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Our approach
Play-based learning, inspired by Reggio Emilia and guided by Flight, Alberta's early learning and curriculum framework.
A new day care with a clear idea
Shining Stars Kids Place is a brand-new day care on Main Avenue in Sundre, for children from 6 months to 5 years.
We started Shining Stars because Sundre families deserve child care that feels like an extension of home: warm, bright, safe and full of wonder.
Everything we do starts from one belief. Young children are capable, curious learners, and play is how they make sense of the world. The rest of this page explains how that belief shapes our rooms, our routines and our team.
Play-based learning
For young children, play isn't a break from learning. It is the learning.
When a toddler stacks blocks until they tumble, she's testing balance and cause and effect. When preschoolers run a pretend bakery, they're counting, taking turns, negotiating and building vocabulary. Our educators plan the space and materials with purpose, then follow the children's lead and gently stretch their thinking with questions and new challenges.
What play builds
- Language and early literacy, through stories, songs and conversation
- Early math and science, through sorting, building, measuring and experimenting
- Social skills, through sharing, cooperating and solving problems together
- Strong bodies, through climbing, dancing and outdoor play
- Confidence and self-regulation, through choices and trying again
Inspired by Reggio Emilia
The Reggio Emilia approach began in the town of Reggio Emilia, Italy, after the Second World War. Today it inspires early learning programs around the world. Here's what it looks like at Shining Stars.
The capable child
We see every child as strong, curious and full of ideas, not an empty vessel to fill. Children help shape what they learn.
The environment as teacher
Our rooms are calm, bright and full of natural, open-ended materials that invite children to explore and create.
The hundred languages
Children express themselves in many ways: drawing, building, movement, music, clay and words. We make room for all of them.
Projects that grow
A question about worms or snowflakes can become a week-long project, led by the children's curiosity.
Learning made visible
We document children's work with photos, notes and displays, so you can see their thinking grow.
Families as partners
You know your child best. We share what we see and invite your ideas into the classroom.
Guided by Flight
Flight is Alberta's early learning and curriculum framework, written for educators working with children from birth to age six.
Flight sees children as capable learners and citizens and puts play at the centre of their learning. It also treats educators as co-learners alongside the children. We use it to plan our programming, to observe each child's growth and to talk with families about what their child is learning.
Flight's four goals for children
- Well-beingFeeling safe, healthy and secure, with a growing sense of who they are.
- Play and playfulnessImagining, exploring, wondering and solving problems through play.
- Communication and literaciesSharing ideas through words, stories, art, music and movement.
- Diversity and social responsibilityBelonging, caring for others and respecting differences.
The people who make it shine
We're building our founding team of educators now.
Every educator at Shining Stars is certified in Alberta, trained in first aid and CPR, and screened with criminal record and vulnerable sector checks. Most of all, they love this work. They notice the quiet child who needs a buddy, celebrate the first time someone zips their own coat, and make every family feel welcome.
Join our teamWant to know more?
Contact usHave a question? We'd love to hear from you
We're putting the finishing touches on our new centre. Send us a message and we'll keep you posted on tours, registration and our opening.