Spirit At Play - Early Child Program - Missoula, MT

Spirit at Play, Missoula, Montana

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Welcome to Spirit At Play

~ The 2007 13th Annual Best of Missoula Independent Survey recently recognized Spirit At Play as the "Best Day Care Program" in Missoula ~


About Us    Teaching Methods    Activities Offered   Staff
Hours, Tuition and Fees    Classroom Photos
Equal Opportunity

About Us

Established in 1991, Spirit At Play Early Child Program in Missoula, Montana is more than just a child care facility or preschool.  Spirit At Play offers a comprehensive kindergarten readiness program for toilet-trained children between the ages of 2-6 years during the school term, as well as a fun and full program for children up to age 9 during the summer. 

This staff at Spirit At Play strive to follow the National Association for the Education of Young Children's (NAEYC) guidelines for high quality early childhood programs.  Spirit At Play is also rated a Star I facility having an extended license with the Montana Department of Public Health & Human Services.     

 Hear what parents have to say in our Letters from Parents section.

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Teaching Methods

Spirit At Play (SAP) utilizes influences of the Reggio Emilia Philosophy along with the Project Approach  to educate the children in the school.  Multiple Intelligences Theory and Developmentally Appropriate Practices are also incorporated into the program. 

See Teaching Methods for more information.

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Activities Offered

Some of the unique activities that Spirit At Play makes available to children and families enrolled in the school are: swimming, taekwondo, gymnastics, ice skating, sign language, Music Linqua, Spanish and so much more.  These activities take place at various locations throughout Missoula.

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Staff

All lead teachers at Spirit At Play hold a degree from an established University or are currently pursuing a degree.  Most lead teachers hold a child-related degree.  In addition, our lead teachers are members of the Montana Practitioner Registry, and have thousands of hours of experience working with preschool aged children.  All staff members are certified in first aid & infant, child, and adult CPR.  Each year, all full-time lead and assistant teachers take 23-50 yours of continuing education.  Part-time assistant teachers receive at least 8 hours of continuing education.  Staff meetings are held weekly for full-time staff and monthly meetings are held for all teaching staff members.

Teacher Bios

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Hours, Tuition and Fees 2007-2008

Spirit At Play is open Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.

See Academic Calendar  for holiday schedule.

Budget Billing rates for tuition and security deposits are as follows:

Schedule

Tuition

Security Deposit

M - F $640.00           $320.00
M - Th $515.00           $257.50
M, W, F $380.00           $190.00
T, Th, F $385.00           $192.50

As of September 1st, 2007, the daily rate at Spirit At Play is $32.00.  This fee is charged to families who are adding days in addition to the selected school schedule.  This fee is also used to calculate the tuition whenever a child is attending less than a full month.  

Best Beginnings scholarship families will be asked to pay the difference between the state daily tuition reimbursement rate of $27.94 and Spirit At Play's daily rate of $32.00 which equals $4.06/day.

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Classroom Photos
If you click on a picture, you will be able to view larger images in an image viewer. (Javascript must be enabled on your browser.)

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Equal Opportunity

Spirit At Play is committed to providing early childhood education to the whole Missoula community without restriction; and offers assistance to those in need to the best of its capabilities.  Spirit At Play does not participate in any form of discrimination based on race, religion, sex, national origin, handicap, or age.

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