Individual attention
Low teacher-to-learner ratios give teachers time to know each child and support their individual learning, interests, and development.
Programs
Four classrooms, one rhythm.
Children move up through age-banded rooms with familiar faces and trusted teachers, from first friendships to kindergarten readiness.
Explore, Create, & Care
Why families choose MCS
Nearly No Screen Time
With very minimal to no screen time, children spend their days exploring, building, creating, and connecting with one another.
Community field experiences
Learning extends into the Missoula community through field experiences and visits from community experts. Indigenous language and culture lessons deepen children's connection to place and community.
Whole Child Learning Partnership
Our in-house partnership with speech and occupational therapists supports learners' communication, development, and participation in classroom life.
Positive guidance
Teachers use Positive Guidance and Conscious Discipline to help children recognize emotions, practice self-regulation, and solve problems. We include others, respect personal boundaries, and help every child feel a sense of belonging.
Ages 2
Honeybees
1:4 ratio
The Honeybees classroom serves our youngest learners, two-year-olds. A 1:4 ratio ensures close, attentive care, and toilet training is not required for admission. Children learn to be part of a community, practice the routines and traditions of school, and develop social-emotional skills through play. Children must turn two by October 31 to enroll for the upcoming school year and may start attending on their second birthday. The classroom is warm and engaging, with developmentally appropriate materials, changing tables, and a restful space for daily naps.
Ages 2–3
Otters
1:6 ratio
The Otters classroom serves two- and three-year-olds who are building independence in self-care, language, and friendship. With a 1:6 ratio, teachers support each child as they move from parallel play into shared projects, and toilet training is not required for admission. Days balance open-ended exploration, outdoor time, songs, and the steady routines that help young children feel safe and confident at school.
Ages 3–4
Rabbits
1:8 ratio
The Rabbits classroom serves three- and four-year-olds. Children are typically toilet-trained and are building independence in all areas of development. Rabbits learn through play, inquiry, and project-based experiences, and begin taking more regular field trips into the community. Heggerty phonemic awareness, a research-based early literacy program, is part of the daily routine.
Ages 4–5
Foxes (Pre-K)
1:8 ratio
The Foxes classroom is our Pre-K program for four- and five-year-olds. Learners engage in longer-term projects, take frequent outings into the community, and build foundational skills in literacy, arts, and STEM. Handwriting Without Tears, a written expression curriculum, builds legible and confident handwriting. Foxes graduate well prepared for kindergarten and elementary school. We also welcome children with summer birthdays who have already turned five and may benefit from a transitional kindergarten year.
Woven into every week
Mindfulness
Mindfulness bell, calm corners, mindful eating, closing circle with 'thankfuls,' and our shared song 'Love Grows.'
Heggerty literacy
A research-based phonemic awareness curriculum for ages 3+, in joyful 10–15 minute daily lessons.
Handwriting Without Tears
New this fall in the Foxes Pre-K classroom: a research-backed written expression curriculum that builds legible, confident handwriting.
Superheroes of Kindness
Kindness capes and community missions: our social-emotional cornerstone, sewn by MCS families.
Enrichment programs
Bug Circles and The Music Class
Two visiting programs come to us every month, bringing new materials, new questions, and specialists who work alongside our project-based learning.
Monthly · Science
Bug Circles
Presented with the Missoula Butterfly House & Insectarium, Bug Circles bring hands-on discovery about insects and other living things into our classrooms each month.
Monthly · Music
The Music Class
Five Valleys’ The Music Class visits monthly, bringing music and rhythm into the school week.
Introducing Roots
A new beginning at 18 months
Our new Roots program will welcome learners starting at 18 months old. Contact MCS to learn about availability and enrollment details.
Ask about RootsAnnual traditions
The days we all look forward to
Pumpkin Palooza
Our signature fall harvest celebration. Learners help press apple cider for the community, decorate pumpkins, and enjoy autumn obstacle courses and crafts alongside families.
Trick-or-Can Food Drive
Our community trick-or-treats for non-perishable food to support local food banks, teaching learners the value of neighbors helping neighbors.
Unbox Imagination
An open-ended creative experience where children and adults transform cardboard boxes and recycled materials into collaborative play and invention.
Cookie Day
A winter celebration of togetherness, featuring special cookies decorated by our learners and shared with the community.
Pizza Days
Twice a year, in fall and spring, learners spread the sauce and sprinkle the cheese on dough from a local bakery. Family volunteers bake, and families join us in Fellowship Hall for a pizza lunch.
Superheroes of Kindness Showcase
A highlight of our social-emotional curriculum, celebrating the superpowers of empathy, helpfulness, and heart, and the ways our learners make the world a better place.
Trashion Fashion
Our signature eco-conscious event. Learners and families design and model wearable art made entirely from recycled and repurposed materials.
Exhibition Night
Our final event of the year. Each class shares a learner-led representation of its year of learning, and families and friends join the all-school celebration.
Community Time
Once a month, for about an hour in the morning, learners move freely between classrooms to explore other activities, centers, and art projects. Teachers circulate and monitor the rooms so supervision and ratios stay consistent, and our two-year-old classes are assigned a classroom and teacher for added security. It is a favorite part of the month. Learners enjoy discovering new spaces and connecting with other learners and teachers.
Birthday Circles
Every child is celebrated with a Birthday Circle near their birthday (or half-birthday for summer birthdays), with classmates sharing kind "birthday words" and families invited to join.
See dates for these on the events calendar.