Our Space

Where the Magic Happens

The Indoor Play Space

The indoor play space includes both a big, bright classroom on the first floor and an open concept playroom on the lower level.

Open Concept Playroom

In the open-concept playroom, children participate in circle time, show & tell, story-time and group play. Interactive group activities focus on building confidence and acceptance, while encouraging turn-taking and sharing.

The Classroom

In the classroom, the play area is divided into two sections: the infant side and the preschool side.

Infants and young toddlers have lots of space to explore and pull themselves up while learning to stand and walk. The toys are ready for chewing, tasting and tossing.

The preschool side supports play-based learning with individual and group play stations. The group play stations include a block table, train table, puzzle table, and sensory bin. Individual play trays are available at three learning stations. Play trays hold activities designed to challenge and enhance problem-solving and decision-making skills.

The Outdoor Play Space

Deck & Backyard

We have a large backyard with a full-coverage deck. Outdoor play is encouraged during all seasons with seasonal activities. Children look forward to creating their ‘snow mountain’ during the winter months and taking care of their ‘very hungry caterpillars’ during the summer months.

OUR PROGRAM

Where We Apply our Philosophy

Learning is play-based with young children. Play-based learning encourages and promotes problem-solving as important concepts and discoveries evolve and naturally unfold. A typical day involved both free play and teacher-led group activities.

The Importance of Free Play

Free play is the time when children socialize, explore, discover, and make choices. Free play encourages and facilitates their sense of self and independence. An example of this is readily seen at the block table where children may be deciding which block to add to their creation, what size, what colour, where to place it, in which direction to build, whether or not to share a block, etc. Free play enables them to build upon their ideas, fosters independence, decision-making, social skills, and teamwork.

Teacher-Led Activities

Teacher-led activities include exposure to concept and skills through circle time, story time, or show and tell. These daily interactions help promote language development and preschool math concepts. Our daily circle includes a song about the days of the week, sharing observations about the weather, reviewing the letter of the day and the sound it makes, etc. We explore a different concept each day such as size, shape, colour, patterns, etc. We count forward and backwards and learn to recognize numbers.

Each day combines a balance between child-directed play and teacher-led activities. The importance in developing social and emotional competencies relies on child-directed play. My role is to help facilitate their play, knowing when to step back and encourage them as they learn to make and follow their own rules, resolve conflicts, and empathize with each other.

In your child's day, one equation remains constant:

Play = Learning

OUR SPACE