At Kachemak Kids Early Learning Center, we believe in the value of play and creative exploration as a means for children to develop a life-long love of learning, effective skills of collaboration, an understanding of the importance of kindness and respect among all, and an ability to think innovatively.

KKELC’s classroom is an engaging environment providing open-ended materials and a rich pallet of art materials to support each child’s desire to express their understanding of the world around them.

Kachemak Kids honors and supports each child’s uniqueness and strengths.  Our goal is to help our students share their interests and abilities, learn to resolve social and cognitive challenges, and to value the many communities to which they belong.

We respect the ideas and passions that each student brings to our group and our curriculum emerges from our student’s interests.  We draw from the experts in the field of early childhood education (Montessori, Reggio-Emilia, Waldorf, etc) but we don’t adhere rigidly to any single system. Teachers are co-learners with the children and are here to nurture and inspire each child’s natural curiosity.  We value a strong partnership between home and school, and provide many opportunities and means for parents to share in their child’s early education.

The Cooperative Approach

Kachemak Kids ELC is a cooperative-style early education and child care center. We encourage our families to contribute 6 hours of ‘Parent-Time’ each month. In addition to spending time engaged in the life of the classroom, providing cleaning support, pet care, snacks, and other services all contribute toward the cooperative spirit. Community involvement in the school is also extremely valued. We deeply appreciate and rely on donations of materials and funds to support our innovative approach to working with young children.

Important Relationships

Relationships are the life-blood of the school. At Kachemak Kids, we value the connections between child and child, child and teacher, child and parent, and teacher and parent. Each of these partnerships contributes to the educational success of our children.

Child to Child

Forging strong, cooperative bonds between students helps to ensure that our children love coming to school. It is here that they get the opportunity to learn skills of collaboration, social problem-solving, friendship, and kindness through sharing, assisting, and turn-taking.

Child to Teacher

When child and teacher cooperate as co-learners children feel that their ideas are valued and honored. At KKELC, teachers work side-by-side with students as they explore passions and concepts that are relevant to their lives. Strong connections between a child and their teachers helps to ensure that children feel respected and loved, and are excited to come to school.

Child to Parent

We believe that it is essential that parents are deeply connected to the educational lives of their children. The parent cooperative approach at KKELC aims at connecting parents to their children’s school lives. Consistency between home and school, as well as the opportunity to extend lessons and passions beyond the classroom are just a couple of the ways that children benefit from their parent’s classroom involvement.

Teacher to Parent

A solid partnership between home and school ensures that the goals and educational approaches for each child are individualized for each of our students. No one knows your child as well as you, and we rely on a strong partnership to create the best program possible for your child and family.