Carousel Child Care Center serves children ages 12 months through 12 years across seven classrooms, Monday through Friday, 6:30 AM to 6:00 PM.
Our Classrooms
Tadpoles — 12 to 36 months
Seedlings — 3 years old
Sprouts — 4 years old
Saplings — 5 years old
Kinders — Kindergarten
School Age — 5 to 12 years old
Our Approach
Every classroom at Carousel is grounded in evidence-based, play-based learning. Children learn best when they feel safe, connected, and free to explore. Our curriculum is built around intentional activities, meaningful relationships, and hands-on experiences that support the whole child — socially, emotionally, physically, and cognitively.
We implement the Pyramid Model for Social Emotional Learning center-wide, which means every staff member is trained to build positive relationships, create supportive environments, and respond to children’s social and emotional needs proactively. We are a thread Learn and Grow Level 2 program actively working toward Level 3, and all curriculum is aligned with the Alaska Early Learning Guidelines.
Each day includes intentional small group activities, large group learning, outdoor play, rest time, and plenty of child-directed free choice. Lesson plans are developed weekly for every classroom and are posted for families to review.
Sample Daily Schedule
6:30 AM — Center opens, children arrive, morning welcome and free choice
7:30 to 9:00 AM — AM Snack
9:00 to 9:30 AM — Morning meeting, calendar, and read aloud
9:30 to 11:00 AM — Intentional learning activities and small groups
11:00 to 11:30 AM — Outdoor play
11:30 AM to 12:30 PM — Lunch
12:30 to 2:30 PM — Rest and quiet time
2:30 to 3:30 PM — Wake up, afternoon activities, small groups
3:30 to 4:30 PM — Supper
4:30 to 6:00 PM — Afternoon free choice, outdoor play, family pickup
