Philip isn't old enough for kindergarten yet, but he gives his music lessons all he's got. Squatting on the floor of a pastel-painted room in a family house in Prague 3, the fair-haired, blue-eyed 18-month-old bangs enthusiastically on a wood block, tinkles a triangle and happily claps a pair of finger cymbals together, eliciting warm words of approval from his teacher.

Rigorous academic training it's not, but Martina Přenosilová, founder and managing director of the Baby Bee day-care center, says that when the time comes, Philip will be better prepared for kindergarten than his peers.

"Children who spend time here get used to doing some regular activities and being in a strange place without their mothers," she explains. "They're also used to taking naps after lunch, which can be one of the most difficult things about kindergarten."

Baby Bee was initially conceived as a short-term day-care center for mothers who needed a place to bring their children while they ran errands, visited the doctor, returned to work or just had some time to themselves. Přenosilová saw a gap in the market a year ago. "In the Czech Republic, we don't really have places like this," she says, recalling the dilemma she faced with her own six-month-old son. "You either get someone to live in your home and take care of your children, or your family looks after them. But if your parents live in the countryside, you can't drive 100 kilometers to leave the children with their grandparents while you go to the doctor!"

Přenosilová undertook market research at gyms, salons and pediatricians' offices, and the Baby Bee program slowly took shape: It would focus on individuality and education. "If the children were just coming here to play, and have us watch them play, they really might as well stay home," Přenosilová says. "We want them to gain skills, to learn how to interact with other children."

Baby Bee's schedule is divided into educational blocks and free time, with overarching themes for each month. This month's theme is "people and their bodies." Finger-painted outlines of figures of children, lovingly created in art classes, adorn the center's walls; children learn and sing about their heads, shoulders, knees and toes during music blocks. Next month's theme will be animals. Activity blocks include everything from English and French to music and dance, literature, drama and exercise.

Parents can see the center's schedule online; language blocks are the most popular, followed by art and music. About half the Baby Bee's clients are Czech; the other half have at least one expat parent. Almost all are bilingual, as are Baby Bee's staff, but parents with language preferences can tailor their children's schedules around language blocks.

Staff are prepared to handle up to 20 children at a time, always keeping group size at a maximum of five children per care provider. Babies are looked after by qualified nurses and older children by teachers.

Přenosilová also employs a specialist who works with hyperactive and socially sensitive children and offers special weekly blocks with activities to help improve their focus.