(a non-profit centre)
Our Curriculum
We’re excited to introduce our revamped curriculum, thoughtfully redesigned after five years of hands-on experience. Built around a powerful three-pillar model, our approach is designed to spark growth through
Play-Based Brain Building, Smart Start Literacy & Numeracy, and Creative Social Growth.
Our New Three-Pillar Curriculum Model
Over the past five years, Braineer Academy’s unique brain-building curriculum has successfully supported the growth of hundreds of children at our Brentwood location in Calgary. We believe that combining the best elements of leading early childhood education approaches creates the most enriching environment for young learners. Our program draws on Alberta’s Flight Framework, Emergent Curriculum, Montessori principles, Reggio Emilia-inspired approaches, and a strong focus on Executive Function development. These approaches allow us to provide responsive, play-based learning that fosters joyful exploration, creativity, social-emotional growth, and self-regulation.
Together, these goals are organized into a bold, three-pillar model, which guides our classroom design and activity planning: Play‑Based Brain Building, Smart Start Literacy & Numeracy, and Creative Social Growth.
Play-based Brain Building
Discover how play fuels your child’s growing brain! From sensory exploration to science activities, every experience supports healthy brain development.
Smart Start Literacy & Numeracy
See how fun, hands-on activities build early literacy and numeracy skills! Each activity is designed to match your child’s developmental stage and spark a love of learning.
Creative Social Growth
Learn how we nurture social skills and emotional confidence! Through art, music, dramatic play, building games, and physical activities, children develop cooperation, communication, and self-expression.
Pillar #1: Play-based Brain Building
Children learn best through play, and the most rapid brain development occurs between birth and age five. A stimulating play-based environment strengthens neural connections and encourages problem-solving. At Braineer, we provide engaging materials, toys, and creative play experiences to inspire curiosity. From simple sensory materials for infants, to a toddler sensory room, and preschool science exploration trays, our environments are designed to meet children where they are, allowing them to explore at their own pace and follow their interests. This supports healthy brain development.
(below are the example activities we have done at our centre)
Pillar #2: Smart Start Literacy & Numeracy
This classroom area integrates activities and materials focused on literacy and numeracy, inspired by Montessori methods, Executive Function theory, and STEM education. Materials are carefully chosen and adapted to match each child’s developmental stage. Children progress from building colorful shape towers and engaging in wet/dry pouring activities, to tracing sandpaper letters and exploring golden bead counting exercises. Each activity carefully builds on the last, supporting cognitive growth and a lasting love of learning.
(below are the example activities we have done at our centre)
The Braineer Academy team includes certified NAMC Montessori educators, bringing authentic Montessori principles into our classrooms.
Pillar #3: Creative Social Growth
We recognize that strong social skills are essential for lifelong success. This includes communication, sharing, turn-taking, emotional expression, cooperation, and conflict resolution. Braineer classrooms are designed to encourage creative expression through parallel and group play experiences in art, music, dance, dramatic play, building games, and physical activities. Through these experiences, children develop social-emotional skills in a supportive, collaborative environment, preparing them for future academic and life success.
(below are the example activities we have done at our centre)
“Flight - Alberta’s Early Learning and Care Curriculum Framework”, our philosophy prioritizes active participation, relationship building, flexible and adaptable methods, inquiry, and play-based learning (for the full document, see here). Flight is a curriculum framework intended to guide the significant work of early learning and child care educators with young children (ages 0 – before 6 years) and their families in centre-based child care and family day home settings. This is a flexible framework for thinking about how children learn and experience their worlds, as well as a guide that fosters strong early childhood communities. Children’s play is central to this curriculum framework as an active, exploratory, creative, expressive process, deeply embedded in children’s everyday experiences and through which children participate in, learn about, and actively make sense of the world.
The Flight Framework
(Alberta's Early Learning and Care Framework)
At Braineer Academy, we follow an emergent curriculum, which means our teachers plan learning activities based on the interests, needs, and developmental levels of the children in each classroom. This approach is inspired by well-known early childhood experts like Dewey, Piaget, and Vygotsky, who believed that children learn best through hands-on experiences and when their curiosity leads the way.
Because every group of children is different, what happens in one classroom might look different from another — and that’s a good thing. We adapt our plans to fit the unique mix of children in each room. To support this, we use a Monthly Curriculum Plan with flexible weekly themes. These themes give our teachers structure and inspiration, but they can always be adjusted based on:
- What the children are interested in
- What’s happening in the classroom
- What our teachers observe during the day
Our Emergent Curriculum Approach
Examples of planning sheets using the emergent curriculum approach:
Describe your image
Describe your image
Describe your image
Transparency & Parent Communication
At Braineer, we believe that learning doesn’t just happen during scheduled activities — it often happens in the in-between: the curious question, the first attempt at sharing, the "aha" moment during play. These are the teachable moments that matter most, and we make it a priority to capture and share them with you.
Using our secure communication app Lillio (formerly known as HiMama), we provide real-time updates on your child's day — from photos and observations to milestones and memorable moments. This way, you can see their progress, celebrate their growth, and feel truly connected to what’s happening in the classroom, every step of the way.