Programs
Learning Through Play
The Learning through play approach:
The learning through play curriculum is a research-backed framework designed to meet children where they are developmentally—using play as the vehicle for academic learning, emotional regulation, social competence, and moral development. It transforms everyday moments into meaningful opportunities for growth, making learning intuitive and joyful.
Why Play Works:
Play isn’t a break from learning—it is learning! Through play, children build executive function, creativity, resilience, and intrinsic motivation. Neuroscience shows that children retain concepts best when they’re actively engaged, emotionally secure, and free to explore through multi-sensory experiences.
Core Elements of Play-Based Learning:
Intentional Planning / Activities align with developmental goals—language, math, empathy, etc.
Guided Interaction / Educators scaffold learning by participating in and guiding play moments.
Open-Ended Materials / Toys and resources encourage experimentation and imagination.
Responsive Caregiving / Educators respond sensitively to children’s cues, fostering emotional safety.
Documentation & Reflection / Learning stories and observations validate growth and shape future planning.
Examples by Developmental Domain:
• Cognitive: Building a train track develops sequencing, spatial awareness, and problem-solving.
• Language: Storytelling with puppets enhances vocabulary, expressive language, and comprehension.
• Social-Emotional: Turn-taking in board games teaches empathy, patience, and emotional regulation.
• Physical: Dancing, jumping, and threading beads build gross and fine motor skills.
• Creative: Dramatic play encourages self-expression, narrative skills, and cultural awareness.
Educator’s Role:
More than play supervisors-educators are intentional facilitators. In our program, this means:
• Planning play experiences that match children’s interests and developmental needs.
• Engaging in play to model language and social behaviors.
• Observing, documenting, and adjusting experiences based on each child’s progress.
• Using trauma-informed practices to create emotionally safe and predictable environments.
Art
Through art, children can express themselves in different ways which enhances creativity. Art improves hand and eye coordination, increases confidence, developes fine motor skills, teaches creative problem solving, and more. Studies have shown that children who do art on a regular basis do better in science and math.
Music
Music is more than just song and dance. We believe that music can be used as a tool to bring peace and joy to the body, mind, and spirit. Music is offered throughout the day in every classroom and brings peace to the environment while they sleep. Dancing to music allows children to develop gross motor skills and allows them to practice self expression.
Movement
Research suggests that promoting movement and activity in young children can help increase memory, perception, language, attention, emotion and even decision making. When language is combined with movement, learning increases 90 percent. Movement has also been shown to help calm and promote alertness in infants.
Language
The ability to analyze ideas, even basic ones, such as hot versus cold depends on language. Through language, children make sense of experiences and the world around them. In fact, language is the foundation for most learning—whether it is factual knowledge, social skills, moral development, or physical achievement.
Mathematics
Developing math skills at an early age positively impacts a child's cognitive, social/emotional, physical, and literacy development. Concepts such as problem solving, number sense, and spatial relationships help students gain the basic understanding of math to build upon.
Outside Play
Research shows that outdoor play is imperative for a Childs physical development. Physical skills are important for growth, physical coordination, and the movement of the body. When children play outdoors they increase their ability to balance, jump, climb, throw, run and skip. Children learn predominately through their sensory and physical experiences which also supports brain development.