The Garden Community Preschool

Our Teachers

Melissa Cady has been working with children professionally since 2006 as an early childhood educator but in practice she has been training for this work her whole life.  As long as she can remember she has had an innate ability to understand the needs and feelings of even the very youngest children. Following some work with young adults as a campus organizer after college she found a job working in early childhood education and hasn’t looked back. Since that time she has been a preschool teacher, administrator and director but her true love is being hands on with children facilitating play and extending learning opportunities. She is driven to learn alongside children and is particularly excited by the constantly developing field of research on brain development and how young children learn. She has continued her education after college by adding classes in all aspects of early childhood education, research and administration until she became qualified to be a site supervisor through the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing. 

While in college she majored in Community Studies, an interdisciplinary major drawing on both sociology and anthropology in the study of the community.  She spent a large portion of her college and post-college time working with community organizations driven towards social justice and community change.  Though she has now left the field of organizing she has found an equally important avenue to promoting a positive future for all.  Children with positive early learning experiences will become more productive members of our community, actively participating in creating a better world.

Testimonials

“We started leaving our 18mo old son here a few months ago. Melissa is incredible! I looked st numerous daycare/preschool settings and am driving from Walnut Creek to come here. It’s worth it! She has wonderful hands on projects, outdoor play, sensory materials, her home is clean, babyproof, toddler proof…I could go on and on!” - Sarah J.; Yelp.com

“Yelp doesn’t has enough stars to represent the excellence of the care Melissa provides.  She has a very loving, gentle, and adaptable approach and genuinely cares about the families she’s working with.  We have entrusted her with the care our two children from birth to age 4 and will continue to do so as our family grows. If you’re looking for a place where your child(ren) can develop naturally at at their own pace in a stimulating but not overwhelming environment look no further.  I’m confident that any child (and parent) would be delighted to call the Garden Child a home away from home.” - Ola R.; Yelp.com

Philosophy

Play is the highest form of research. -Albert Einstein

By now most parents have heard Maria Montessori’s famous quote “play is the work of the child.” What exactly is play in the context of an early childhood environment? At The Garden we learn through play. This learning is facilitated through a carefully prepared environment in which children are able to explore, discover, predict, create, test and manipulate ideas, objects and materials.  This learning is extended by carefully observing the children’s work and adding supportive materials that will expand on their interests.  We put a strong emphasis on following the child.  Instead of planning the week ahead planning time is used to reflect on the self-directed play that has been occurring.  Planning revolves around how to best extend and support this self-directed play.  Contrary to the traditional classroom where a particular shape or letter is studied each week a child-led curriculum allows the child to deeply explore their interests.  Countries that focus on this sort of developmentally appropriate curriculum consistently place among the highest scorers worldwide in international student performance.  

At The Garden we practice _emergent curriculum. _This type of curriculum is often attributed to the Reggio Emilia schools in Italy and focuses on planning based on the needs and interests of the child.  It is curriculum that is fluid, using observation and reflection to evolve along with the child.  Though emergent curriculum begins with the child there are many other sources a teacher draws inspiration from. Curriculum is influenced heavily by the physical environment, the developmental level of the child, people in the social environment and the caregiving tasks that happen on a regular basis. It is child-led yet it depends heavily on teacher initiative and intuition. It is a curriculum that is co-constructed by the adults and the children in the environment.      

How does this work in practice?  A child who has an interest in racing small cars across the floor will be given materials to build race tracks.  As they build the tracks they use complex mathematical and engineering skills to accomplish their goals. They may join with others to create their track encouraging prosocial behavior, collaboration and cooperation.  Once the track is built there maybe a chute that the car will fly down giving the child a foundational knowledge of physics through hands on experience with gravity and velocity.  Following this experience the child may want to invite people to see his race necessitating pens, paper and perhaps written examples of what tickets would say.  Now he is working on his pre-literacy and language skills.  He uses the executive functions of his brain as he plans, strategizes and organizes his thoughts to accomplish his goal. This is play and emergent curriculum in action. 

A child at The Garden will spend their time expanding their interests, building foundations for the future and learning how to learn leaving them ideally situated for future learning experiences as they grow.

About our program

The Garden is a full service preschool offering high-quaility, responsive, respectful, caregiving rooted in the philosophies of Reggio Emilia.  We have created a safe, clean, calm environment where children are able to learn at their own pace while advancing their development through interactions with peers, children of mixed ages and loving teachers.  Our small class size and low ratio allow us to explore the world, going for walks, enjoying the park or even picking out ingredients at a local grocery store. Parents can rest assured knowing that we will meet your child where they are developmentally, enhancing and enriching their play through observation and careful planning.  Our emergent curriculum is play based, child-led and teacher supported.

We care for toddlers and preschoolers, however we are currently enrolling for students over the age of 24 months. The Garden provides one snack and lunch daily.  The Garden is conveniently located near downtown Concord and the Concord BART. We are open from 8:30 am until 3:00 pm Monday through Friday with varying schedules available to suit your needs. We are so excited to be able to share our love of teaching and child development with you and your children.  

Sample Weekly Menu

We strive to provide balanced meals that are both kid friendly and nutritionally sound.  When possible we choose organic and locally grown options.  We always serve organic milk.  Our meals meet or exceed the guidelines for the federal Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP)

Monday- AM Snack: Whole Grain Crackers, Cheese; Lunch: Grilled Cheese, Strawberries, Broccoli, Milk

Tuesday- AM Snack: Peaches, Homemade Muffins; Lunch: Bean and Cheese Burritos, Grapes, Green Beans, Milk 

Wednesday- AM Snack: Graham Crackers, Bananas; Lunch: Pasta with white beans, Carrots, Strawberries, Milk

Thursday- AM Snack: Whole Wheat Pancakes, Berries; Lunch: English Muffin Pizzas, Broccoli, Grapes, Milk

Friday- AM Snack: Yogurt, Berries; Lunch:Peanut Butter and Jelly, Peas, Apples, Milk

Admissions

Join the The Garden Community Preschool community in four easy steps:

1. Explore our website

We’ve provided information about our philosophies and offerings to help you decide if our program may be right for your family.

2. Tour our school

Come see what makes The Garden Community Preschool unique. Please schedule a tour by filling out the “Schedule Tour” form.

3. Submit an Enrollment Application

If you would like to enroll, please submit an application at www.wonderschool.com/thegarden/apply – Please note that we require tours for all prospective families. Please do not submit an application if you have not toured.

4. Enroll

After reviewing your application, we’ll send an enrollment invitation. Upon accepting your invitation, you’ll pay your deposit (usually equal to one month’s tuition), fill out enrollment documents and review our Parent Handbook.