An intense game of make-believe is under way as one child wraps herself in scarves, while another pretends to fall asleep and a third cooks on a toy stove.

Their play is spontaneous and uninterrupted as two adult observers quietly watch from a sound-proof booth that is not visible to the kids inside the large activity room at Spring Point Children’s Resource Center in South Portland.

Here at the educational lab on the Southern Maine Community College campus, pre-schoolers engage in a range of play and learning activities as adult students study early childhood development in classrooms nearby.

An expansive new campus building opened this fall on Fort Road that is exclusively dedicated to early childhood programs. The Early Child Education Center blends academic teaching for college students with community-based child care and family services.

The building enables the Early Childhood Development studies program at SMCC to make full use of the Spring Point Children’s Resource Center as an educational lab benefiting college students as well as pre-schoolers attending child care.

The three-year, $800,000 building project reflects the growth in early childhood studies at the two-year college.

Building costs were defrayed by the work of SMCC students in construction technology, heating and air conditioning, electrical engineering and architectural design.

“There is a pressing need for people trained in early childhood development,” said Terri Petnov, who chairs the Early Childhood Education Department at SMCC. “A lab school offers the opportunity for people to see children in a natural setting to learn about their development.”

When the early childhood degree program started in 1994, it enrolled eight students. Today there are 120 matriculating students, said Petnov.

“There is no sign that the numbers are slowing,” she added.

Students who graduate with an associate’s degree in early childhood development are qualified to work as teachers in infant, toddler and pre-school settings.

The University of Maine also has a four-year degree program in early childhood education on campuses in Farmington and Orono.

SMCC is the only college to offer a two-year degree in Greater Portland.

Here, college students – under the supervision of the child care center teachers – can interact with 3-, 4- and 5-year-olds.

But it is not just students studying early childhood development who come through the center.

Pediatric nursing students, for example, teach the kids in a Teddy bear clinic. They develop and offer age-appropriate curriculum on hand-washing and hygiene.

Fire-science students work with the kids on learning about the dangers of touching a hot stove or how to respond in a house fire.

The Spring Point child care center also plays a vital role in the community.

It has been around since 1992, serving the child care needs of students, staff and the community. The center has a waiting list of families who want to enroll their children.

“They do everything so well,” said Penelope Snow, the mother of 4-year-old Brooke who attends the child care center three days a week.

“The teachers take their role as mentors seriously. They look for strengths in children vs. problems,” said Snow, a social worker who lives in South Portland.

Brooke’s older brother, who now is in third grade, also attended Spring Point child care center.

While the child care center used to be run out of the culinary arts building, the program now has its own space specially designed for the youngsters it serves – from the low windows and easy-to-reach door knobs to the large activity room that encourages play and exploration. Large windows maximize natural light.

Children have play and learn areas that develop gross motor skills through the use of puzzles and building blocks.

They have a creative play area for make-believe games that allow them to interpret the world around them. There is a water table and finger-paints, clay and coloring. A computer monitor has age-appropriate software that introduces children to technology.

Ambient floor heat warms the children as they take afternoon naps on mats spread across a carpeted floor.

“The Spring Point center shows that it’s possible to implement the best practices of child care and have it work in a real setting,” said Snow.

There are three teachers for up to 24 children. Help from student interns lowers the staff-to-child ratio, keeping the little ones engaged and occupied with constructive activities.

Student interns, though, are never left alone with the kids.

“The college students are very much a part of activities,” said Maggie Frigard, the center director. “But they supplement what the teachers do.”

“The college students may help with curriculum planning or see how situations are handled by the more experienced teachers,” Petnov added.

The youngsters early on are directed in managing conflict with each other, instead of just hearing “No” from instructors.

“We see our roles as facilitators for the children to learn to resolve their conflicts,” Petnov said. “The young children are learning the same skills that will enable them to be successful learners as they grow.”

For the college students, the training shows them how to meet the “mentally challenging and physically demanding” nature of teaching in an early childhood development setting, Petnov said.

“It takes more than simply loving children to be successful in this field,” Petnov said. “These students learn to be professionals who are adept at working with and educating very young children.”

Petnov sees the early childhood education program as serving a larger role in South Portland and Maine.

“We are helping to build a stronger community and a stronger economic base,” Petnov said. “We are not just providing jobs but careers for people. We also are providing a necessary resource for the community.”

SMCC student Erin Snow is preparing to graduate in May 2008, with a degree in early childhood education. (Snow is not related to Penelope Snow, the mother of two children who have attended the child care program.)

Snow, 19, commutes from her parents’ home in Fryeburg each day to attend classes. She hopes to teach at a pre-school in Maine or New Hampshire upon graduation. Her goal is to open her own child care center one day.

She says she has learned to encourage the children to discover their world and let them be the guides.

“Observing kids in their natural environment helps a lot,” Snow said. “Early childhood learning is not about giving the kids a coloring book or something else to do, but about the process of engaging them in activities. We take the cues from their interests.”

The children clearly seem to enjoy themselves and approach the activities with energy and delight.

The teachers show a patience and understanding that are enviable to any parent who has left a child at a busy child care center that seems more custodial than a learning environment.

“We consistently provide a high quality program for children and families and that’s something to be proud of,” Petnov said. “It is important each day for children to arrive at a place with a good feeling as they start their day.”

Ruby Lynch plays dress-up at the Spring Point child care center. The large activity room has designated areas for different types of play that encourage hands-on learning and discovery. Zoe Collins enjoys the colorful paints as she works at an activity table at the Spring Point child care center, which serves the children of students and staff as well as families in the South Portland community.