Learning through doing in a safe, natural setting
Voted one of the top 3 preschools in Sussex County in the NJ Herald’s Best of Sussex County Community Choice awards!
Full time, part time, & half day options available
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Full time, part time, & half day options available ⋆
6 Acres of Room to Play
We are lucky to have 6 beautiful wooded acres on a hilltop overlooking scenic Sparta Glen. We have 2 playgrounds, open play fields, 2 sandboxes, and a scooter & trike area.
Curriculum
We use the Creative Curriculum, an evidence-based hands-on, play-based curriculum filled with fun, center-based studies which promote growth, curiosity, creativity, cooperation, problem-solving, and academic learning in the areas of language/literacy, physical & socio/emotional health, science, math, creative arts, and social studies. We supplement this curriculum with the Handwriting Without Tears program in our pre-K classes to further enhance kindergarten readiness.
Experienced Educators
Each classroom is staffed with an experienced, mature lead teacher who has a degree in early childhood education, child development, or related field and a teacher’s assistant (most of whom are similarly credentialed, or are working toward similar credentials).
Our Philosophy
The whole child approach. We believe a child’s need to explore their world through nature, play, and the arts is sacred. Our goal is to instill a lifelong love of learning. Supporting a child’s socio-emotional and interpersonal development to promote self-confidence, resilience, kindness, and empathy is equally important to us as school readiness at Garden Grove.
Our nurturing & experienced staff of educators, beautiful campus, small class sizes/low student-teacher ratios, experiential learn and play zones, and standards of excellence truly make us different.
Our goal is for you to feel totally comfortable entrusting your child with us while they are in our care, and that they will be safe and nurtured physically, educationally, and emotionally at all times. We believe including and involving parents in our school as much as possible is a key component to children’s health during this key developmental stage, and as such, we consider each enrolled child’s family an extension of our school family.
What you will NOT find at GG
Large Class Sizes. Our classes range in size from 8-14 children with 2 teachers in each room. Because of this, children at GG receive lots of individualized attention and work in small groups which allows our teachers to better meet their individualized needs and have closer bonds with the children.
Staff Turnover. We prioritize supporting our teachers by providing and encouraging healthy work-life balance and have a dedicated team of mature and experienced educators as a result. Our least experienced lead teacher has 10 years of experience in the field; all of our lead teachers have degrees in early childhood education related fields, and most of our teachers assistants are working toward degrees in the field as well.
Artificial Grass/Turf. We are located on a hilltop set far back off the road on 6 acres. Our school property is heavily wooded. We have 2 playgrounds, 2 sandboxes, and large grassy areas for playing soccer and old-school lawn games like duck duck goose and red light green light. GG children don’t have to cross busy roads or parking lots to access classrooms or play areas, and we are not located in and among other businesses in a strip mall. GG children play and explore in nature every single day. They get dirty, study plants, animals, bugs, caterpillars and butterflies; they pick flowers and collect pinecones, acorns, and rocks.
Big Kids & Big Kid Things. The maximum age of the children who attend GG during the school year is 6 years and 8 years during summer camp. Our building and all of our play spaces, classrooms and bathrooms are designed with this age group in mind. We don’t have smart boards, and we don’t allow the children to use ipads, computers or chrome books. All of the learning that happens at GG is hands-on, and we encourage children to problem-solve, create, and use their imagination. The early childhood period is magical, and at GG we work to preserve children’s innocence as long as possible.
Parent Involvement
We are excited to regularly share your child’s progress with you via our parent/guardian communication tool in our school management software app, as well as during conferences twice per year. Active communication between teachers and families allows for collaboration. Our staff go out of their way to form relationships with our parents, and we invite parents to our campus to participate in special events and volunteer opportunities throughout the year.
