Curious Gardeners is open weekdays from 8:30am – 4:00pm.

At Curious Gardeners we believe that a predictable, consistent routine is important for children to feel safe and secure, and that when children feel secure, they are more able to learn and willing to explore the world around them. With this in mind, our daily rhythm described below is meant to be a guide that provides that security while also allowing the flexibility for our open-ended, play-based curriculum to best meet the group’s needs and interests.

Activities Additional Details
8:30 – 9:30 Arrival. Open-ended inside play We set up one art or sensory invitation and one cooking invitation that the kids can choose to engage in at this time. They can also choose to engage with any open-ended classroom materials.
9:30 – 10:15/ 10:30 Clean-up, Dance Party, Circle Time Activity, Bathroom/ Wash Hands, Morning Snack Morning circle covers a wide variety of topics including self-care, social-emotional learning, language development, and food education. See our private social media pages for examples of circle time activities!
10:15/10:30 – 11:30 Open-ended Outside Play Our outdoor space is stocked with large loose parts that respond to our students’ imaginations and allow them to create gross motor challenges that are just right for their comfort levels. Natural materials like water, sand, bark chips, and herbs are available for use in the mud kitchen. Sometimes we set up outside invitations: Bubbles, water beads, chalk, obstacle courses, staging pretend play scenarios. These are always optional. Blocks and art materials are also always available on the porch.
11:30 – 11:50 Garden Time Sometimes we invite children to participate in a specific garden task, but it is always optional. Most of the year, various veggies are available for munching straight from the garden! Time spent around growing food is valuable!
11:50 – 12:15 Outside: Game Time, Terrific Tasters, Circle Time Activity. Bathroom/ Wash Hands “Game time” is a group gross motor activity. During “Terrific Tasters,” we taste the food we prepared at the cooking table that morning together. Circle time focuses on our monthly curricular theme! The goal of these themes is to take a deep dive into a topic, inspiring curiosity and getting kids excited about learning. Themes include things Oceans, Human Body, Music, Outer Space, Fall, Geology, Plants, Dinosaurs, Love, Bugs, etc!
12:15 – 12:45 Lunch A vegetarian lunch is provided! We include as many organic options and foods from the garden as possible. We have the same five protein/grain combinations weekly, as evidence shows having a familiar food available makes children more likely to taste new fruits and veggies.
12:45 – 1:00 “Calm Body” Play Inside open-ended play, but only calmer options are available – books, puzzles, and drawing – as we settle our bodies for cozy time.
1:00 – 1:15 Clean Up, Read a Book Together
1:15 – 2:15 Cozy Time 20 minutes of rest time for everyone, followed by 40 minutes of quiet activities for kids who are not sleeping. Options: Coloring, looking at books, playing with stuffies or fidget toys.
2:15 – 2:30 Bathroom/ Wash Hands/ Afternoon Snack Outside For kids who do not nap or do not attend after-care
2:30 Pick-up (for students not attending after care) Parents will come through gate on the north side of the house to pick up.
2:30 – 4:00 After-care: Bathroom/ Wash Hands, Afternoon Snack Outside. Open-ended Outside Play We wake up children who sleep at 3:00. Parents will come through the classroom to pick up children in the backyard.