Our Philosophy

learning through playLUMP is committed to stimulating social, emotional, intellectual and physical growth through age-appropriate intentional practices as well as creating space for the fluid discovery found in child-centered playful learning. Through play-active learning, our teachers create exciting learning environments, which encourage active participation, creativity, problem solving and positive peer relationships.

As a family-centered school, our teachers and director cultivate relationships with each family. We want parents to enter our program aiming to prepare their child for Kindergarten and leave feeling like the whole family has been educated. We believe a child should begin Kindergarten ready to learn, not burnt out and overwhelmed. Our programs build lifelong connections and a lifelong support system.

Child-Focused Intentional Practices to Teach & Learn Through Play & Discovery

playing is learningLUMP knows that each child is unique and our developmental approach to teaching honors the individuality of every child.

Our teachers expertly provide a wealth of experiences that spark curiosity and invite discovery. We focus on child-oriented and child-directed experiences so that the children have the opportunity to express themselves, take risks and become active participants in their own learning.

We believe that a focus on the whole child is not complete without providing each child with strong social emotional support. We believe that play is serious learning and that a play based approach to learning is essential for healthy social development. As Lisa Murphy explains in her book PLAY, “Play is like the cement in a building’s foundation. Preschool children are working hard at getting the cement to the right consistency so that it is ready to build on when they continue their journey to elementary school.”

Play in our classrooms is child directed and offers the preschooler the opportunity to try new things and repeat that process as much as they need to. They have the time to engage with others or play alone, the opportunity to observe, to create, to find a solution or not, to fail and try again, and to take risks socially and emotionally. Most importantly, all the children at LUMP have the opportunity to engage in these experiences at their pace and in their own time, focusing on the process and not the product.