About Us

Our Vision

Goat Mountain Kids Society exists to provide a safe, developmentally, inclusive environment for toddlers, preschool and school age children. Our focus is to provide a stimulating early learning and childcare experience which promotes each child’s social-emotional, physical, and cognitive development.  Our goal is to support and nurture the children’s and our own natural desire to be life-long learners. We are committed to the families we serve, providing support and encouragement.

Our Values

Quality Care and Trust

Parents are looking for early learning and childcare programs with educators whom they can trust. We will continue in our efforts to ensure and constantly improve our services to meet the needs of the children and the families we serve.

Lifelong Learning

At GMKS we believe that we all share a responsibility to support and nurture the children and educator’s natural desire to be lifelong learners. Educators place themselves and their learning synonymous to the children as they commit to their professional development and personal growth. Educators learn simultaneously with the children and their families and embrace the opportunity to learn and grow each day.

Partnership

Our society operates on the importance of respectful relationships. We believe that the quality of care that we provide is measured by the relationships that we have with children, families, employees, school boards, funders, and legislators. We are committed to ensuring that these relationships are warm and caring, honest and open, fair, and equitable. 

Fiscal Responsibility

We are committed to financial prudence and sustainability by making decisions based on the overall financial health of the society to meet our goals and objectives. We conduct ourselves in a manner that is professional and according to all business practices that are legal and ethical.

Mandate

Goat Mountain Kids Centre provides quality childcare and early learning with a philosophy of nurturing the whole child.  Our mission, philosophy, values, and mandate aim to guide us in taking care of children’s needs and guiding them to take care of themselves, each other, the community, and the environment.  Goat Mountain Kids Society Mandate revolves around creating healthy relationships among educators, families, children, the community, and the natural world to set the foundation for personal, social, and environmental health and well-being.

The Centre creates a warm and welcoming classroom and culture that invites parents and community to be partners and participants in the program. Educators model a love of learning through a play-based, child-centered, and emergent curriculum that offers flexible day plans and responds to the changing and diverse needs and interests of children and their families. The Centre integrates the principles of the Reggio Emilia. approach to Early Childhood Education into its curriculum; we offer a rich learning environment where community, collaboration, and communication are essential to the program. We are also guided by the British Columbia Early Learning Framework.

Educators help children see themselves as learners and co-create investigations and invitations for open-ended play and exploration. Educators maintain a reflective and responsive approach to their teaching practice and have sufficient time for planning and collaboration, including regular opportunities for professional development. Documentation of children’s activities and thoughts keeps parents connected and engaged to their child’s early learning experiences.

Developmentally appropriate activities and challenges aim to stimulate children’s natural curiosity, reasoning, and problem-solving skills. Life skills such as cooking healthy foods, gardening, and working with tools are integrated to foster competence and offer unique learning opportunities. Open-ended, collaborative learning experiences using natural materials and loose parts are favoured.

Children have many opportunities and resources to explore learning through literacy, dramatic play, science, music, singing, art, puppetry, and dance. Overall health, joy of movement, and development of fine and large motor skills are fostered.

Educators model caring, respect, and encouragement and create a safe environment where children can develop self-confidence and a sense of ownership and responsibility. Guidance policies are focused on respect for self, others, and the natural world. The social-emotional tenants around building relationships, kindness, empathy, personal well-being, sense of identity, self-regulation, contributions to the learning community, and sense of agency are used as a framework to guide educators to support positive dynamics in the Centre.

Daily schedules focus on being outside with activities that promote wonder and appreciation for nature, including exploring our beautiful natural surroundings, gardening, and playing with natural materials. An environmental ethic is promoted through composting, recycling, reducing waste, and respecting resources.

Children are guided through indigenous programming and explorations of other cultures and languages, diversity, and uniqueness is celebrated focusing on community integration.

Philosophy

Goat Mountain Kids Society believes that quality childcare services should provide a safe and enriching environment which contributes to positive relationships and a sense of belonging. We believe an emphasis on play will provide positive experiences for lifelong learning. Play is integral to children’s learning and a primary way for them to understand the world.  We believe that each child will have individual characteristics and needs that we aim to understand, and we will provide activities to suit them in the best way possible. An inclusive program allows children to grow at their own pace to develop to their full potential. We believe that this positivity and growth is based on a collaborative partnership with care providers, family, community, and support people.  We believe in providing opportunities and resources through varied means to help foster curiosity, life skills, literacy, music…. all to promote a joyful, stimulating environment. We believe in a strong outdoor component to model an appreciation of the wonder and beauty of the natural world and to teach an understanding of recycling, composting, garden growing, and respecting resources.  We believe that respecting nature and each other is a basis for healthy living. We value the diversity of other cultures and will celebrate their uniqueness and will provide opportunities to gain understanding of that diversity.