“Play is the work of the child"- Maria Montessori

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We are a licensed Multi-Age facility offering full-time child care for children ages 2.5-5. Our centre and educational program have been designed to give children requiring full time care the developmental and educational benefits of attending a pre-kindergarten program. We keep our numbers small to ensure children are able to get the attention, care, love, and meaningful feedback that they deserve. Children in our centre are always met with love, respect, compassion, and guided in a way that is positive and beneficial to their positive growth and sense of well-being and belonging.

Our centre offers a child-led play-based approach to early childhood education inspired by the educational philosophies and methods of Dr. Maria Montessori. We aim to educate the whole child in a positive and supportive environment, while encouraging their independence, school readiness, confidence, self-esteem, and strengthening their connection to the natural environment. 

We honour and value the importance of play in children’s learning and well-being. Our play-based educational program is designed to teach the children foundational skills, work on developmental milestones, build self-esteem, foster their sense of well-being and belonging, build respectful and reciprocal relationships with classmates and educators, and help them learn daily routines and tasks promoting independence and school readiness. We offer materials and toys that are open-ended, allowing children to use their imaginations, explore their inquiries, and to develop and test their theories about the world. In addition to these materials and play-based inquiries, we work on school readiness by creating organizational systems and routines within the classroom environment, curating thoughtful educator-guided activities, leading engaging circle times, and promoting literacy through reading and singing. In addition to these child-led activities promoting independence, we create educator-led guided activities to expand the children's knowledge and skills, and creating opportunities for group participation and building confidence.

We place a strong emphasis on outdoor play and learning in nature. We spend time exploring natural materials, learning about animals and the environment, spend time outdoors in the yard, and frequent Cone Hill Park next door for nature exploration, scavenger hunts, and forest school (weather dependant). When we are unable to go off-site due to weather, we are surrounded by trees in the yard and on the property that children can use for investigation stations, mud kitchen play, bug hotels, and art. We provide mud suits for the children to use while attending our centre, so messes never get in the way of learning!

We strive to always create an environment that fosters inclusion, diversity, safety, and a sense of well-being and belonging in all children we care for. The classroom environment has been designed to be peaceful and neutral, with artwork about education, diversity, and learning. The neutral and soft colours design of the classroom is not only to enhance children’s learning without an overstimulating environment, but also to respect sensory needs of the children in care, if applicable. We offer high quality programming administered by an Early Childhood Educator who is knowledgable, caring, and compassionate. 

Our goal is to build respectful and responsive relationships with the children in our care. Our program is family-centered, and we aim to build these relationships with the families of children in our care as well. We believe that families are children’s first teachers and play the most significant role in children’s learning and well-being. Trusting your children to someone else's care is a huge decision, and we do not take that honour lightly. We have an open door policy so families at our centre always feel welcome, and make ourselves available to discuss your child's evolving needs and how we can support your family whenever possible. We welcome all children and families to our Centre regardless of race, ethnicity, abilities, or socio-economic status. 

Our goal is to intentionally and thoughtfully educate children through play and the materials we offer, expand their imaginations, support families in our care, create the beginnings of environmental stewardship in children, and teach in accordance with the British Columbia Early Learning Framework and First People’s Principles of Learning. Our program has been created with the image of the child as capable, curious, and full of innate wonder. Our program focuses on the potential of the individual child to grow, develop, and learn in all areas through self-motivation, self-direction, and self-discipline fostered in a positive, supportive, educational, and loving environment.

We acknowledge that we live, play, grow and teach on the traditional unceded territory of the Ktunaxa and Sinixt First Nations.