Our Curriculum
A tailored, whole-child approach that meets every learner where they are.
Approach
At 1080 Learning Center, we believe there is no single “right way” to learn. Every child arrives with their own strengths, interests, and pace, so we pair structured learning experiences with plenty of open-ended exploration, keeping children both challenged and free to discover. That is what a play-based preschool looks like in practice: children learn through guided play, hands-on projects, and everyday routines rather than worksheets and drills.
Our job is to know each child well enough to give them the right mix of the two, and to stay flexible as their needs change through the year.
Our Framework
Built on “Pre-K On My Way”
For our preschool classrooms, we build on Scholastic’s research-based Pre-K On My Way curriculum, a proven, standards-aligned program that turns each day into story-rich, playful lessons designed by early-childhood experts.
It gives our teachers a strong, intentional backbone for the year while leaving plenty of room for the spontaneous, child-led moments we love. Across the program, children grow in three core areas:
Early literacy & language
Vocabulary, phonological awareness, and a love of books through daily read-alouds and storytelling.
Early math & thinking
Counting, patterns, shapes, and problem-solving woven into hands-on play and everyday routines.
Social-emotional skills
Naming feelings, taking turns, and building the confidence that makes every other kind of learning possible.
Pre-K On My Way has built-in differentiation and skill progression, so lessons stay engaging and appropriately challenging for 3, 4, and 5 year olds learning side by side.
Spanish Immersion
Learning in Two Languages
Our Spanish immersion classrooms use the bilingual edition of the same curriculum, so children get the identical learning foundation in two languages.
In a Spanish immersion preschool, children hear and use Spanish all day long, in songs, stories, and play, so they build real language skills naturally. Research also links early bilingual exposure to stronger focus, listening, and problem-solving. And your child does not need to speak Spanish at home to thrive here.
Daily Practice
What Children Practice Every Day
Underneath the songs and the stories and the play, six developmental skills are at work, every classroom, every day, in age-appropriate ways.
Gross motor skills
Running, climbing, jumping, balancing: daily outdoor and indoor movement that builds strong bodies.
Fine motor skills
Painting, scissors work, beading, and building: the small-muscle work that gets hands ready for writing.
Language & vocabulary
Conversation, songs, stories, and naming the world: the foundations of literacy start before the first word.
Social-emotional skills
Sharing, turn-taking, naming feelings, and resolving conflicts: the human skills that make everything else possible.
Independence & self-help
Putting on coats, washing hands, cleaning up, and tidying toys: the dignity of doing things yourself.
Curiosity & inquiry
Asking why, testing ideas, observing closely: the mindset of a lifelong learner, practiced every day.
A Sample Week
One Theme, Five Days of Discovery
Every week centers on a new theme that grows more advanced as the week unfolds, so by Friday, children have built a confident, deep understanding through repetition and hands-on, progressive learning.
Testimonials
Under the Sea
We introduce the theme gently on Monday and deepen it each day, exploring the same idea through movement, language, science, art, and play. Themes rotate weekly: the seasons, our community, outer space, the human body, and more.
- Monday
Introduce the theme
- Tuesday
Explore through story & language
- Wednesday
Investigate & experiment
- Thursday
Create & build
- Friday
Bring it all together
By Age
How Curriculum Adapts as Children Grow
These skills stay constant. What changes is how they show up, moment to moment, year to year, as children grow.
01 · Infants
Sensory & responsive
For babies, curriculum looks like rich sensory experiences, responsive caregiving, and gentle exposure to language. Every interaction is a learning moment, whether it’s a feed, a diaper change, or a song.
02 · Toddlers
Hands-on & expressive
Toddlers learn by doing. We weave the pillars into hands-on activities, music, art, and movement, meeting their newfound independence with structure and lots of choice.
03 · Preschool
Project-based & purposeful
Older children take on multi-day projects, early literacy and numeracy work, and group collaboration. Pre-K builds in kindergarten-readiness skills alongside curiosity.
Enrichment
Enrichment Partners
We bring specialized enrichment right into our center: two beloved Denver organizations, plus a visiting world-music teacher every Monday. Children ages 2 to 6 take part as part of their regular day, with no extra drop-offs and no driving across town.
Ages 2–6
Dance · Movement
Denver Academy of Ballet
Professional teaching artists from Denver Academy of Ballet lead age-appropriate creative-movement and beginning-ballet classes, building coordination, musicality, balance, and confidence through the joy of dance.
Ages 2–6
Sports · Active Play
Hero Kids Sports
Hero Kids Sports brings energetic, non-competitive coaching to our gym and playground, introducing soccer, basketball, and fundamental motor skills through games that keep every child moving, laughing, and cheering each other on.
Ages 2–6
Music · Mondays
World Music
Every Monday, a visiting music teacher shares songs, rhythms, and instruments from cultures around the world, building listening skills, rhythm, and a joyful love of music.
Community
City-Wide Partnerships
Through our city-wide partnerships, children at 1080 Learning Center access learning opportunities that go far beyond our four walls, because we believe the entire city of Denver is a classroom.