Partnering with Parents in Raising Great Kids
We come alongside working parents in providing the best possible care for children outside of their home. With a customized care plan for each child's individual needs, you can be confident your child is feeling welcomed and loved every single day!
Our OFFERINGS
We offer full time child care for children ages 6 weeks to 6 years old. Our dynamic teaching model helps children thrive at each stage of development. We only offer full-day enrollment schedules for 5 days per week. Please take a moment and get to know what makes us different in caring for your precious little loved ones!
Healthy Start Food Program
We are proud to serve a distinctively healthy meal program for your child throughout the day. At Growing Hearts and Minds, children are served breakfast, lunch, and an afternoon snack included with their tuition. Additionally, meals are well balanced and carefully thought out with the long term health of your child in mind. Our menu distinctions include:
- At least one serving of fresh fruits and vegetables every day. We never use canned fruits or vegetables with added preservatives or sugar.
- All meat products served are 100% USDA Certified Organic.
- We seek to purchase products that are locally sourced and are free of hormones, antibiotics, and artificial ingredients. We also seek to work with vendors that are environmentally and socially conscious.
Faith Foundations in Early Life
We are a Christian child care center. As such, we seek to offer ourselves as an example of the love of Jesus Christ. First and foremost, this means demonstrating to children that they are valued and loved exactly the way they are! We love discovering the little things that make each child unique, and we are always looking for ways to affirm these qualities in them.
Additionally, we have developed a biblical curriculum we call Bible Alive. Each week we share with children a story from the Bible and then allow them to engage with that story through activities such as crafts, games, and songs. Our focus is simply sharing with kids the stories of the Bible. We are not affiliated with any church or denomination, and we do not take a position on matters of theology or doctrine, choosing instead to allow parents to make these decisions based on their own faith convictions.
Environmental Consciousness
Giving great care to kids also means caring for the planet they will be living on. We are proud to be an industry leader in environmentally conscious and sustainable business practices. These initiatives include:
- Center wide recycling and a recycling program taught to children
- Center wide composting and a composting program taught to children
- A gardening and vegetable planting program in our Pre-K Classroom
- Seeking reductions in our energy usage and carbon emissions
- Supporting vendors who use minimal packaging and who are environmentally and socially conscious
PRINCIPLES
1 - BELONG
When children know they are Safe, they feel free to explore and be creative. Their imaginations come alive and they can truly enjoy the games and activities they love. For us, a sense of belonging includes:
- Safety: We provide actual and felt protection for children's physical and emotional well being.
- Welcoming: We remind children every day of the joy they bring us! Our actions are designed to reinforce love and acceptance for who each child is. Each day we greet children warmly and remind them that we consider it a delight to be spending our day with them.
- Consistency: Our kids know what to expect from us and what we expect from them. Routine is very important in early childhood development, so we have consistent teachers and regular schedules in each of our classrooms.
2 - Play
Play is the language through which young children engage with the world and begin to make sense of all its complicated realities. It is how they explore, discover, create, and share with others.
- We offer programs which focus on singing, dancing, artistic creation, and physical engagement. Each of these activities help children discover their unique interests, increase their independence, and express their emotions.
- We offer children choices to explore the areas of play which interest them most. Our teachers work closely with parents in understanding and fostering the unique passions of each child. We also give children opportunities for personal expression through activities such as show and tell.
- Pretend play is fostered as much as possible. Pretending helps children make sense of concepts they do not yet understand and enhances their ability to distinguish fantasy from reality. In later stages of early development, pretend play fosters creativity and gives children opportunities to invite their friends into their world. Inclusion is always supported as children learn to negotiate and cooperate with their peers.
- Our classrooms and activities are designed to promote positive social interactions through engaging play. By offering cooperative and affable environments, we promote friendship through collaboration and commonality of interests.
3 - Engage
We focus on the social and emotional development of young children. Strong academic programs can be beneficial, however we believe early childhood development is best fostered by focusing on a child’s emotional awareness and the skills needed for positive peer interactions. Some of our key principles include:
- Providing environments designed to foster social and emotional development in the three foundational areas of trust, self-awareness, and autonomy. Each of these are supported differently based on the child's stage of development, their temperament style, and within the context of their family, community, and cultural background.
- Developing strong attachment bonds with infants and toddlers by offering them responsive, affectionate, and emotionally available interactions. This supports a foundation from which they can maintain enduring relationships with others.
- As children move toward Preschool, we monitor and support their social development by teaching them the skills needed for positive interaction, rather than focusing on correcting their challenging behaviors. Specific skills we look to promote include:
- Identifying, understanding, and communicating their emotions.
- The ability to persist at difficult tasks.
- The ability to follow directions.
- The ability to constructively manage strong emotions.
- Development of empathy toward others.
- Conflict resolution and problem solving.
Living Our Values
Here are just 3 of the characteristics which distinguish the care your child receives at Growing Hearts and Minds
Healthy Start Food Program
We are proud to serve a distinctively healthy meal program for your child throughout the day.
View More
Faith Foundations in Early Life
We are a Christian child care center. As such, we seek to offer ourselves as an example of the love of Jesus Christ.
View More
Environmental Consciousness
Giving great care to kids also means caring for the planet they will be living on.
View More
There is a lot more you'll experience when you and your little one come to visit our center.
Here are a few things you’ll want to ask us about.
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Music Enrichment
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Soccer
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Gardening
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KangarooTime App
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Science Program
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Parent Care
8851 Field Street
Westminster, CO 80021
303-432-2468
info@growingheartsandminds.net