Circle of Care Early Childhood Center is the early childhood program of A Developing Mind Academy, offering small, Montessori-based care in Post Falls, Idaho for children ages 3 to 5.
Classrooms are capped at 12 children with one steady lead teacher, so your child is known, not just supervised. Children build practical life and sensorial skills at their own pace, developing early math, language, and pre-reading, then explore hands-on science units like the solar system and animal life in Pre-K.
Why families choose Circle of Care.
Large daycare centers often mean rotating staff and growing classrooms. At Circle of Care, your child has one consistent teacher and a small, steady group of classmates, so relationships have time to form, and your child’s needs are actually seen. Circle of Care and A Developing Mind Academy are both part of Family Support Services of North Idaho, a local nonprofit organization, and share the same ownership and educational approach.
That shared foundation means something real: when your child is ready, they move directly into Kindergarten and elementary education at A Developing Mind Academy, no new school search, no new philosophy to learn, just the next step in a path your family already trusts.
Schedule a tour to see why families across Post Falls and Coeur d’Alene choose small, personal early childhood care.
Primary
Ages: 3 to 4 yearsOur goal is to provide a nurturing, inviting, and encouraging atmosphere for each child in class and help establish a positive attitude towards school and academics. We get the great pleasure of watching them learn, explore and grow.
Children have a natural impulse to move and explore, which shows curiosity. Exploring without disturbing the order in the classroom shows self-control and discipline. We will guide your child to learn about the full cycle of Montessori activities in an orderly prepared environment; and over time, develop an understanding of sequence and order while fostering self-discipline, independence, and freedom.
We introduce each individual child to the material at the right moment based on their needs. Being able to determine the right moment comes through observation of the child. Through observation, we can decipher the individual needs of the children, and respond to them accordingly.
Our Montessori classroom is a mix of ages from 3 to 4.5 years. No one child works with every material available in the classroom. There is a selection of material which is appropriately challenging for each child. They gradually move through the curriculum at their own pace.
Early in the year a child is encouraged to work with activities in “Practical Life” to develop independence, confidence, coordination and concentration, and activities in “Sensorial” area to refine the sensory perceptions of touch, sound, sight, hearing etc. Once the child becomes confident in these areas, the lessons from sensorial area are applied to development of mathematical and language concepts. The children by the end of the year will be sound conscious (pre-reading), write their name, identify/count numbers 1-20 and will have the prerequisite skills to move up to the Pre-K Montessori classroom.
| Primary Daily Schedule | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Activity | Time | Activity |
| 7-8:45 am | Drop Off & Sign-In | 12:00 pm | Lunch |
| 9:00 am | Circle Time | 12:30 pm | Storytime |
| 9:45 am | Morning Snack | 12:45-2:45 pm | Naptime |
| 10:00 am | Class Work/Jobs | 3:00 pm | Afternoon Snack |
| 11:00 am | Recess/Free Play | 3:15-5:30 pm | Daily Classes Conclude/Free Play |
Pre-K
Ages: 4 to 5 years
During your child’s time in the Pre Kindergarten Montessori class this he/she will be given a strong foundation through the awareness of all senses. Your child will master practical life skills and will focus on mastering areas of academic studies such as reading, writing, math, physical and life science, geography and the arts. Your child will be inspired by seeing others working in all areas of the classroom and will be given individual lessons.
Specific units we will study are:
Fall: grace and courtesy, parts of the body, care of the body,the solar system, and the four seasons.
Winter: Biosphere and overview of living things, introduction to the continents, time lines (year, month, days, hours, minutes) and the Arctic.
Spring: Fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and plants.
Summer: Insects, spiders and mammals.
| Pre-K Daily Schedule | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Activity | Time | Activity |
| 7-8:45 am | Drop Off & Sign-In | 12:00 pm | Lunch |
| 9:00 am | Circle Time | 12:30 pm | Storytime |
| 9:45 am | Morning Snack | 12:45-2:45 pm | Naptime |
| 10:00 am | Class Work/Jobs | 3:00 pm | Afternoon Snack |
| 11:00 am | Recess/Free Play | 3:15-5:30 pm | Daily Classes Conclude/Free Play |