for Your Youngest Learners
When your baby turns into a walker, everything changes. Suddenly they're into everything, climbing on furniture, pulling books off shelves, sleeping less. That's when a lot of Costa Mesa parents start looking for a nursery school costa mesa program that can handle this wild new energy.
Our nursery school costa mesa program takes kids starting at 18 months. We know they're not going to sit still for story time yet. We know they're still working on using words instead of just pointing and crying. That's completely normal, and our teachers are trained specifically for this age group.
What Makes Our Nursery School Different
The nursery school classroom is set up different than our preschool rooms. Everything is lower to the ground. We have more soft play areas. We do shorter activities because attention spans are still developing. And we have more teachers per child because these little ones need more hands-on support.
Parents in Mesa Verde and College Park bring their toddlers to our nursery school costa mesa location knowing we understand this age is hard. They're too young for pre-K but too active to just stay home all day. Our program gives them structure, socialization, and honestly, gives you a break to get stuff done.
Child Care Agency Costa Mesa - Professional and Licensed
As a licensed child care agency costa mesa, we're inspected regularly by the state of California. They check our ratios, our facilities, our safety procedures, our staff qualifications. We don't just meet minimum requirements - we exceed them.
What does being a professional child care agency costa mesa mean in practice? It means our teachers have real training in early childhood education, not just "I like kids." It means we have documented policies for everything from illness to behavior management to emergency procedures. It means we're insured and bonded.
Our child care agency maintains better ratios than state requirements. For preschool-age kids, we keep it at 1:6 even though the state allows more. We've found that with more than six kids per teacher, quality drops fast. Teachers spend all their time managing chaos instead of actually teaching.
We've been part of the Costa Mesa community since 2015. We're not a corporate chain that might close next year. We're a stable, professional child care agency costa mesa families can count on year after year.
Toddler Care Costa Mesa - Managing the Challenging Years
Let's be honest - toddlers are kind of nuts. They want independence but can't zip their own jacket. They have big feelings but don't have the words yet. They're discovering they're separate people from you, which leads to a lot of "NO!" and tantrums in the Target parking lot.
Our toddler care costa mesa program is designed specifically for this challenging age. We have teachers who actually enjoy working with toddlers (not everyone does). They stay calm during meltdowns. They redirect instead of punishing. They understand that a toddler who's hitting probably needs help with their words, not a timeout.
Daily Toddler Care Routine
Structure helps toddlers feel secure in our toddler care costa mesa program. We follow the same basic schedule every day - arrival and free play, morning snack, outdoor time, structured learning activity, lunch, nap time, afternoon snack, more play, pickup time.
But within that structure, there's flexibility. If your toddler is having a rough day, teachers adjust. If the whole class is extra energetic, we spend more time outside. If they're all engaged in building something together, we let it go longer than planned.
The toddler years are when kids learn the basics of how to be around other people. How to wait your turn. How to ask nicely instead of grabbing. How to handle it when someone else is playing with the toy you want. These are hard lessons, and we teach them with patience at our toddler care costa mesa facility.
Preschool Programs Costa Mesa - The Core of What We Do
Our preschool programs are where kids really start to shine. By age three or four, they're ready for more structured learning. They can sit for a group activity. They're interested in letters and numbers. They're making real friendships with other kids.
The preschool programs in Costa Mesa run year-round, which helps families who don't get summers off work. We offer full-time and part-time options because we know not every family needs or can afford five full days a week.
What a Day Looks Like in Our Preschool Programs
Morning starts with free play - kids arrive at different times, so this gives everyone a chance to settle in. Then we have circle time where we sing songs, talk about the calendar, discuss the weather, and introduce the day's theme.
After circle time, we break into learning centers. Reading center has books and comfortable seating. Art center has crayons, paper, sometimes paint or glue projects. Building center has blocks and legos. Dramatic play area has dress-up clothes and play kitchen stuff. Kids rotate through centers, spending about twenty minutes in each area.
Our preschool programs include outdoor time every single day, weather permitting. Costa Mesa has pretty good weather, so we're outside a lot. Kids need to run, jump, climb, and burn energy. Plus, outdoor play teaches them about nature, weather, and physical boundaries.
Pre-K Classes Costa Mesa - Getting Ready for Kindergarten
A mom told us last spring that her daughter's kindergarten teacher pulled her aside on the first day and said, "I can tell she went to preschool." That's what our pre-K classes are designed to do - prepare kids so they walk into kindergarten confident and ready.
Pre-K classes at our Costa Mesa preschool cover the academic basics - letters, numbers, writing, basic math concepts. But they also cover the stuff that sometimes gets forgotten - how to line up, how to raise your hand, how to handle six hours at school, how to open your own lunch box.
Pre-K Classes Curriculum Details
Our pre-K classes run Monday through Friday, and we follow a curriculum that aligns with what Costa Mesa elementary schools expect. By the end of pre-K, kids can recognize all their letters and the sounds they make. They can count to 100. They can write their full name. They can hold a book right-side up and turn the pages.
But academics are only part of pre-K classes. We also work on emotional regulation - what do you do when you're frustrated? We practice social skills - how do you join a group that's already playing? We build independence - can you put your backpack away without being reminded?
Kindergarten Readiness Costa Mesa - Preparing for the Next Step
Every January, we start hearing the same question: "Is my child ready for kindergarten?" Kindergarten readiness isn't just about knowing ABCs. It's about the whole package - academic skills, social skills, emotional maturity, physical development.
Our kindergarten readiness program at our Costa Mesa preschool assesses each child individually. Some kids are academically ready but struggle with the emotional side - they have trouble separating from parents or handling transitions. Some kids are socially confident but need more work on letters and numbers.
