Our Core Values at Play2Learn Academy
The principles that shape how we care for children, support families, and grow together
When the Shukhman family founded Play2Learn Academy in March 2007, they wanted to create more than a place where children could simply be supervised while their parents worked. They wanted a childcare environment where families felt welcome, children felt known and cared for, and teachers could build meaningful relationships with the people they served.
That original idea still guides Play2Learn Academy today.
As the school has grown to three Davis County locations in Bountiful, Clearfield, and Layton, eight core values have continued to shape the way we care for children and work with families:
Family. Quality. Integrity. Compassion. Patience. Creativity. Inclusion. Growth.
These values show up in everyday childcare—in the way teachers talk with children, the way we communicate with parents, the way classrooms are structured, and the way we continue learning as an organization.
Building a Community Where Families Belong
Family
Play2Learn Academy began with family, and family remains at the center of our philosophy.
The Shukhman family’s own experience as parents and grandparents helped inspire the kind of childcare environment they wanted to create. Their goal was to build a place where parents could feel comfortable trusting others with their children and where children could feel welcomed, supported, and genuinely cared for.
We believe good childcare works best when families and teachers communicate openly and see themselves as partners.
Parents know their children in ways no one else can. Teachers get to know children in another setting—watching them learn, make friends, work through frustrations, and gain independence. When those perspectives come together, children benefit.
We encourage families to communicate directly with caregivers and center leadership whenever questions or concerns arise. When additional support is needed, ownership is also available.
Inclusion
Every child and family should feel that they belong. Our mission is built around valuing each child, respecting each family, and supporting children socially, emotionally, intellectually, and physically.
That commitment includes children who are learning English while another language is spoken at home. We use supports such as bilingual classroom labels, books in more than one language, and language assistance when available. Staff and members of the Play2Learn community may also be able to assist families in Spanish and Russian.
For us, inclusion means making a genuine effort to help children and families feel welcomed, understood, and able to participate in the Play2Learn community.
Doing Our Work With Care and Responsibility
Quality
Quality in childcare comes from preparation, consistency, and continued learning.
Play2Learn staff complete a minimum of 40 hours of training each year. Training covers child development, Positive Guidance, age-appropriate activities, sanitation, nutrition, illness recognition, medication procedures, injury prevention, and other areas relevant to caring for young children. Staff also maintain current CPR/First Aid and Food Handler certifications.
Quality also shows up in the classroom. We use a developmentally appropriate curriculum from Learning Beyond Paper, supported by daily reading, hands-on math and science, art, dramatic play, music, social interaction, and outdoor activity.
We do not think of quality as one program or credential. It comes from the combination of prepared staff, thoughtful routines, developmentally appropriate learning, and attention to children throughout the day.
Integrity
Families place a great deal of trust in a childcare provider. We believe that trust should be supported by honest communication, accountability, and consistency.
Integrity means communicating clearly when things are going well and when something needs attention. It means listening to concerns, following established procedures, and involving center leadership when additional support is needed.
Families can begin with their child’s caregiver when they have a concern, then involve the director or assistant director when necessary. Ownership is also available when an issue requires additional attention.
We want families to see our values not only in what we say, but in how our centers operate.
Meeting Children With Understanding
Compassion
Children need more than supervision and instruction. They need adults who notice when they are uncertain, frustrated, tired, excited, proud, or in need of reassurance.
Compassion means seeing the child behind the behavior. A child learning to separate from a parent, share a toy, join a group, communicate a need, or recover from a difficult moment may need different kinds of support at different times.
Our goal is to respond in ways that preserve a child’s dignity while helping them feel secure enough to keep learning and growing.
Patience
Children develop at different rates. They are still learning how to manage emotions, communicate clearly, wait, share, follow routines, and navigate relationships with other children.
Patience means recognizing that these skills take time.
Play2Learn staff use Positive Guidance techniques such as modeling appropriate behavior, redirection, helping children express feelings with words, and positive reinforcement.
We do not use corporal punishment, abusive or demeaning language, or withholding food, rest, or toileting as discipline.
Patience does not mean having no expectations. It means helping children work toward appropriate expectations in a way that respects their age, development, and individual needs.
Helping Children Discover What They Can Do
Creativity
Young children learn through curiosity. They ask questions, build, pretend, move, draw, sing, experiment, and sometimes make a mess in the process.
Our classrooms include opportunities for art, music, dramatic play, hands-on math and science, reading, social interaction, and outdoor play. We also embrace messy activities as part of giving children opportunities to experience new things and grow through hands-on exploration.
Creativity gives children room to make choices, express ideas, solve problems, and discover new interests. That is one reason play remains such an important part of the Play2Learn approach.
Growth
Growth brings all of our core values together. We want children to grow academically, but we also care about the many other kinds of growth happening during childhood.
Children are learning to communicate, make friends, manage emotions, move with greater confidence, solve problems, try new things, become more independent, and understand the world around them.
Our mission recognizes social, emotional, intellectual, and physical development as part of laying a foundation for lifelong learning.
Growth also applies to our staff. Continued training helps teachers and caregivers strengthen their knowledge and continue developing professionally.
And growth applies to Play2Learn Academy itself. What began as one family’s vision in 2007 has grown into three centers serving families across Davis County while holding on to the values that shaped the school from the beginning.
Values That Show Up Every Day
Core values matter most when families can see them in everyday moments.
- Family is reflected when parents and teachers communicate openly.
- Quality is reflected in preparation, training, and thoughtful classroom experiences.
- Integrity is reflected in accountability and clear communication.
- Compassion is reflected in the way children are comforted and encouraged.
- Patience is reflected in developmentally appropriate guidance.
- Creativity is reflected in play, art, music, exploration, and hands-on learning.
- Growth is reflected in the progress children make as they become more confident, capable, and independent.
- Family is reflected when parents and teachers communicate openly.
These values connect the original vision of the Shukhman family with the everyday experience families have in our Bountiful, Clearfield, and Layton centers today.
Come Experience Play2Learn Academy
The best way to understand a childcare center is to spend time there. We invite you to visit , meet the people who care for children each day, learn about our curriculum and safety practices, and see how our values are reflected in the environment.
