Art classes at the Ah Haa on Mondays, Theater with Sally Davis on Wednesdays, Karate on Thursdays, community adventures and music education on a daily basis, live bands, gardening, harvesting, skiing and summer camps, no TV…throw in a daily nap and organic homemade snacks and you’ve got a recipe for the perfect Telluride vacation. Sign me up! The only catch?  You’ve got to be between 3 and 5 years old and potty trained.

This is a typical week for the next generation of “Telluridians” at the newly revamped Mountain Sprouts Preschool. Fall 2007 brought big changes to the small preschool as Lead Teacher Trisha Clement took the reins. Working with Telluride kids for more than ten years, Trisha’s philosophy emphasizes hands-on learning and empowers children to make their own choices. Further nurturing Mountain Sprouts creative spirit are assistant teachers Joss Liften-Zoline and Jane Musser.

For little ones just starting preschool, the event-packed schedule need not be daunting. A morning/early afternoon option is available from 8 or 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Parents can also enroll their kids in an afterschool program from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., and Mountain Sprouts will pick the kids up from  elementary school for two hours of fun while they complete the workday. With class size limited to only twelve students per day, “the Sprouts” get all the love and attention that make early education so special.  Parent participation is highly encouraged and co-op discounts are available.

“You’re doing what today?” I ask my toddler incredulously again. I never know exactly what the response will be … but I know it’ll be cool.  One day it’s making sailboats out of sticks and scraps of cloth to sail at Alta Lakes, another it’s discovering the Valley Floor via a San Miguel River mud-bath, throw in a bit of rock scrambling, some fossil hunting, and on day three a trip to the local fire station, followed by kayaking in Town Park, and as a testament to the unpredictability of Telluride’s weather the week might wrap up with making snow angels after sledding on Firecracker Hill.

If you’d like to find out more, Mountain Sprouts is hosting an Open House on Thursday, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the preschool, located at 434 W. Columbia Ave. (lower level). The best part… there are still spots available.