Components of Kindergarten Readiness
Academic kindergarten readiness means knowing letters and sounds, counting, recognizing basic sight words, holding a pencil correctly, cutting with scissors. We work on these skills throughout pre-K, but we ramp them up in the spring for kids heading to kindergarten in the fall.
Social kindergarten readiness is huge. Can your child share? Take turns? Solve conflicts with words? Follow directions from adults who aren't their parents? Make friends? These skills determine how well kids adjust to elementary school.
Physical kindergarten readiness includes both gross motor skills (running, jumping, balancing) and fine motor skills (writing, buttoning, zipping). We practice these daily because kindergarten teachers expect kids to manage their own jackets, backpacks, and lunch boxes.
Emotional kindergarten readiness is sometimes the hardest. Can your child handle a full school day without melting down? Can they tell a teacher when they need help or need to use the bathroom? Can they manage frustration when something is difficult? Our Costa Mesa program works on all of this.
Early Childhood Education Costa Mesa - Our Teaching Approach
There's a lot of debate about early childhood education - should preschoolers have homework? Should they be learning to read at age three? Should they sit at desks? Our answer to all of these is no.
Research on early childhood education is pretty clear. Young kids learn best through play. They need movement, hands-on experiences, social interaction. Pushing academics too hard too early actually backfires - kids get stressed, they start to hate learning, they burn out before they even get to first grade.
Our Early Childhood Education Philosophy
We believe early childhood education should be joyful. Kids should love coming to school. They should be excited to learn new things. They should feel successful and confident. When we get this foundation right, academic success follows naturally.
Our early childhood education costa mesa program is play-based but intentional. Teachers plan activities with specific learning goals. When kids are building with blocks, they're learning math concepts - bigger, smaller, taller, patterns. When they're playing in the dramatic play area, they're developing language and social skills.
We also believe early childhood education should include the arts. Music, movement, visual arts - these aren't extras, they're essential. They help kids develop creativity, self-expression, and fine motor skills. Plus, they're fun, which keeps kids engaged and happy.
Developmental Programs Costa Mesa
Our developmental programs focus on meeting each child where they are. Kids develop at different rates. Some three-year-olds are ready to write their name. Others are still working on holding a crayon correctly. Both are normal.
We track developmental milestones in five main areas through our developmental programs: cognitive, language, physical, social, and emotional. Are they solving problems? Are they using more complex sentences? Can they jump with both feet? Are they making friends? Can they manage their emotions better than last month?
Parents get developmental updates regularly through our Brightwheel app. You'll see notes about your child's progress and growth, showing that we're watching each child's individual development in our developmental programs costa mesa.
Full-Time Childcare Costa Mesa
Most families need full-time childcare because both parents work or you're a single parent juggling everything. We get it. Our full-time childcare program runs Monday through Friday, 7:30 AM to 5:30 PM.
Full-time childcare at our preschool costa mesa location means your kid has the same routine every day. Same teachers, same classroom, same friends. That consistency matters way more than most people realize. Kids feel secure when they know what to expect.
We charge monthly for full-time childcare, not daily. So if your kid gets sick on Tuesday and stays home, you're not doing complicated math about prorated refunds. One monthly rate, simple and clear.
Part-Time Childcare Costa Mesa Options
Not everyone needs five days a week. Maybe you work from home on Wednesdays and Fridays. Maybe you're a teacher who only needs care during the school year. Our part-time childcare gives families flexibility without sacrificing quality.
You can choose two, three, or four days per week for part-time childcare. We just ask that you pick your days at the start of each month so we can plan staffing properly. Kids who come part-time get the exact same experience as full-timers in our part-time childcare costa mesa program.
Why Costa Mesa Families Choose Our Preschool
At the end of the day, choosing a preschool costa mesa comes down to trust. You're leaving your kid - the most important person in your life - with strangers. That's huge. That's why we focus so much on building relationships with families.
We're not a corporate chain where teachers get moved around and policies change constantly. We're locally owned, we've been in Costa Mesa since 2015, and most of our staff has been here for years too. Miss Rachel since 2018, Miss Angelica since 2017, Miss Maria since 2019. When you call, you talk to someone who actually knows your child.
Our families come from all over - South Coast Metro, Mesa Verde, Eastside, College Park, Newport Beach. They have different jobs, different backgrounds, different needs. What they all say is that they feel heard here. They feel like their kid is actually known and cared for, not just another enrollment number.
Schedule a Tour of Our Preschool Costa Mesa
If you're looking for a preschool costa mesa location that feels more like family than institution, come visit us. Tour the classrooms. Meet the teachers. Watch how the kids interact. You'll get a feel pretty quick if this is the right place for your family.
We offer tours Monday through Friday at 10 AM and 3 PM. You don't need an appointment, though calling ahead at (949) 722-1005 helps. Tours take about 30 minutes. We show you everything - all four classrooms, outdoor play areas, everything.
We're not perfect. Some days are chaotic. Sometimes kids have rough days. Sometimes parents and teachers disagree about the best approach. But we show up, we communicate, we work through things together. That's what real early childhood education looks like - messy, human, and full of kids learning and growing every single day.
Call Today to Schedule Your Tour: (949) 722-1005their full potential, both academically and socially. We offer a wide range of programs and activities designed to engage and challenge your child, including music, art, and physical education. Contact us today to schedule a tour and discover the many benefits of a Preschool Costa Mesa Day Care Coastal Children's Learning Center education!
Schedule a tour today!
Better yet, see us in person!
Preschool Costa Mesa Day Care Coastal Children's Learning Center
2245 Orange Avenue, Costa Mesa, California 92627, United States
Hours
Monday - Friday: 7:30am - 5:30pm
Saturday: Closed
Sunday: Closed
Copyright © 2026 Preschool Costa Mesa Day Care Coastal Children's Learning Center - All Rights Reserved.