Curriculum

A developmentally-appropriate approach to early education to support learning and development in all major domains—language, social-emotional, cognitive, physical, literacy, mathematics, science and technology, social studies and the arts.

Holistic Approach

A holistic, whole-child approach to learning and growth by ensuring the physical, personal, social and emotional well-being of each child is met. Our menus emphasize fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and minimal processed food. Daily outdoor activities and play.

Family Centric

We build strong partnerships with you from your first visit and enrollment, through your child’s early learning experiences to facilitate a smooth transition to school. Families are always welcome in the classroom.

Choosing the right child care setting for your child is one of the most important decisions you’ll make. We invite you to explore our program and variety of settings to learn why Early Connections is a great choice for you and your child.

Early Connections Learning Centers is dedicated to providing comprehensive, high quality early care and education for ALL children. Our developmentally-appropriate, “whole child” early care and education program focuses on school readiness. The integrated components of our program–early learning, family engagement and support, and nutrition and health—promote development and learning in all major domains: language, social-emotional, cognitive, physical, literacy, mathematics, science and technology, social studies and the arts. Our goal is to help young children develop the skills and attributes they need to enter school prepared to learn and succeed.

Early Connections Learning Centers is the oldest nonprofit child care organization in the state of Colorado and is recognized statewide as a leader in early care and education. Our commitment to quality is the foundation for our early care and education program. Three of our centers are accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).

Curriculum

Early Connections’ curriculum offers a warm and welcoming environment where children can learn, grow and thrive in the early years of life, the vital period for children to develop the learning foundations necessary for lifelong success.

Our classrooms are designed to encourage children to actively engage, explore, experiment and develop the critical thinking skills necessary for problem-solving and independence. Our developmentally-appropriate, “whole child” approach to early education supports learning and development in all major domains—language, social-emotional, cognitive, physical, literacy, mathematics, science and technology, social studies and the arts.

Our curriculum is a strategic blending of Creative Curriculum (research-based) and The Storybook Journey (evidence-based). Utilizing both curricula in our classrooms, we integrate learning and literacy into all facets of the classroom through immersion in excellent children’s books. Children are introduced to timeless classic children’s literature as well as wonderful new stories and characters with a large selection of multicultural books. Using the concepts in the books, teachers tailor lessons and activities to meet the individual needs of the children based on each child’s development and progress. The Storybook Journey and Creative Curriculum encourage children to develop a love of reading and life-long learning.

My Teaching Strategies ®

Our dedication to providing the highest quality early education for children means we must assess the development of our children and provide individualized instruction to assure all children succeed. Early Connections utilizes My Teaching Strategies® to document each child’s development and learning over time, improve instruction and report to parents on their child’s progress.

My Teaching Strategies® is an authentic, observation-based assessment system for children from birth through kindergarten. It is grounded in 36 research-based objectives grouped in nine broad areas of development and learning: social-emotional, physical, language, cognitive, literacy, mathematics, science and technology, social studies and the arts. The objectives are aligned with The Head Start Child Development and Early Learning Framework and the Colorado Common Core State Standards for kindergarten. Through My Teaching Strategies® observations, children are determined to be meeting or exceeding widely-held expectations for their age group. This information is used to build individualized plans for each child, ensuring all children are entering kindergarten prepared to succeed.

My Teaching Strategies® is appropriate for children from birth through kindergarten, and parents can seamlessly track their child’s growth and development during the time that their child is enrolled at Early Connections.