What does purposeful play look like?
Inside the thinking behind the Developmental Playroom: choosing what to play, making a plan, and sharing space with friends.
Explore the interview seriesThe Purposeful Play Framework
Learning through play, planned around your child.
The Purposeful Play Framework combines a whole-child curriculum, hands-on discovery, and teaching shaped around your child. Through play, your child builds early academic skills, friendships, and independence—with teachers who notice their progress and plan what comes next.
Designed by Dr. Michelle Peterson, Ed.D., and built on Experience Early Learning.
The framework, at a glance.
- A whole-child curriculum
- Early reading and math, friendship, movement, and creativity woven into hands-on learning.
- A learning path of their own
- Ongoing observations and developmental assessments help teachers plan for your child.
- A world to explore
- A Developmental Playroom that changes each month, with room for your child's ideas to lead.
- Daily enrichment, included
- Spanish, STEM, Art, Communication, and Music & Movement rotate through the week.
Your child enjoys the enrichment subjects offered on their attendance days. All are included in tuition.
Responsive Teaching
A learning path that grows with them.
What your child is ready for today helps shape what comes next.
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Understand your child.
Teachers observe and assess their strengths, interests, and skills that need practice.
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Plan purposeful experiences.
Teacher-guided activities and child-led exploration give those skills room to grow.
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Notice growth. Adapt.
As your child progresses, teachers adjust the support and challenges they offer.
In the Classroom
One activity.
Different next steps.
Imagine a morning at the block table.
One child might compare sizes. Another might describe a building plan or invite a classmate to join.
A teacher notices which skills each child is practicing and offers a question, material, or next challenge to support them.
The same playful experience can support different learning goals.
Daily Rhythm & Playroom
A morning to learn, imagine, and move.
An ocean, a rainforest, a place to imagine. Teachers thoughtfully prepare a new world each month. Your child chooses what to explore, what to create, and who to play with.
Nine worlds to explore this year
- DinoLand
- Ice Castle
- Ocean Dive
- Space & Sky
- All About Me
- Global Passport
- Garden Treasures
- Weather & Seasons
- Explore the Rainforest
Each theme lasts approximately one month, connecting classroom learning and the playroom through shared ideas and materials.
- Academic Play
- 1.5–2.5 hours
- Teacher-guided play shaped around your child's learning goals.
- Developmental Playroom
- 30 minutes
- Child-led discovery in a changing monthly environment.
- Daily Enrichment
- 30 minutes
- A different subject each weekday. All included in tuition.
- Outdoor Play
- 15 minutes
- Movement, fresh air, and room for physical play.
- Snack & Transition
- 15 minutes
- Community, self-care, and everyday independence.
Enrichment, day by day
Monday: Spanish. Tuesday: STEM. Wednesday: Art. Thursday: Communication. Friday: Music & Movement. Your child enjoys the subjects offered on their attendance days, with no extra fees or supply lists.
Academic Play is 1.5 hours in the 3's and 4's programs, and 2.5 hours in Kindergarten Prep and Kindergarten.
Partnership & Guidance
You'll see their progress. They'll feel supported.
A picture of their growth.
Daily photos and updates in Brightwheel keep you connected. At parent-teacher conferences, you'll talk through developmental assessments and your child's learning path.
How we follow your child's progress
Experience Early Learning's formal developmental assessments cover cognitive, social-emotional, physical, and creative development. They inform daily planning throughout the year. In classes of 10–12 with a 5:1 ratio, teachers notice where your child is ready for a challenge and where they need support.
Connection before correction.
Behavior is communication. On a hard day, we look for the need or skill behind the behavior, help children name their feelings, and coach them through conflicts. Children are never shamed or labeled.
Common Questions
A few questions, answered.
How play-based learning builds academic readiness, how assessments work, and what's included in tuition.
What is the Purposeful Play Framework?
The Purposeful Play Framework is Spark Academy's proprietary, research-driven curriculum framework designed by Dr. Michelle Peterson, Ed.D. It combines the Experience Early Learning whole-child curriculum, formal developmental assessments that create individualized learning paths for every child, daily enrichment in five subjects (Spanish, STEM, Art, Communication, and Music & Movement), and a monthly-rotating Developmental Playroom. It's the approach that structures every part of your child's day at Spark.
Is this just play, or will my child learn academics?
Play and learning belong together. At Spark, hands-on activities give children opportunities to explore letters, numbers, language and scientific ideas with teacher support. Daily enrichment rotates through Spanish, STEM, Art, Communication, and Music & Movement; children join the subjects offered on their attendance days. Teachers support each child’s academic, social and emotional development through observation and responsive guidance.
How is the Purposeful Play Framework different from Montessori?
Montessori has its own philosophy, specialized materials and classroom practices. Spark’s Purposeful Play Framework builds on Experience Early Learning, with a changing Developmental Playroom, observation-based planning and daily enrichment. Both approaches can involve purposeful materials and close observation. Dr. Michelle Peterson, Ed.D. designed Spark’s framework for this school’s learning environment.
What assessment tools does Spark use?
Spark uses the formal assessment tools built into the Experience Early Learning curriculum. These research-based assessments help teachers understand each child's developmental position across all domains — cognitive, social-emotional, physical, and creative — and translate that data into individualized learning paths. Assessments are ongoing, not limited to annual benchmarks, so your child's learning plan adapts as they grow throughout the year.
What happens when my child has a behavior challenge?
At Spark, behavior is treated as communication. When a challenge arises, teachers ask: What is this child trying to communicate? What skill might be missing? And what support do they need right now? The approach is to teach the missing skill — not to punish the mistake. Children are coached through conflicts, helped to name their emotions, and supported with patience. Connection always comes before correction, and children are never shamed or labeled.
Is enrichment (Spanish, STEM, etc.) included in tuition?
Yes. All five daily enrichment subjects — Spanish, STEM, Art, Communication, and Music & Movement — are included in tuition at every program level. There are no add-on fees, no supply lists, and no hidden costs. Tuition at Spark is all-inclusive.
Ask Us Anything
See purposeful play in action.
Come meet the teachers, explore the playroom, and see how a morning unfolds. Or ask us a question here—we'd love to talk.
Tap a topic to start your question:
Dr. Michelle Peterson will reply personally by email. She responds on weekdays, usually the same day.
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Visit Spark Academy
Let's make the first hello easy.
Come meet the teachers, explore the Developmental Playroom, and see how a morning unfolds.
✓ About 30 minutes
✓ Bring your child
✓ No pressure to enroll
Schedule a Tour
Prefer to call? 309-291-3292 We may be in the classroom. Leave a message. We return calls on weekdays, usually the same day.
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Request a tour.
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Get ready for their first day.
When you're ready, we'll guide you through enrollment and help your child feel at home.