Inspiring Young Minds Through Thoughtfully Designed Programs

Our age-appropriate programs honor each child as a capable learner, fostering growth through meaningful relationships, hands-on exploration, and collaborative discovery in environments designed to inspire wonder and creativity.

Our Learning Programs

At Growing Place, we believe children are strong, capable, and full of potential. Our programs are thoughtfully designed around the image of the child as protagonist, collaborator, and communicator. From our nurturing infant environments to our inquiry-rich preschool classrooms, each program creates opportunities for children to construct knowledge through relationships with peers, teachers, families, and their environment. Inspired by the schools of Reggio Emilia, we support each child's natural curiosity while building the foundations for lifelong learning.

Two young girls playing a board game at a table in a cozy, well-lit classroom, framed by a decorative tree branch in the foreground.

(Birth - 36 months)

Infant & Toddler Program

Our Youngest Learners, Our Deepest Care

Even our youngest children are viewed as competent learners with rich inner lives and boundless curiosity. Our infant and toddler programs create secure, predictable environments where children develop trusting relationships with caring adults while beginning to explore their world through their senses.

What Makes Our Program Special:

Intimate Ratios: 1:4 for infants, 1:6 for toddlers, ensuring personalized attention and deep relationships
Sensory-Rich Environments: Carefully curated materials that invite exploration and support brain development
Daily Routines as Learning: Each diaper change, meal, and transition becomes an opportunity for connection and communication
RIE-Inspired Practices: Respectful caregiving that honors each child's natural rhythms and emerging autonomy
Family Partnership: Close collaboration with parents to ensure continuity between home and school

Our teachers spend time listening, observing, and documenting each child's unique ways of exploring and communicating, creating a foundation of trust that supports all future learning.

(30 months - 5 years)

Preschool Program

Where Curiosity Becomes Investigation

Our preschool program transforms children's natural wonder into deep, meaningful learning experiences. Through emergent curriculum and long-term investigations, children develop not just academic skills, but the habits of mind that will serve them throughout life.

Our teachers act as researchers alongside children, asking genuine questions, offering provocations, and scaffolding learning through careful observation and intentional interactions.

Children sitting at a table outdoors, with one boy in the middle smiling and a girl and another boy facing him.

Daily Rhythms That Support Growth:

Morning Meetings: Welcoming ceremonies, music, and sensory integration exercises help children connect and prepare for learning

Small Group Investigations: Rich, materials-based explorations that continue as long as interest remains, allowing children to dive deep into questions that matter to them
Reflection Meetings: Daily opportunities for children to share their discoveries, ask questions, and plan next steps with teacher coaching
Outdoor Learning: Every day includes meaningful outdoor experiences across all learning domains

Two young girls in a brightly lit indoor space, one standing at a round table reading a book and the other seated, pointing at something, with sunlight streaming through large windows behind them.

The Heart of Our Approach:

Project-Based Learning: Each child engages in at least one long-term research project annually, developing persistence, problem-solving skills, and deep understanding

Making Thinking Visible: Children use drawing, building, dramatic play, and other "hundred languages" to express and refine their ideas
Documentation as Communication: Teachers carefully document children's learning process, making growth visible to children, families, and the broader community
Environment as Third Teacher: Thoughtfully organized spaces with beautiful, natural materials that provoke investigation and support collaboration

Every program level reflects our core belief that "children are strong, capable, and full of potential." We see each child as the protagonist of their own learning journey, supported by caring adults who act as co-investigators and guides rather than directors of learning.

(4-5 Years)

Pre-K & School Readiness

Building Bridges to Future Learning

Our oldest preschoolers experience the full richness of our Reggio-inspired approach while developing the independence, collaboration skills, and joy in learning that will serve them well in their next educational journey.

Preparing for Life Long Success through:

Problem-Solving:

Children dive into hands-on projects that ask big questions, spark curiosity, and stretch their thinking. They plan, test ideas, problem-solve, and work as a team—just like real scientists and inventors!

Metacognitive Skills:

We guide children to notice how they learn, what helps them to remember, what strategies work, and how to reflect on their own thinking. This builds habits of mind that they will use for life.

Communication & Presentation:

Your child has regular opportunities to explain their thinking, share stories, and listen carefully to others.These rich conversations help grow language skills, confidence, and empathy.

Self-Regulation:

Through sensory activities, movement, and calm reflection times, children learn to understand and name their feelings. These practices strengthen self regulation and emotional intelligence, which are essential tools for school and life.

Academic Foundations Through Play:

Early literacy and math skills are intentionally built through purposeful play, exploration, and conversation. This research-informed approach is not only joyful, it is proven to support deep, lasting learning.

Leadership Opportunities:

Older preschoolers enjoy mentoring younger peers, whether it is helping them clean up, showing how to use materials, or sharing project knowledge. This builds confidence, empathy, and a sense of community responsibility.

Extended Learning & Community Connections

Learning Beyond the Classroom Day

Growing Place extends learning opportunities through our commitment to the broader early childhood education community and flexible family support.

Four children playing on a black rubber tire swing at a playground, with three of them sitting on the swing and one pushing. The playground has sand and wooden structures, with trees and a building in the background.

Professional Development Hub:

Educator Tours & Consultations: Share our approach with visiting educators
Practicum & Internship Programs: Mentor emerging teachers in Reggio-inspired practices
Community Research: Contribute to the field through documentation and pedagogical study

Two young girls walking in a backyard garden on a sunny day, surrounded by trees and outdoor structures.

Family Support:

Flexible Scheduling: Programs designed to support working families
Community Events: Regular opportunities for families to connect and celebrate learning together
Parent Education: Workshops and resources to extend learning partnerships at home

Join Our Learning Community

Why Families Choose Growing Place

“The Growing Place has given our children the best possible foundation to develop into their true selves by building confidence, nurturing curiosity, and fostering community. We as parents have learned

as much as our children in how to become better parents through collaboration within the whole community, perspective-taking, and building the language and skills that promote self-discovery. We have all

made lifelong friends with our Growing Place community and could not have imagined a more ideal and nurturing environment to allow our children to thrive.”

Hyon, current parent