In the early years of development, establishing routines and creating a responsive environment are essential elements to building a nurturing caregiving environment in which very young children feel safe. Furthermore, trusting and responsive relationships with caregivers are also critical to a child's sense of security.

On the first Friday night of each month trained volunteers provide an evening of individualized care and fun for children with special needs and their siblings, ages 1 month through 12 years, at the Fisher Early Learning Center on the University of Denver campus. The children participate in pre-planned activities and events according to each child’s interest. Nurses are on-site at all times to assist with any medical needs that may arise during the evening. In addition, DU's security team monitors the Center throughout each evening. The evening is free of charge to the families attending. Attendees may be children with special needs and their siblings from the greater Denver community. Volunteers may be community members, ranging from DU professors and students to young professionals to retired citizens to people in the neighborhood who are eager to help. Training is provided for all volunteers to ensure that each child has the best care and that everyone participating in the evening has the most fun possible. Families must pre-register prior to their first Night Owls evening. This allows the Night Owls team to pair the child(ren) with the appropriate volunteers and plan activities accordingly. Parents/caregivers complete forms telling the team about each of their children to allow the team to get to know the children before they arrive.

Assisting children to understand themselves and trust their environment is the focus of CC for infants and toddlers. Promoting self-regulation as well as a desire to explore and engage in one's environment is facilitated through strong relationships with caregivers and partnerships with families.

In the preschool years, routines, expectations, relationships and the environment continue to be important factors in growing and learning. In addition, children begin to diversify their interests and assert their independence in various ways. CC addresses all areas of development and allows teachers to modify their instructional activities to meet the needs and interests of the children. The curriculum provides a very comprehensive set of objectives to ensure that all developmental domains are addressed, and also a flexible structure to ensure that children's voices and values are heard and respected as a part of their learning journey.

In the PreK years, more intentional focus is devoted to early academic competencies essential to later school success. In C4L, high-quality play and high-quality instruction complement and enrich each other.