At Pacesetters, each child’s care, play, learning, and development are nurtured as educators work within a practice of relationships, appreciating family, social, and cultural practices and traditions and embracing a strong, capable image of the child as an excellent learner and citizen. Children are nurtured to develop self-regulation skills; – the ability to adapt their behaviour, attention, emotions and thoughts in response to what is going on around them.
Children are co-constructors of their learning, developing intellectually by exploring and experimenting with the environment and sharing ideas and information. Children have opportunities to develop thinking skills and language. Spontaneous cognitive and manipulative learning experiences occur throughout the day to enhance cognitive development.
Pacesetters Early Learning Child Care is located in a secured existing indoor playground. Pacesetters Child Care is located on the playground’s upper floor, secured within the building. The entrance and exit doors to the playground are secured with child gates. The classroom doorknobs are secured with child safety doorknobs to prevent children from opening doors and wandering off. The indoor playground facility and the Childcare program facility meet all safety codes to protect children and adults alike.
The indoor playground, Child Care, and Preschool classrooms have a warm, child-friendly, and stimulating environment that positively impacts children. Our positive and stimulating environment allows each child to discover themselves physically, socially/emotionally, cognitively, and linguistically. Our warm, child-friendly, lively and exciting atmosphere supports each child’s development at their own pace.
Self-confidence is nurtured in children when adults and other children around them relate and interact with them at their level—using kind and gentle words with no criticism. Our programs use a child-centred approach, where staff pay close attention and respond to each child’s interests, abilities and learning style. Teachers maintain warm, nurturing interactions at the child’s level. The teachers facilitate and sustain developmentally appropriate learning experiences for the children. Teachers focus on children’s strengths, praise them when they make the right choices, and no child criticism, which hurts them emotionally. We believe the teachers are responsible for each child’s well-being, safety, and learning, which is why our staff are all educated in the child care field. Our program is play-based as we believe that children learn best through play.
At Pacesetters, all our programs are based on a child-centred approach. Programs and activities are planned based on children’s interests using SPICE and Alberta’s Early Learning and Care Framework as a guide. For all programs, teachers pay close attention and respond to each child’s interests, abilities and learning style.