Walk into a CLC classroom on any given morning and you will see children hard at work, though it may not look like work at all. A small group builds a ramp to test how far a toy car will roll. Two friends turn a stack of blocks into a city. A teacher kneels beside a child sorting leaves by shape and color.
This is what learning looks like in the earliest years, and it is exactly what we design for.
At CLC, children learn through play. We use The Creative Curriculum, a research-based approach to early childhood education that builds social, emotional, cognitive, and physical skills through hands-on, project-based discovery. Children explore real-world topics that spark their curiosity, developing the foundational skills that carry them forward. When learning begins with joy, children hold onto that love of learning for a lifetime.
That joy is not separate from the serious work of getting ready for school. It is how readiness happens. In our classrooms, children build the confidence, focus, and social skills that a strong kindergarten start requires. They learn how to listen, work alongside others, try something difficult, and keep going. These are the foundations of everything that comes next, built one joyful day at a time.
We believe every child deserves that foundation, which is why inclusion is built into how we teach. In partnership with Stamford Public Schools, CLC offers integrated classrooms at our William Pitt and Maple Avenue sites, where children with individualized learning needs learn alongside their peers.
Children who need additional support receive it directly in the classroom, supported by a Stamford Public Schools special education teacher who works closely with our educators. The goal is for every child to learn in the least restrictive environment while developing academically, socially, and as part of the classroom community. Learning together, children grow in confidence, form friendships, and discover what they are capable of.
The impact of this work reaches well beyond our walls. One in three Stamford public children starts kindergarten as a CLC graduate. When we care for the whole child, we are not only shaping a good day in the classroom. We are helping build a strong start that lasts.
At CLC, every child is met as an individual, with openness, curiosity, and care. That is how we teach, and it is why children at CLC do not just get ready for school. They fall in love with learning.
This is part two of our Get to Know CLC series. Missed part one? Read it here.