Our Teachers

Part of what makes Spirit At Play so successful are the wonderful teachers.  The teachers at SAP are a talented group of people who share a common goal of guiding the children towards becoming creative and independent individuals, giving them the foundations to grow into confident and respectful members of society.  

The teaching methods used at the school reinforce the children's strengths as well as push them towards new accomplishments.  The teachers meet together at least once a week to plan and discuss new ideas for upcoming weeks and months, always keeping in mind the current interests and ideas of the children.  They often invest time during the day to record and communicate the children's daily thoughts and accomplishments with the parents.

Read Teacher Bios...  

Our Children

The children at Spirit At Play have the unique opportunity to influence how the curriculum for the week will take shape.  Because the teachers glean inspiration for projects from the children's play, the children adjust easily to learning new things within a framework that they influenced.  

The kids have a chance to experience their environment and community first hand with many field trips and off-site recreational activities throughout the year.  They become excellent geographers, often knowing where places and landmarks in Missoula are located better than their parents.  The opportunity for recreation and exercise in the Spirit At Play program is exceptional.

Our Families

Spirit At Play families are encouraged to be involved in any or all activities, often requested in the form of parent volunteers for the outings or serving on a committee.  Families have many opportunities to connect with their child during the day whether it is just taking off for lunch to spend an hour at the school, or taking a part of a day to volunteer for a field trip.  

Keeping the family connected and the relationships intact are considered foundational to building good relationships with friends and teachers at school.

Each Spirit At Play family donates one hour per month (9 hours for a nine-month school year program or 12 hours for a 12-month school year program).  In lieu of volunteering their time, the family will $10 for each hour ($90 for 9 months / $120 for 12).

Our Community and Environment

Spirit at Play encourages children to look outwards beyond their own home and families by teaching awareness of the greater community.  Recycling and reusing are some examples of the simple things children do.  One special annual activity is described in the Clark Fork Coalition Currents article below (Winter 2005).

The Coalition boasts a membership of more than 1,200 supporters, and among them is a unique group of Clark Fork River guardians.  The kicker is that they are all under 4 feet tall.  Spirit At Play Early Childhood Program came to the Coalition as a volunteer group during our 2004 river cleanup in Missoula.  The school participated in the event by picking up trash along the northern bank of the Clark Fork between the Higgins Avenue and Orange Street bridges (or "near the Carousel and Dragon Hollow" for the below-4-foot set).

Since then, Spirit at Play has become the unofficial watchdog of this slice of downtown, and its students have pledged to keep trash and debris cleared from the waters on an annual basis. 

Why do they care enough to take action?

Meadow - "Because we don't want Dragon Hollow to be dirty."
Dalton - "We need to leave it shiny and clean."
Matthew - "Because we always want it to be the cleanest sidewalk."
Thoryn - "To protect the river from dying and keep the animals from eating trash."

The next generation of river advocates has arrived!