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In a quaint garden setting a cottage-like private preschool has flourished for over half a century.
Outdoors, the native perennial gardens, sledding hill, log den, and stick fort invite children to explore, wonder, dream, and embrace the magic that is childhood. Creativity and friendship bloom around the play stage, mud kitchen, and art barn. Native animals and plants are observed and cared for. The simple pleasures and processes of food production and nature's cycles are discovered with "the girls" in the chicken coop, the composter and rain barrel, and in the tapping of our own maple trees each sugaring season. Nestled by a woodlot, it is the perfect outdoor environment to foster a love of and respect for nature, "our place", each other, and oneself; delightfully encouraging and cultivating an early sense of environmental responsibility and stewardship, community and belonging.
Indoors, children are welcomed into the comfort of a "home from home" ambience with an abundance of natural light, warm wood, and plant-filled windowsills. Resonating with joy, respect and authenticity, this sense of “home” allows them the confidence to explore, imagine, create, and discover the wonders of their world. A myriad of studio-quality art materials and open-ended play items support the "hundred languages of children”, including painting, sculpture, drawing, building, storytelling, music, creative movement, and dramatic play. Every element of the environment is thoughtfully curated, offering each child unlimited opportunities for freedom of self-expression and discovery in the essential "work" of their play.
Each child is respected and acknowledged as an individual who is competent, curious, inventive, creative; overflowing with possibilities and potential.
Kindness Starts Here is our motto. You may already have heard of this "magical little school" spoken fondly of by generations of local Michiganders, and families from across the globe who discovered us after being drawn to the academic institutes in our surrounding area. We are glad you have found us too!
“We are walking down this road together inventing, creating and dreaming as we go along.” ~from a friend
Every child should have mud pies, grasshoppers, water bugs, tadpoles, frogs and mud turtles, elderberries, wild strawberries, acorns, chestnuts, trees to climb, brooks to wade in, water lilies, woodchucks, bats, bees, butterflies, various animals to pet, hayfields, pinecones, rocks to roll, sand, snakes, huckleberries, hornets; and any child who has been deprived of these has been deprived of the best part of their education.
~Luther Burbank
American Botanist
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