Early Childhood Education (ECE)

The start of your student’s education in school.

At Academy 360, we understand that the transition from home to school is a major step for children and parents alike. Our qualified, experienced teachers work with families to make those initial steps into school as smooth as possible, taking into account the specific needs of each child.

Programs

Step into our early childhood classrooms and you’ll be greeted by engaged and happy children making the most of our well-equipped, bright and spacious facilities. We have a few program options to meet each family’s unique needs:

3s Program

5 days a week, 7.5 hours a day for students who turn 3 years old before Oct. 1 of that school year.

The Creative Curriculum utilizes interactive literacy and thematic learning experiences that strengthen social, intellectual and physical skills in every child through language, math, science, art, and movement.

4s Program

5 days a week, 7.5 hours a day for students who turn 4 years old before Oct. 1 of that school year.

Our innovative curriculum builds beyond the fundamentals as teachers encourage deeper levels of questioning, problem solving, and engagement. When the time comes for our 4s to move to kindergarten, they are prepared and confident for the next stage in their educational journey.

3/4 Program

5 days a week, 7.5 hours a day for our “older” 3-year-olds and “younger” 4-year-olds.

There is a great deal of research documenting the benefits of mixed-age classrooms, including heightened leadership skills of older students, improved academic and social skills for all students, and increased self-confidence and emotional well being.

3, 4, and 3/4 classrooms offer:

  • Adult to child ratio of 1:10
  • Highly trained, certified teachers and one paraprofessional in every classroom
  • Colorado Shines rated classrooms
  • A safe, nurturing environment
  • A curriculum that focuses on play and school-readiness
  • Classrooms equipped with state of the art play materials and modern furniture
  • Breakfast, lunch, and snack (depending on full-day or half-day)

Model 1

5 days a week, 3.5 hours a day, offering a morning session and an afternoon session. The Model 1 Program is a mixed-age, inclusion classroom.

An inclusive preschool program integrates early childhood development, special education, and related services into all aspects of the daily program. With inclusion, everyone benefits! Adult to child ratio is 1:5 with highly trained, certified teachers and at least two paraprofessionals in every classroom.

Join Ms. Larkin’s class Google site here.

See our A-Z licensing policies.

View our ECE Resources

Curriculum

An ECE student sits in a big red chair eating a green pear.

Academy 360 believes learning should be intentional and experienced. Our approach supports children’s intellectual development as they are encouraged to explore their environment and express themselves through words, the arts, playing and other natural modes of expression. We promote an environment where children can develop critical-thinking and problem-solving skills for a successful and meaningful life. 

Language Arts

Through monthly thematic studies, our Language Arts curriculum, The Creative Curriculum, takes an engaging approach to fundamentals such as letter recognition, phonetic understanding, letter writing, sound matching and the introduction to higher level comprehension and problem-solving. The Creative Curriculum contains books filled with rhyme, alliteration, repetition and elevated vocabulary. Expressive and receptive language skills are developed through story interpretation, group games and activities and movement.

Math

A range of developmentally appropriate math topics are introduced, practiced and improved upon, both in stand-alone exercises and through the lens of our monthly thematic studies through the Creative Curriculum. With numbers, counting, sequencing, shape and pattern recognition, measurements and charts, and the introduction of mathematical operations, our students are learning progressively all year long.

Science

Filled with hands-on experiments, our science curriculum teaches students to ask questions, make predictions and investigate and create their own answers through the lens of our monthly thematic studies. The Creative Curriculum focuses on the natural world — water, plants, and animals, lending real-life connections to these explorations. Additional studies in nutrition and recycling provide lessons in caring for oneself and our planet.

Social-Emotional Learning

Social-emotional development includes the child’s experience, expression, and management of emotions and the ability to establish positive and rewarding relationships with others. To support our youngest students emotional development, Academy 360 Early Childhood classrooms use Zones of Regulation, Little Justice Leaders, Conscious Discipline, and Positive Discipline to help identify and understand one’s own feelings, to accurately read and comprehend emotional states in others, to regulate one’s own behavior, to develop empathy for others, and to establish and maintain relationships.