Learn with Us!

 Hilltop School, through the use of developmentally appropriate activities, provides a safe, nurturing and supportive environment where children can develop physically, socially, emotionally and cognitively and where relationships are formed with other children and a network of caring adults.  Our goal at Hilltop is to provide an environment filled with opportunities for children to explore and learn through fun, hands on activities.  Utilizing the Early Childhood Learning Standards, teachers identify each child's individual needs and abilities and then plan activities based on these observations.  We believe children learn best when they are interested in what they are doing, have readily available adult support and are involved in hands on activities that relate to what they already know. Families and early childhood educators  share a common interest in the child's well being. Because of this common interest we strive to build strong and positive relationships with our families. We welcome visits to our program at any time.

Call today set up a tour.  We would love to tell you about our programs and show you our beautiful historic building.

Hilltop School takes the view of Piaget that young children learn best through play. "To understand is to invent," Piaget wrote in 1973. "Young children learn the most important things, not by being told, but by constructing knowledge for themselves, during interactions with the physical world and with other children. The way they do this is by playing." (Jones and Reynolds, 1992)

Young children learn through doing, touching, experimenting, choosing, talking, and negotiating. Everything is potential curriculum for young children. Emergent curriculum is planning what happens in the classroom and what the focus of learning will be through interactions between teachers and children. Both sides contribute ideas to build engaging and worthwhile units of study. 

By actively observing children at play, Hilltop School teachers learn about the developmental progress of individual children and what skills and knowledge they are working on. They listen to children's ideas and interests and connect their curriculum goals with those of the children in responsive and creative ways. (Cadwell and Frye, 1997)

In all of our classrooms, children have the opportunity to learn, explore, create, and discover together with a focus on social skills such as sharing, taking turns, self control, making friends, following directions, and problem solving. Our teachers build the foundation needed for your child to thrive in academic settings in the future.