The Childrens Garden Preschool 486 Park Avenue Southeast, Atlanta, GA 30312

"We had never heard of this school before coming across it by chance online. The website was informative with all details about their pedagogical approach and tuition and the school also turned out to be in our neighborhood, so we joined the waiting list for our 1 1/2 year old daughter in their "Starlings" (19mo - 3yo) class. Being from a pedagogue family (my mother is a specialist in early education and I am a social pedagogue), I was impressed at my first school visit guided by the director Miss Sally. It looked different from a traditional daycare. The school's approach is firmly based on fostering children's personal abilities and natural inclinations. I like that the teachers treat children as complete individuals, they don't baby them or have to wrangle them, but rather let them to explore each other and their environment, organize themselves and teach them to use words to solve disputes. They encourage self-sufficiency by teaching essential social skills such as: dressing and undressing, organizing their clothes (hanging up their coats on a hook, putting on mittens, hats and boots), taking care of their lunch; potty training etc. These aspects of early education are so often neglected by traditional preschools in favor of teaching letters, numbers and shapes. I believe there is a right time and place for every kind of knowledge, and in this stage, skills of self-sufficiency and interpersonal relationship skills are paramount. The teachers are also very knowledgable in children's various developmental stages—it is always a challenge to work with children of varying ages, but they use that to their advantage, encouraging the older ones to teach the younger ones. The other distinction of the Children's Garden from other daycares is the teachers' shared involvement in child rearing. They are not there to simply babysit; they guide children toward developmental progress. They also advise parents on how to create a similar conducive environment in the home– be it by limiting television viewing, encouraging schedules and consistency, and promoting healthy organic eating versus processed snacks. To be honest, every time I interact with the teachers, I actually feel like I'm learning something. One of my daughter's favorite activities is their weekly soup preparation. Each child is encouraged to bring a vegetable and everyone joins together to chop them up. By the end of a school day she excitedly tries to tells me about her day's experience and I can tell she loves the way she is trusted to take part in this important activity. Before, I would not have trusted her with a knife to chop veggies at home, but again, to my surprise, the teachers instruct them how to handle a knife and she is now more aware of what she is eating and how her food is made. In response to some family's concerns about the school's focus on nature, I can only say that I feel it is actually their main strength and gift to the kids. There is no religious bend of any kind, but an attention to and gratitude to the natural world around them. Be it a song to give thanks before a meal or season-related activities, kids are taught to appreciate nature and to take care of it. Every school day begins outside in the school garden whatever the weather and if the children are dressed appropriately, they enjoy being outside (teachers give parents specific instructions on clothing to make sure the children are comfortable). And they have a "day in the park" (at Grant Park) which is perfect for exploration and to get their energy out. Needless to say, knowledge of nature is important nowadays and this is also the right age for them to learn it. Later in adulthood, no fine for littering will prevent one from doing so, unless that awareness and love for nature is instilled from one's earliest days. and happiness."

"This school - the director (Sally), staff, and families - is truly a blessing. The director has an incredible understanding and *feel* for how to guide the emotional and social development of young children. She ensures that the staff is very *deliberate* about creating a nurturing, encouraging, emotionally safe, beautiful school environment. They earnestly get to know *each* child at a deep level, and they do a great job of communicating with parents about their kids' development. They've helped educate me and helped me open up my eyes to critical, yet subtle things that affect young children and their development. Children matriculating from this school tend to be highly confident, compassionate, independent, and aware of themselves. Also, we have adjusted our family's rhythm at home to be much better due to what we have learned and what our kids experienced from this school. And, my family has developed great friendships with other families."

"The Children's Garden Preschool is an icing on the cake perk for the sweet families that live in Grant Park. It's not just a school, it's a true community. Those families who make a longer drive for their child(ren) to attend this school can attest to the school's genuine respect for the whole well-being of the child. I have three children who have been fortunate to spend their early "schooling" here. I put that word in parenthesis because the values and virtues that are taught and lived out in these classrooms are experienced quite differently than what one might experience at other schools. This gentle, quiet, rhythmic, grounded approach is what attracted my husband and I in the first place and is more than appropriate for children in their early years of life! We are honored to now have our third child at The Children's Garden. And over the years, we have been diligent to attend the extra parent workshops and teacher meetings provided by the school. Each and every time we do, we are introduced to new and helpful insight as to how to guide our children through life's obstacles. Currently, our oldest son, having graduated from The Children's Garden, is attending an academically rigorous local private school. He is doing very well, in fact, the work there is a breeze for him. I can thank The Children's Garden for their diligence in training my son's focus while he was there, leading to his ability to better attend to his work now. The staff at the Children's Garden is properly prepared and educated in how to teach the values of safety, respect, gentleness, kindness, individuality and autonomy in a way that directly translates to little ones. The facility is magical to the children. And the simple food pleasures worked on every day enliven their senses and appreciation of real food."

"We have been involved with this school since its move to Grant Park, a few years ago. We love the school and its philosophy. The teachers and staff are nurturing, gentle, kind and supportive! Parent-teacher conferences and school events have given us much insight into our child's development. Also, we've been inspired by the rhythms and school festivals. They have a Lantern Walk in the fall and a spring festival in March each year. Our children have grown and become independent, learning how to speak up for themselves, be caring and solve problems with peers. The school recommends a great book, Simplicity Parenting by Kim John Payne. You can find out more about this parenting approach online. The school uses the same or similar ways of helping children. If you use a permissive parenting style, it will probably be challenging to come into a school that draws a lot of inspiration from Waldorf type education. The teachers do a lot of work with each child and help parents simplify language and environment. As parents, we have become stronger and more informed about supporting our kids' development. We highly recommend the school. The school is warm and homey with many natural elements. We have always found it to be clean. The class sizes are small and every room has 2 teachers. They have told us that staff train during the summer before the children come back in September. In this preschool, you can see how well trained and experienced the teachers are with child development and guidance! The director is also a teacher at the school and she does a good job with both! She is well informed, listens and helps to be supportive of the children and their parents."

"My youngest attended this preschool many years ago. He is now in middle school. Throughout the years his teachers have commented on his creativity, empathy, personal responsibility, and respect. I credit The Children's Garden Preschool for supporting these traits and helping educate me so I could continue to support growth in these areas. Any school can hand out worksheets, but to teach children confidence, respect for others and the world, empathy and creativity is exceptional. I am looking at the long view and the hard work we did when he was young has most certainly paid off."