(Above: Low student-teacher ratios provide opportunities for more individualized learning.)
Sponsored by St. David's Center
Your child’s early childhood education experiences pave the way for a lifelong love of learning. At St. David’s Center, teachers create a classroom environment where social and cognitive development is fostered through play and collaboration. The staff at St. David's Center believe in the importance of an inclusive learning environment, where children of all abilities learn and play together – creating educational experiences that go beyond the classroom.
The St. David's Philosophy
The education professionals at St. David's Center know all young children have an innate desire to learn. Their Reggio-Emilia inspired program focuses on the important relationships in a child’s life and invites parents to be actively involved in their child’s early learning. Together, parents and teachers nurture curiosity and exploration to promote healthy development and build confidence for life-long learning. Because social-emotional development is the foundation for all other areas of learning, children in St. David's Center classrooms learn to relate to others and their world through play. When children engage in developmentally-appropriate play, lifelong skills such as problem solving, relationships and effective communication lay a strong foundation for emerging cognitive abilities.
(A custom, inclusive, nature-based playground allows children of all abilities the opportunity to play.)
What Does Learning Look Like?
* Social Development: Through the group setting of the classroom, your child will develop positive social relationships and engage in interactive play as they learn and grow.
* Cognitive Development: At St. David’s Center, your child will learn to love learning. They will gradually expand their logical thinking and be encouraged to exercise curiosity about the larger world.
* Language Development: Language acquisition will be expanded through music, oral instructions, reading books and more. Older children will begin to recognize letters, their own name, and understand the concept that written words have meaning.
* Creative Development: Imagination and creativity are developed through movement and music, dramatic play, and art. Hands-on experiences and process-oriented art activities foster your child’s development.
* Physical Development: Year-round, you might find your child running, jumping, climbing, or manipulating objects like balls or shovels in one of our inclusive outdoor learning environments. Indoors, they’ll practice eye-hand coordination with puzzles, crayons, or blocks.
* Emotional Development: We use consistent routines to foster your child’s sense of enthusiasm about the school experience. Through the encouragement of age-appropriate expression of feelings, children will learn to practice self-control and develop a positive sense of self.
St. David's Center serves children of all abilities from 16 months to eight years through high-quality, flexible program offerings in a beautiful, natural setting. Located in Minnetonka, the school features a 10-acre, DNR-certified school forest that sits on a portion of Minnehaha Creek, two accessible, age-specific playgrounds encouraging natural play, and multiple outdoor classroom environments that encourage learning in nature. Their program is proud to have earned both NAEYC Accreditation and a Parent Aware 4-star rating.
Learn More
Enrollment for Summer 2019 and School Year 2019-2020 opens February 1 and will be determined by lottery. St. David's Center will be hosting an Open House at the Minnetonka campus on January 31 where families can meet program leaders, ask questions and learn more about the St. David's Center philosophy and program offerings. To learn more about the enrollment process, visit the website here.
(Using a Reggio-Emilia inspired philosophy, St. David's Center places relationships at the heart of the child's early learning experiences.)
