Children are Lifelong Learners

We want your children to grow into individuals who love learning. We are conscious of each of the children’s learning styles. This ensures that children are learning in their own way and in their own time which makes learning fulfilling instead of “work”.

Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP)

• Materials in the classroom and the curriculum are age appropriate for our young learners. We find a balance of challenging them while making sure they can succeed at the same time.

Play as a Foundation

• We believe children learn best through play. That is why our curriculum allows children to get up and move and use a variety of materials to learn. We strive to spark a child’s creativity and imagination.

Weekly Theme Based Lesson Plans 

• From the book of the day, to the art project, to the science activity, our days are planned with the weekly theme in mind. Children learn best if they are surrounded by a single concept that still allows for freedom to bring their own perspective to our themes.

Hands On

• Children love to get their hands dirty and explore with all their senses. Our curriculum is designed to allow kids to be kids: to get messy, to investigate their world, and to have fun doing it.

The WHOLE Classroom

• Curriculum is not only the books that we read and the letters that we learn. Curriculum begins from the moment a child walks in the door to the time they leave. Often times our curriculum continues during the car drive home and around the dinner table as you ask questions about your child’s day.

Assessments with Goals

• Measuring each child’s growth is key to a successful education. That is why teachers pay careful attention to how children are progressing and document what they observe. Art work, checklists, examples of work and anecdotal notes make up each child’s individual portfolio. This portfolio is updated throughout the year and shared with you formally twice a year. We understand that each child develops at their own pace so as we see specific developmental needs we make sure our lesson plans are have activities that allow them to strengthen those skills. 

Teaching with Intention

• There are reasons why our teachers teach what they teach. There is a purpose. Do the children need to work on a certain skill? Is there are particular interest in the classroom? When teachers do their weekly planning, they take all these things into consideration as they write their lesson plans.

Children’s Interest Level

• Our curriculum is developed based on what the children like and dislike. We pay careful attention to their interest level and are flexible with our plans when we see that they either want more time with an activity or they want to move on to the next activity. 

Embrace Literacy

• Literacy is everywhere in our center. Each center has hundreds of books that children, teachers and parents can use. We strive to make literacy part of every learning environment and experience.

Up to Date on the Latest and the Greatest

• We ask ourselves this very important question on a daily basis “How can we be a little bit better than yesterday.” We want to grow EVERYDAY and not stay the same. We want the best resources for our teachers. We want the most educational toys, the most current books… the best of everything! We spend a lot of time researching and testing what is new on the market so we can provide the very best to your children. 

Outdoor Play

• We believe that our playgrounds are an extension of our classrooms. You will often find teachers doing art outside or reading books under a tree. During the summer months our teachers complete outdoor lesson plans which give children the opportunity to create and play with items that are normally in the indoor classrooms. Children love taking legos outside in the grass and have a blast molding playdoh on our picnic tables!!!

Onsite Field Trips

• Several times a year we bring petting farms, magicians, singing groups and other “special” visitors to The Learning Tree to provide the children with unique experiences and hands on activities. Not only are these field trips fun for the children but they offer educational opportunities that the children may not normally encounter.