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Program

As caregivers and educators, our mission is to provide a safe and developmentally appropriate learning environment, which fosters a child’s natural desire to explore, discover, create, and become a lifelong learner. We believe early childhood is a special time of growth, development and a time for formation of character and ability. Mountain Tots Preschool provides a range of indoor and outdoor activities.

Our learning objectives:

  • Gross Motor Development– Through outdoor play including skipping, dancing, jumping, ball handling, balance, group games, climbing, adventure play, and climbing

  • Fine Motor Development– By cutting, pasting, drawing, writing, puzzles, small construction sets, and lacing

  • Verbal Development– Through complex sentences, vocabulary, correct usage, and creative expression

  • Concept Development– Increasing the child’s understanding and appreciation of the world through field trips, science, community visitors, and social sciences, number awareness and reading awareness

  • Literature– Introduction to a variety of children’s literature (stories, tapes, poems, songs)

  • Sensory Development– Learning through the refinement of the senses: touch, taste, smell, listening, and observation

  • Creativity– Through drama, music, art, and self-expression

  • Imaginative Play– Block, Housekeeping area, Puppets, Sensory Table, etc.

  • Social Development– Sharing, ownership, cooperation, responsibility, consideration, and compassion of others

  • Emotional Development– Learning to understand, accept, and handle emotions

  • Self-Reliance– Leaning to take care of oneself (washing, cleaning, preparation of food, dressing, crossing streets, and handling emergencies)

Curriculum

Zoo-Phonics | click here to learn more

The Zoo-phonics Multi-sensory Language Arts Program is a kinesthetic, multi-modal approach to learning all aspects of language arts, including vocabulary development and articulation, based on phonics and phonemic awareness. The curriculum uses animals drawn in the shapes of the letters for ease in memory. A related body movement is given for each letter. This concrete approach cements the sounds to the shapes of the letters.

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Mountain Tots Preschool implements three main curricula: Dinosaur School, Handwriting without Tears and Zoo-phonics. We feel these are valuable curricula. Further, these three curricula have been instituted at the early education levels in the Eagle County Schools. The following are descriptions from their websites, describing the different programs. Please feel free to visit their websites for additional information.

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Get Set for School | click here to learn more

The Readiness & Writing program (Handwriting without Tears) focuses on pre-writing and readiness skills.Children learn hands-on letter play, fine motor, and crayon skills. Music and movement help them develop social skills, body awareness, positions in space, and capital/number formation skills.

In Language & Literacy, students learn sounds, rhyming, letter recognition, and the parts of a book.They also learn to listen to and tell stories, sequence and communicate in full sentences.

In Numbers & Math, students learn to count, comparing, and the concepts of addition and subtraction.They also learn shapes, patterns, and sorting. Lessons cover the concepts of measurement and time as well as problem-solving.

Second Step | click here to learn more

Second Step is our Social and Emotional curriculum; it is delivered at large group circle time twice a week. It is used to strengthen children’s social and emotional competencies. 

The Second Step program teaches skills in the following four areas:

  • Skills for Learning: Children gain skills to help them be better learners, including how to focus their attention, listen carefully, and ask for help.

  • Empathy: Children learn to identify and understand their own and others’ feelings. Children also learn how to show care for others.

  • Emotion Management: Children learn how to calm down when they have strong feelings, such as worry or anger.

  • Friendship Skills and Problem Solving: Children learn how to make and keepfriends and to solve problems with others in a positive way.

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