About Our School
Founded in 1990, the Silverado Children’s Center (SCC) is located in the canyons surrounding the Cleveland National Forest. A program of the Silverado Modjeska Recreation and Parks District (SMRPD), SCC is licensed by the State of California Department of Social Services and abides by all state health and safety regulations. The program, staffing, and supervision of the preschool is managed by credentialed personnel in teaching and administration and includes the Preschool Director, two directors of the SMRPD, fully qualified early childhood educators/preschool teachers, and aides with experience in early childhood development.
SCC is governed by the Silverado Modjeska Recreation and Parks District (SMRPD). The Board is comprised of five elected Directors. SMRPD also manages two canyon parks and community centers. They provide and support local community events, classes, clubs, and recreational programs.
Our Mission
The Silverado Children’s Center prepares children to be creative, adventurous, work collaboratively with others, and to connect with the natural environment. We ensure that our students develop skills in the areas of independence, team-working, problem solving, and school-readiness. We strive to lead other area preschools in the areas of connecting children to their natural environment, learning by doing, and teaching both independence and collaborative work.
Our Vision
The Silverado Children's Center is dedicated to providing environmentally centered child-care, focused on each child's individual needs and learning/developmental style. We are dedicated to hands-on learning by working in an outdoor environment with plants and animals, while integrating teamwork and adventure. Our educational environment allows children to learn by doing, develop a connection to nature, and work collaboratively with others. We inspire students to explore, want to learn, care for living things, and be a part of a team.
Our Philosophy
The Silverado Children’s Center uses an Emergent Curriculum approach. Emergent Curriculum is a form of curriculum design that is based on the interests of the students with the teacher guiding their natural instincts. The students' interests are what leads lesson design. When a teacher perceives a “spark” of interest from a student or students, the teacher brainstorms with the student or students to expand on the interest and develop curricula around it.
Our Goals
A small school with a large purpose, SCC’s mission is to encourage each child’s social, emotional, cognitive, creative, and physical growth. We aim to help children learn positive ways to interact with the world, practice principles of fairness and integrity, demonstrate respect for others, appreciate and nurture the environment and all its living creatures, and ultimately create a solid foundation for their future life.
At SCC, a child’s natural curiosity to learn is acknowledged and fostered. Critical thinking is enhanced and developed through a variety of experiences. Children learn self-reliance, communication skills, and problem-solving through hands-on experiences. Children are encouraged to live fully and joyfully, ultimately becoming self-motivated with an inquisitiveness about the world. At SCC our children learn by their own design.
At the heart of a child’s learning is play. SCC believes that children are active, sensory learners who benefit from multiple opportunities for exploration, investigation, social interaction, and critical thinking.
Our Classroom
We make use of the valuable teaching opportunities and discoveries of nature and animals, some very unexpected! Our classrooms are both indoors and outdoors, allowing children to explore, play and apply early perceptions in math, engineering, science, art, ecology, and social skills. Children learn to respect the world and people around them. We utilize every opportunity to nurture positive interactions and individual strengths in our children.