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Hopefully you've looked around and The Grove School feels like a great place for your child. Fantastic! We’d love to meet up with you in person, answer your questions and tell you more first hand. Shoot us an e-mail or give us a call and we’ll get back to you shortly.
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We're looking for rare individuals. Teachers with degrees in early childhood or environmental education and a fire in the belly to make a difference. Administrators with a head for business and a heart for helping children reach their full potential. People who are so invested that they'll stay with us for years, growing and developing our educational community. Is that you?
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Kids learn through play, but what about the grown ups? The Grove School is a playground for everyone. Join the fun!
(Psst, you can move the colored circles with your mouse.)
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Winter holidays are a great time to start a family tradition of giving back to the earth and instilling the values of sustainable living in your children. Here are three suggestions.

Buy a living Christmas tree. Ball-BurlapTreesA potted or balled tree (roots still attached) can be replanted in your backyard or donated to the parks department. Planting a small tree together as a family also offsets the loss of a tree. Learn more about caring for living Christmas tree here or from LivingChristmasTree.org.









Take a family nature hike. winter trailA peaceful walk through nature on Christmas day will be remembered and valued more than the score of the football game. Pick a local place such as an arboretum or nature preserve that you can return to throughout the year and watch the seasons change. Or volunteer an hour helping to clean up or enhance the trail. This introduces children to volunteering and acknowledges nature as a source of our well-being.




Decorate a tree for the birds. Chickadees1-2009-01-main_Full In addition to ribbons or popcorn garland, place seed bells, suet or pine cones with peanut butter on any tree in your yard. It’s preferable to find a tree in the open where cats can be seen easily by the birds. This is a great activity for kids because it connects them with the world outside their window. Plus it offers an important food source for birds during the winter.

Ideas from Eartheasy.

Britt is the editor of The Grove School website. She's got 15 years of writing and editing experience, a 6 year old daughter, a garden and a healthy obsession with all things green.

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See how the interior of the school is coming together and preview our amazing outdoor classroom.

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While in Washington, D.C. last month, we had the opportunity to meet with several members of Congress and their staffs. Every senator and congressman we sat down with understood the importance of a child’s early years, and showed real appreciation for what Knowledge Universe and other providers do to serve children and families. Most of the members had championed important early childhood education programs in their respective states when they held state office.

Early childhood education works because of partnerships. The education and care we provide to young children is part of a community effort to ensure quality experiences for all children. In turn, our school-readiness emphasis at The Grove School not only benefits the children we serve, but the schools and school systems that will serve these same children down the road. Together, The Grove School, families, primary schools, local, state and national policy makers, and community organizations are all partners in creating a world of educated and curious children who are primed for a lifetime of success.

Community is fundamental to The Grove School, and we are eager to join the communities of Cary, NC and Plano, TX. We are looking forward to meeting those of you in Cary and Plano over the coming weeks and learning more about what makes these places so special for children.

David is our guru of community partnerships. He's the one bonding at the local level with families, schools, groups and businesses. Ever the amiable fellow, he has a background in non-profit resource development, fundraising, government and public relations, and policy analysis.

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Push-Along_Small_DuckWith toys, a little bit of research goes a long way. Try to shop locally when you can and ask questions about the contents of the toys and the manufacturing process.


Plan Toys are widely available. These are made out of organic rubber wood, non-toxic glue and water based dye. The company has a strong environmental stance. My child has several of these toys. They are indestructible and really cute.





Green Toys are toys made out of recycled milk jugs in California.




And Healthy Child has a good list of “green” toys/manufacturers. They also have good tips for reducing, reusing and recycling during the holidays.

Regan is a communication and events specialist with Knowledge Universe. She advises us on environmental issues with expertise in child care center operations and the Eco-Healthy child care provider endorsement process. She has a young daughter and a passion for decreasing children's exposure to environmental hazards and toxins.

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wrapped-presentsWrapped presents don’t have to be pretty for kids or even wrapped for that matter. Consider not wrapping presents or using paper bags to wrap presents. You can involve the kids in having them decorate the wrapped presents with crayons or markers. Or reuse drawings they’ve made on scrap paper.

For younger children, remember that the packaging is often more interesting as the actual present. Don’t be hasty in throwing away boxes and used paper. These items can lead to meaningful play in the days following the holiday, from playing with the different textures of ribbons and paper to making “art” out of the leftover pieces!

Regan is a communication and events specialist with Knowledge Universe. She advises us on environmental issues with expertise in child care center operations and the Eco-Healthy child care provider endorsement process. She has a young daughter and a passion for decreasing children's exposure to environmental hazards and toxins.

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Sustainability. The word is everywhere, but what does it really mean? How can we get past all the green washing, green bling, green this or green that to understand what sustainability means in our everyday lives?

I like the UN definition of sustainability:  to “meet present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs” (WECD, 1987 UN conference). This definition helps me keep my kids and their future in mind as I go through my day. Not that I think about sustainability every minute of the day, but it reminds me that there is no magical solution. There are, however, decisions I can make right now that will make a difference. It means that sustainability isn’t just about “stuff,” but about community, choices, design and the world around us.

The Grove School’s focus on community is such a wonderful embodiment of the word sustainability. Check out our local events and meet the fantastic staff and teachers who are part of The Grove School community.

Serena manages print production for us. She is also the mother of 2 teenagers, and a certified Master Recycler performing volunteer community outreach on sustainability and recycling.

 

 

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