Curriculum and Goals

Our goal is to create an environment that promotes and nurtures your whole child, their mind, body and (spirit), through strategically planned activities targeted to meet your child’s developmental goals.  We will strive to expand upon all their abilities and encourage a lifelong foundation to allow your child to thrive in all aspects of life.

Children need nurturing, support, and encouragement, a feeling of belonging, an acceptance of his/her emotions, guidance towards appropriate social skills, interaction with others and a positive self-concept. It is our goal at The Children’s Center to positively encourage your child to grow and develop these skills. Your children should know and feel that their classroom at the Center is part of their home and it will give them a sense of belonging. We have created an environment at the Center filled with love and understanding where our students feel that they belong, they are respected and they are proud of themselves and their family. Our teachers use positive guidance techniques to encourage their growth and development by observation while assessing them and making strategy plans to help each of your children achieve their goals and achieve success in the classroom. 

The current curriculum is grounded in Maria Montessori’s philosophy of preparing children for all aspects of life through materials and methods that support natural learning. It is also shaped by the Reggio Emilia Approach, which views children as capable, curious, and full of potential, expressing themselves through multiple "languages" of learning. The environment acts as a third teacher, fostering collaboration, reflection, and co-construction of knowledge among children, educators, families, and the wider Missoula community. Documentation plays a key role, capturing and revisiting students’ learning processes.

Additionally, the curriculum incorporates The Project Approach, which builds on children’s natural curiosity to promote deep, authentic learning. Through exploration, questioning, and connection to real-life experiences, children become active participants in shaping their understanding and their world.

-Cultural diversity and Community – celebrating different cultures within our community with an introduction to Spanish. Exploring and studying the community around us through being actively involved in our community as well as through opportunities to visit our surrounding community members and learn through them.

-The Project Approach – an explorative process through in-depth investigations of topics.

-The Environment as being the Third teacher – providing spaces and activities that inspire children’s creativity, opportunities to expand their learning, encourage collaboration and develop relationships to establish a sense of belonging

Our educators implement instructions through explicit and systematic instructions, developed through vigilant observations and assessments to target each child’s learning objectives and developmental goals. Educators work alongside children as co-learners and listeners.

The main goal of our Preschool Program is to prepare children for Kindergarten. The curriculum and the lessons all focus on this goal.  Developmental assessments are done two times during the school year and a child’s progress is charted.  Areas of weakness or delays are addressed early in the school year and goals are set with the parents during the initial parent-teacher conference in the fall. Adjustments are made to the curriculum to meet the needs of each child and by the time a child reaches five years of age, he/she should be ready to graduate preschool and go on to Kindergarten. The teachers and Executive Director discuss this progress often throughout the school year and work together with the parents to make sure individual goals for each child are moving along towards completion by the end of the preschool year. After completion of the Center’s programs, your child will most likely be more than ready for school.  The Center will make a recommendation on kindergarten readiness for each child.  We always have the best interest of your child in mind.