Children’s Garden Day School teachers provide daycare curriculum for toddlers
For the children at one day-care school in Hamilton, the curriculum includes more than playtime and arts and crafts.
As the young students grow through the stages of seedlings, blossoms and buds, they can nurture their own blooming garden. And their parents will be happy to know they aren’t breaking the bank.
Owner Joanne Seefelt Elliott recently opened Children’s Garden Day School, which was formerly the Edinburg School, in Hamilton. On Feb. 1, the newly renovated daycare and school opened to give residents in the area a safe, clean and affordable place to send their children prior to pre-K and kindergarten.
The Children’s Garden Day School is open to children ages infant through 5 and uses a learning style that those at the school believe incorporates more than what can only be taught in the classroom.
“We have a garden, and we have the kids nurture that and watch it grow and learn about science and nature,” Elliott said. “I wanted to provide something that was affordable with quality, too. Affordable daycare is so hard to find.”
Elliott said they incorporate the outdoors learning into the greater curriculum.
“They are learning about the bugs and insects and how things grow, outside as well as inside the classroom,” said school director Dave Murray.
According to the school’s website, the school follows state- and nationwide Core Curriculum Content Standards, preparing students for preschool and Kindergarten at an early age. Murray said that CGDS also incorporates their own type of lesson plans that help set them apart from other day cares in the area.
“We had someone who works in the Hamilton school district come and help develop a curriculum that we now have in place,” Murray said. “We get updates every month, and then the teachers incorporate their own experience, as well.”
Unlike some day cares, Murray said, at CDGS they think it is important to use qualified teachers. Educators Kim Shipley and Jessica Kearn are trained in early childhood education and child development, with more than 30 years of combined experience.
“Parents not only worry about the price of day care, but a lot of times their kids are [also] being watched by high school kids and people with a small amount of experience,” Murray said. “There are really only a few options out there, and we are an attractive alternative.”
The school is open 12 months a year and offers summer camp for older children as well. Daily hours are from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. The summer camp runs June through August from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Flexible hours, experience and high levels of learning are just a few aspects that CGDS looks to offer parents. Murray said it is important for CGDS to offer parents a friendly environment and a more personal relationship with the school they are sending their children to.
“We are looking to do a very friendly, family atmosphere,” Murray said. “We get to know the parents and the children, not just as clients, but more as a friendly relationship that we are trying to build.”
The Children’s Garden Day School is hosting a grand opening open house on May 11, from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. Food and entertainment will be offered, along with the chance for parents and children to explore all that the school has to offer.
For more information, visit childrensgardendayschool.com or call (609) 587-2437.
