Our Journey. The Children’s Schoolhouse was an essential component in our parenting journey. We’d heard great things about the school prior to us becoming parents, and once our oldest daughter was ready for pre-school we were very excited to become part of the Children’s Schoolhouse community. We thought we were admitting her to help her grow during her preschool years, but we didn’t count on what the CSH philosophy gave to us as parents. The creative learning, positive parenting, and conflict resolution skills that we gained at the schoolhouse opened our eyes as parents to what our children truly needed during this crucial time of their development. Our oldest attended for three years and was joined later by her younger sister, making us a schoolhouse family for five years. It was a very special time for our family, and the Children’s Schoolhouse will always hold a cherished place in all of our hearts.

I was here for two years in the past with my son, who is entering his kindergarten year and my daughter is a rising 3-year-old this coming school year. I am so excited to be back at The Children’s Schoolhouse and have truly missed it. There is really something magical about this school and it starts with the teachers but also the family involvement. I cannot say enough about both teachers, Miss Deb and Miss Tara. My son still talks about them. They encourage children to explore, play, have disagreements, make up, create things, destroy things, love the arts, and especially story and music time. The children realize that school is for fun and learning about their interests. The children develop the skills to work with others even those they have nothing in common with. Each child is unique and is treated accordingly. The teachers have a wonderful way of finding your child’s best learning style and adapting their approach to fit them specifically. It truly is all about the children at the Schoolhouse. I would not choose anywhere else for my daughter to attend. My son’s kindergarten teacher often comments on his mature social skills, this stems from acceptance, tolerance, compassion, self-control, and love of learning he discovered at The Schoolhouse.

My three year old son attends the Schoolhouse. The teachers are phenomenal – loving, bright, capable…they immerse the students in a world of wonder indoors and out. The other day, my son called my attention to bees hovering around a flower bush, exclaiming, “Look, they’re pollinating!” That observation says so much to me about the skills he’s acquiring in such a natural way. I also believe the Schoolhouse community is influential in my son’s growth. Due to moves, we’ve been at a couple of preschools before this, and I’ve volunteered in some capacity at each of them. My previous experience has been that a small percentage of families do the majority of the work. I don’t feel like the cooperative component of the Schoolhouse demands any more of my time than what I have given at the other schools, but I do feel like the spirit is different because each and every family is contributing.

Our family sent two children to the Schoolhouse over the four years and they came back cooler and dirtier. We washed them, but they are still cool. The Schoolhouse is a community rooted in kindness, connection to nature, and a healthy respect for play. Its unique educational philosophy instilled in our children a strong sense of and self, filled with wonder and curiosity. They were nurtured and yet given the freedom to take risks and gain confidence both socially and physically. Our children left the Schoolhouse with a developed love for creative expression, the outdoors and (perhaps most importantly) community. And the community extends to the families as well: the co-op model is a worthwhile investment and gives the opportunity for a shared purpose and connection with the other families. It created a loving and enriching environment for us and our children. For us, that meant the joy of having our child attend a school where everyone is involved, invested, and engaged. After our oldest child attended a couple other play-based schools in the area, we can say without hesitation that there is no better place for a child to develop in a healthy joyful way than The Children's Schoolhouse.

My husband and I were looking for a unique preschool setting for our then 5-year-old son. Once we visited the Schoolhouse, we knew it was the environment where he was allowed to grow, learn, and flourish. Since then, our 2 other sons have also attended the Schoolhouse. The school and its community are such an important and special part of our family’s story. Those little boys are now 16, 9, and 5 years old and recall all the things they did, friends they made, and the “flying” they did at the Schoolhouse. 2021 is our last year in preschool. Our baby will go to Kindergarten in the fall and we will forever be thankful for the schoolhouse, the preschool board members I was fortunate to serve with, the co-op families and friends, the teachers, and the very special experience my children all had. They will forever be “Schoolhouse kids.”

Both of my sons attended The Children's Schoolhouse for preschool and summer camps. The schoolhouse is such a unique community that not only my kids enjoyed, but I also made wonderful friends that I am close with many years later. The phenomenal, developmentally appropriate, play-based curriculum is led by Tara, a gem of a teacher that my children adore. They learn in natural ways, garden, spends a lot of time outside, and come home tired with full hearts. I still return to this magical school for events with my now 9 and 11-year-old sons, who always love coming back. The independence, self-confidence, and thirst for learning they received as building blocks at the schoolhouse have seen them successfully into their elementary and middle school years. One of the best choices I have made as their parent was to become a part of this co-op learning community.