Cloud-Based Curriculum for North Dakota Child Care and Preschool

Digital Curriculum Aligned to North Dakota’s Early Learning Standards

Lesson plans for infants through pre-K, mapped to the North Dakota Early Learning Standards: Birth to Kindergarten, with a virtual instructional coach inside every activity. Teachers use it on any device, and one price covers the whole program.
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What Bright & Early ND Asks of Your Curriculum

Bright & Early ND scores programs in five areas, and one of them is Curriculum and Assessment. That standard expects a curriculum aligned with the North Dakota Early Learning Standards, plus ongoing, observation-based assessment that shapes what teachers do next. A shelf of photocopied themes makes that hard to show, especially when a new hire is still working through the 15-hour ND Getting Started course. Learning Beyond Paper gives every teacher a standards-aligned plan for the day, an observational assessment tool and coaching inside each activity, so the evidence your coach asks for builds up while you teach.

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See How It Works

See how a teacher finds the day's activity and ELBY's coaching note on a tablet or phone in seconds, with no binder to dig through.

Explore the Full Curriculum

Look through 52 weeks of plans for all five age groups, each mapped to North Dakota's Early Learning Standards.

Book a Free Demo

Talk with our team about your license type, your Bright & Early ND step and the ages you serve, and see where LBP fits.

What a North Dakota Program Gets on One Platform

Learning Beyond Paper is the only all-in-one early childhood curriculum with a virtual instructional coach built in. North Dakota programs get 52 weeks of plans for five age groups, an observational assessment tool, English and Spanish materials and 49.5 hours of on-demand professional learning, aligned to the ND Early Learning Standards.

Aligned to the ND Early Learning Standards: Birth to Kindergarten

North Dakota covers birth to kindergarten entry in one HHS document, with progressions for birth to 9 months, 8 to 18 months, 16 to 36 months, 36 to 48 months and 48 to 60 months. LBP's North Dakota alignment pairs each of those bands with an LBP age group, from Infant to PreK 4, so every room works from the same standards.

ELBY — A Virtual Instructional Coach for Every Teacher

ELBY is part of every activity, giving teachers a quick way to adjust for a child who needs more help, add challenge for one who is ready, and know what to observe and write down.

Embedded Professional Development — 49.5 Hours Included

A new teacher in a North Dakota classroom can lead a full lesson on day one. LBP University's 49.5 hours of on-demand professional learning come with the subscription, ready whenever there is a quiet half hour.

Infant to PreK 4 in One North Dakota Subscription

The North Dakota standards follow children from birth to 60 months, and so does LBP: infant, young toddler, older toddler, preschool 3 and pre-K 4 rooms all use the same platform.

Infant (Ages 0–12 Months)

Young Toddler (12–24 Months)

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Older Toddler (24–36 Months)

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Preschool (Ages 3–4 Years)

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Pre-K (Ages 4–5 Years)

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After School & Camp

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Why North Dakota Programs Use Learning Beyond Paper

North Dakota providers range from family child care homes to group programs, centers and multiple-licensed sites. Whatever the license, the same needs come up: a plan aligned to state standards, help for new staff, and costs that stay predictable.

Curriculum evidence for Bright & Early ND

Bright & Early ND expects a curriculum aligned with the ND Early Learning Standards and observation-based assessment. LBP's published North Dakota alignment and its observational assessment tool give you something concrete to show your coach during Demonstrating Quality.

New staff can teach on day one

North Dakota center staff working 30 to 40 hours a week need 13 training hours a year, on top of ND Getting Started for new hires. Between courses, ELBY coaches them through each activity, so lessons stay consistent.

Materials in English and Spanish

HHS offers provider orientation and new training courses in English, Spanish and Somali. LBP adds English and Spanish activity descriptions and family materials, included in the subscription.

One price for the whole program

One yearly subscription covers every classroom at your center, group or family child care program, infant to pre-K, with one login and no per-teacher fees.

Getting Started With LBP in North Dakota

Four steps take you from free trial to every classroom using the same plan, aligned to the North Dakota Early Learning Standards.
Open a free 30-day trial

Every room in your North Dakota program, from infants to pre-K, gets the whole curriculum the day you sign up.

Teachers log in on any device

A teacher signs in on their phone or a classroom tablet, opens this week's plan for their age group, reads ELBY's tip and starts. Nothing to copy, laminate or file.

Alignment and observation records add up
LBP's North Dakota alignment ties each lesson to the ND Early Learning Standards, and teachers record observations in the assessment tool as children play. Together they give you material for Bright & Early ND coaching, licensing visits and family conferences without a separate paperwork routine.
Extend it to every room
One yearly subscription covers every classroom at your North Dakota site, infant to pre-K. If you run several licensed locations, ask us about adding them.

