One Program That Grows With Your Child
Growing Garden isn’t a set of separate age-segregated classrooms. It’s one warm, mixed-age family — children ages 2 through 5 learning side by side, the way siblings do — with a low 1:6 ratio so every child gets what their stage actually needs. Here’s how a child grows through the years with us.
The Twos: settling in and finding words
Our youngest children focus on feeling safe, building language, and taking their first steps into friendship and independence. With a low ratio and one consistent teacher, separation is gentle and every child is truly known. Days are full of sensory play, songs and music, outdoor time, and lots of warm one-on-one connection.
- Gentle, supported separation
- Language explosion — in two languages
- First friendships and sharing
- Potty training supported, not required
The Threes: big play and first projects
Three-year-olds are natural investigators. Their pretend play grows elaborate, their questions get deeper, and they begin the long, rich projects at the heart of Reggio Emilia. Early literacy grows through stories and drawing; early math through building, cooking, and sorting — all through play, never worksheets.
- Emergent, project-based learning
- Early literacy through stories & drawing
- Early math through building & cooking
- Growing independence and self-help skills
The Fours & Pre-K: ready for kindergarten
Our oldest children take on leadership in the mixed-age group and deepen the skills that matter most for kindergarten — not just letters and numbers, but focus, resilience, collaboration, and confidence. They leave us genuinely ready for school, and genuinely in love with learning.
- Kindergarten & TK readiness
- Self-regulation, focus, and resilience
- Leadership within the mixed-age group
- Confidence and a love of learning
Why one mixed-age group is better
In a mixed-age setting, younger children learn by watching and reaching toward the older ones, and older children build empathy, patience, and leadership by helping the little ones. Nobody is rushed to the next room on a birthday. Your child keeps the same trusted teacher and the same little community for their whole time with us — the way a family works, and the way young children learn best.
Find your child’s place
Tell us your child’s age and we’ll show you exactly what their days would look like. Tours run 30 minutes during a real program day.
Schedule a free tour