Mission
Meeting the diverse needs of each student through creative exploration of the natural world.
Vision
We foster a learning environment where children are creatively engaged in their natural surroundings, have the opportunity to learn and grow through purposeful, hands-on, experiential play.
We believe that children learn best when they are engaged in their environment through play and discovery. Young children are instinctively motivated and curious when the appropriate environment is presented to them. MSCC provides children with opportunities to explore the world they live in through music, art, science, and everyday interaction. Decision making, perspective, and emotional awareness are integral to each child’s experience and the foundation of our curriculum. Teachers observe, document, and respond to children’s curiosities to cultivate learning that is emergent and child-led. MSCC also follows a seasonal flow of virtues that inform social-emotional engagement and create a thread between all classrooms.
View our Seasonal flow (also available in Spanish).
At Mountain Sprouts, we support our students as they build:
A Curious Mind
Learning is student-directed; guided by curiosity and interest. Teachers work as researchers alongside students, carefully listening to their interests, assisting in defining their questions as a place to begin investigations and express their knowledge. Teachers provoke, co-construct, stimulate new thinking, and foster collaboration.
A Strong Spirit
At Mountain Sprouts, we encourage students to take risks, to build resilience, to be strong leaders, and self-advocates. Through exploration of nature, friendships, challenges, and experimenting with how the world works, we find our confidence and new strengths.
A Growing Body
We honor active learning. Children learn best through play and using their whole bodies in learning. We provide an abundance of learning opportunities through meaningful outdoor play which allows children to challenge their physical abilities, express themselves, build healthy bodies, discover, practice, and develop a relationship with the natural world.
A Caring Heart
At Mountain Sprouts we help our children experience success on a daily basis and foster a kind and loving community.
The trail beneath our feet is the floor, the forest the walls, and the sky our ceiling. Nature is our classroom and collectively our home. We learn to care for our world, the inhabitants that we share it with, and each other.
A connection to the land
Where we are has an immense impact on who we are. Mountain Sprouts programs are located in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains, the ancestral homelands of the šnp̍əšqʷáw̉šəxʷ (p'squosa or Wenatchi) people. We explore the trails and forests of Sunitsch Canyon (Evergreen Program) and the banks of the Wenatchee River (Willow Program). We commit to teaching children to make deep connections to the land and to honor the Earth through stewardship. We deepen our connection to the land by learning from present-day Indigenous communities through community partnerships and resources (WA Since Time Immemorial curriculum for ex.) along with amplifying and learning about Indigenous heroes, artists, writers and musicians all year long.