Programs by Age Groups

Our programs honor our value of whole child, developmentally appropriate practice in a positive, nurturing environment. All age groups and adult to child ratios follow the MN Department of Human Services requirements.

Goals for child development at Pine Pals are guided by the Early Childhood Indicators of Progress: Minnesota’s Early Learning Standards, Help Me Grow MN resources, the Minnesota Department of Education Academic Standards, and intentionally promote the social, emotional, cognitive, and physical development of individual children in all age designations for which care is provided.

Infant care | Ages 6 weeks - 16 months

Our Infant Program Goals are:

To support social and emotional development by promoting strong, interactive, responsive, communicative, healthy, and safe relationships with care providers, opportunities for developmentally-appropriate play with other children, and supervised interactions with adults through the Intergenerational Learning program.
To support cognitive development through communicative routines, both stimulating and soothing play opportunities, and a safe, sensory-rich environment full of intriguing objects that encourage curiosity.
To support physical development in a safe and interesting environment that promotes developmentally appropriate active play and exploration using fine and gross motor skills.

Toddler care | Ages 16 months - 33 months

Our Toddler Program Goals are:

To support social and emotional development by promoting strong, interactive, communicative, healthy, and safe relationships with care providers, providing intentional, age-appropriate lessons in mindfulness and calming techniques that build prosocial behavior, self-regulation, and executive function, providing opportunities for active play and problem-solving with other children, and arranging supervised interactions with adults through the Intergenerational Learning program.
To support cognitive development through communicative routines, active learning opportunities that encourage creativity and problem-solving, and a safe, sensory-rich environment containing a variety of play equipment and toys that encourage curiosity and independent exploration appropriate to ages 16 months to 33 months.
To support physical development in a safe and interesting environment that promotes sensory-rich experiences and developmentally appropriate active play and exploration using fine and gross motor skills appropriate to ages 16 months to 33 months.

Intermediate and Preschool | Ages 33 months to 5 years

Our Preschool Program Goals are:

To further support social and emotional development by promoting strong, interactive, communicative, healthy, and safe relationships with care providers, providing intentional, age-appropriate lessons in mindfulness and calming techniques that build prosocial behavior, self-regulation, and executive function, providing opportunities for active play and problem-solving with other children, and arranging supervised interactions with adults through the Intergenerational Learning program.
To further support cognitive development through communicative routines, active, child-initiated learning opportunities that encourage basic literacy, math and science skills through creative problem-solving, and a safe, sensory-rich environment containing a variety of play equipment and toys that encourage curiosity and independent exploration appropriate to ages 33 months to 5 years.
To support physical development in a safe and interesting environment that promotes sensory-rich experiences and developmentally appropriate active play and exploration using fine and gross motor skills appropriate to ages 33 months to 5 years.

School-Age Care | Children in Kindergarten through Age 12

Our School-Age Program Goals are:

To support social and emotional development by promoting strong, interactive, communicative, healthy, and safe relationships with care providers, providing intentional, age-appropriate lessons in mindfulness and calming techniques that continue to strengthen prosocial behavior, self-regulation, and executive function, providing opportunities for active play and problem-solving with other children, and arranging supervised interactions with younger children in the program and with adults through the Intergenerational Learning program.
To support cognitive development by providing cross-curricular enrichment activities that promote higher order thinking skills in order to encourage children to be evaluative, creative, and innovative members of the community.
To support physical development by promoting an active, healthy lifestyle and rich sensory experiences through structured and unstructured play indoors and outdoors.