A Curriculum Built Around North Dakota's Standards

North Dakota keeps its early childhood work under one roof: HHS licenses programs, runs the Bright & Early ND quality rating system, manages the Child Care Assistance Program and funds Best in Class pre-K classrooms. Curriculum shows up in all of them. Bright & Early ND’s Curriculum and Assessment standard expects a curriculum aligned with the ND Early Learning Standards, CCAP pays a 5% bonus to Step 3 providers and 10% to Step 4, and Best in Class programs that choose their own curriculum must show it aligns to the same standards. In 2026-27, 68 programs and 94 classrooms take part in Best in Class. Learning Beyond Paper publishes a North Dakota alignment covering birth to 60 months and maps activities to Teaching Strategies GOLD® objectives, so a program working toward a higher step or a Best in Class award starts from an aligned plan.

Common Questions From North Dakota Providers

What North Dakota directors and family child care providers ask about standards, Bright & Early ND, licensing, CCAP and cost.

Yes. LBP’s North Dakota alignment maps all five age groups to the North Dakota Early Learning Standards: Birth to Kindergarten, published by HHS. The standards run from birth to 60 months, and the alignment pairs each progression, from birth to 9 months up to 48 to 60 months, with an LBP age group from Infant to PreK 4. You can open it on our curriculum alignments page.

Bright & Early ND is North Dakota’s voluntary QRIS, with four steps. Step 1 is automatic for eligible licensed programs; Steps 2 to 4 are earned through Demonstrating Quality, with coaching and an evidence review. One of its five quality areas is Curriculum and Assessment, which expects a curriculum aligned with the ND Early Learning Standards and ongoing, observation-based assessment. LBP gives you both pieces. It supports your evidence; the rating decision stays with HHS.

HHS Early Childhood Licensing licenses family, group, center, preschool, school-age and multiple-licensed programs. A license is required once you care for more than five children, or more than three under 24 months; smaller programs can self-declare. LBP doesn’t replace your licensing checklist, but it gives every group a written daily plan suited to their ages, which helps when you walk a licensing specialist through your program.

Best in Class funds high-quality classrooms for children in the year before kindergarten; 68 programs and 94 classrooms are in the 2026-27 cohort. Programs must use a research-based curriculum aligned to the ND Early Learning Standards. HHS provides Creative Curriculum, and programs that choose another curriculum must show evidence of alignment, which may come from the publisher. LBP publishes a North Dakota alignment you can share. Best in Class uses Teaching Strategies GOLD® for assessment, and LBP activities are mapped to GOLD objectives.

The Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP), run by HHS, helps eligible working families pay for care; it doesn’t prescribe a curriculum. Curriculum matters through quality: CCAP pays a 5% bonus to Bright & Early ND Step 3 providers and 10% to Step 4, and Step 2 and higher providers can claim an infant and toddler bonus. LBP can support the curriculum work behind those steps. For payment questions, contact HHS or your human service zone office.

Center, preschool and school-age staff working 30 to 40 hours a week need 13 hours a year, with fewer for part-time staff; family providers need 9. New staff also take the 15-hour ND Getting Started course. Every subscription includes LBP University, 49.5 hours of on-demand professional learning, but we don’t claim it counts toward licensing hours or appears in the Early Childhood Workforce Registry. Ask your licensing specialist first.

One yearly subscription covers every classroom in your program, infant through pre-K. ELBY coaching, LBP University, the observational assessment tool, family engagement features and English and Spanish materials are all included, with no per-teacher or per-classroom fees. Materials kits are available through Lakeshore Learning, and our team helps customers with grant writing, useful if you apply for Bright & Early ND Quality Improvement Grants.

Yes. Activity descriptions and family engagement materials are available in English and Spanish at no extra cost. About 6.7% of North Dakotans speak a language other than English at home (American Community Survey 2024), and HHS now offers provider orientation and new courses in English, Spanish and Somali. LBP’s materials cover English and Spanish only, so plan other languages separately.

Start a 30-day free trial. Your whole North Dakota program gets every age group right away, so a family provider can test it with mixed ages and a center can try it in an infant room and a pre-K room at once. Browse the full curriculum first if you like, then book a demo for a walkthrough tied to your Bright & Early ND goals.

Yes. HHS estimated that more than 10,000 children were in group child care and about 1,400 in family child care in North Dakota in 2025. If you care for mixed ages, LBP’s five age bands let you plan for an infant and a four-year-old on the same day; see our family child care page. Multi-site and multiple-licensed programs get the same plans and alignment at every location.

Complete Curriculum Coverage for Every Classroom

Every stage from infant to pre-K, one cloud-based curriculum aligned to North Dakota’s standards, one platform and one school-wide price.

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ND Standards Alignment for Every Age Group

LBP maps every age group to the North Dakota Early Learning Standards, the same standards Bright & Early ND and Best in Class point to for curriculum.

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Free 30-Day Trial

Full access for every room in your North Dakota program from the first day. No commitment until you decide.

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Trusted by 3,000 Programs in 50 States

Directors in North Dakota and across the country rely on Learning Beyond Paper for daily planning and teaching.

Ready to Try LBP in Your North Dakota Program?

Let's Get You the Right Information

Tell us your license type, the ages you serve and where you are in Bright & Early ND, and we’ll show you how LBP fits.
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Start Your Free 30-Day Trial

Every North Dakota classroom gets full access on day one.

Book a Personalized Demo

See LBP live, set up around your North Dakota program.

Explore the Full Curriculum

Infant through pre-k — one platform, one price, complete coverage.