Welcome to The Garden


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Love

The Garden Cooperative Nursery School follows a non-violent, empathetic approach in interacting with children to create a safe, nurturing and caring environment.

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Nurture

We provide a social interactive curriculum, designed to support young children in language and social development, revolving around a diverse range of developmentally appropriate learning activities.

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Grow

Our primary goal is to promote a child’s self-value and gradual social independence by guiding their own evolving ability to discover inner strengths, solve problems and make decisions.

About the Garden Co-Op

We offer a mixed age program for children 2-5

Our program is outdoor and play-based

The curriculum is child-led and emergent

The Garden is a parent cooperative–parents have a weekly workday and family job

Our program is half-day– 9am-12:30pm

Our emphasis is on social emotional development

Mission

The mission of The Garden is to love, nurture and grow self-confident, empowered, emotionally intelligent, expressive, curious and capable children by cultivating an inspiring outdoor play-based environment with a variety of hands-on experiences and activities and providing rich opportunities for parent involvement and education.

Meet Our Staff

Lisa Anand

Lisa Anand

(she/her) joined The Garden Coop Nursery School community as a parent in 2007. While playing and getting to know all the kids on the yard, her passion for working with young children was born. After her younger son graduated, she earned her certificate in Early Childhood Education from UCLA and became a teacher at The Garden in 2012. She was thrilled to be named Director of the school in 2014, and subsequently completed additional administrative coursework to earn her California Child Development Program Director Permit.

Prior to working at The Garden, Lisa acquired a BA in French from UCLA and spent a year teaching in France after college. She also spent five years at Lanterman Regional Center as the Toy Loan and Play Program Coordinator facilitating play groups, Music Together classes, and special workshops for parents and their children with developmental disabilities. Lisa believes that the preschool years are some of the most amazing and rewarding, but knows they can also be challenging for parents. She is honored to share this journey with the Garden School families and offer them support and counsel.

Rebecca Espinoza

Rebecca Espinoza

(she/they) is a Los Angeles native and joined The Garden as an Associate Teacher in 2023. After graduating from Pasadena City College with an AA in Psychology, Rebecca transferred to Cal State Long Beach where she graduated with a BA in Psychology and a passion for conflict resolution. She is currently completing the Early Childhood Education program at UCLA.

Rebecca enjoys cooking, dancing, photography, and crafting of all kinds: from card making to paper flowers and more. She strongly believes in The Garden’s non-violent communication approach. She believes that modeling and encouraging children’s natural capacity for curiosity and empathy will give them the tools to develop stronger bonds throughout their lifetime. Rebecca is excited to share her creativity and passion for learning with the Garden community.

Elizabeth Franco

Elizabeth Franco

(she/her) joined The Garden as an Associate Teacher in 2024. She was born and raised in Los Angeles and brings over 15 years of experience working with children. She currently resides in Santa Monica with her husband, Mario and their son, Mateo (born in 2019). Her interest in working with young children was sparked while taking a Child Development course–she knew then that she wanted to pursue a career in the field. She received her BA in Child and Adolescent Development from Cal State University, Northridge in 2013.

Over the years, Liz has worked as a teacher in a day care center, an accountant, a nanny and a family assistant. She loves reading, traveling, dancing, photography, creating art and most of all learning.

She is grateful to have been introduced to The Garden, where children’s individuality is celebrated and given a safe place to thrive. She looks forward to getting to know the children and their families, providing support and nurturing children’s natural curiosity.

Substitute Teachers

Edlín Reconco

Edlín Reconco

(she/her) joined The Garden as a parent in the fall of 2017. After completing her practicum hours at The Garden, she joined the team as a part-time teacher in January of 2017. Edlín has a BA in Cultural Anthropology and an MA in Teaching from the University of California, Irvine. She also holds a Single-Subject Teaching Credential in Spanish and taught Spanish for six years at a local high school in Koreatown.

Edlín is excited to share her love of learning with children. She believes that all children are naturally curious about the world and eager to learn. A child’s early learning experiences and relationships impact their attitude toward learning later in life. She is thrilled to be in a school like The Garden where children form strong loving relationships in a safe place that honors their interests and needs.

Cristina Drake

Cristina Drake

(she/her) was born and raised in California. She attended UC Santa Cruz where she studied cultural anthropology and art history. After college she lived in Vancouver, New York, and London, working in the film industry. In 2010 Cristina moved back to California and began studying early childhood education at UCLA Extension. In 2012 she started working at The Garden Cooperative Nursery School.

Cristina is deeply committed to the philosophy of nonviolent communication and has embraced The Garden School culture. In 2017, she gave birth to her first child, Sonny. She returned to teaching part-time. In 2020, she had her second child, Louisa, who is now a student at the school. Cristina enjoys continuing her parenting journey at The Garden and serving as a substitute teacher as needed.

Yuliana Parada

Yuliana Parada

(she/her) joined The Garden as a parent in 2013. As a co-op parent, she shared an array of skills, passions, and traditions with the children, including Spanish language activities, geological enrichment, African drumming and dancing, capoeira, tortilla and tamale making, planting, and harvesting. She remained involved with the Garden community even after her children graduated.

Yuli studied geology at Pasadena City College and has a love of nature and the outdoors. She enjoys camping with her family and once hiked Mt. Whitney with fellow Garden parents. After completing her Associate Teacher Permit coursework at UCLA, she returned to The Garden in 2021 and brings curiosity, energy, and creativity to the classroom.

Our Philosophy

Our child development philosophy follows the theories of Jean Piaget and Erik Erikson. Over 50 years ago Jean Piaget, a Swiss developmental psychologist, established what is generally recognized as the foundation for current theory on children’s cognitive development. Several points are central to our philosophy:

• Observation is central to understanding children and identifying their level of development.
• In developing cognitive skills, children progress through stages and build upon their achievements in each previous stage.
• Experimentation and confirmation through repetition are central to the learning process.
• The process of each child’s development is unique to each child and dependent upon his or her mastery of each developmental step.

Activities

Learn
Child-led Learning

A group of parents work with our teachers to generate a wide range of experiences and discovery-based learning opportunities. We follow an emergent and child-led model to encourage children’s natural curiosity and foster a love of learning.

“If it hasn’t been in the Hand, the Body and the Heart…it can’t be in the Brain.” — Bev Bos

Play
Play-based Yard

Our program is entirely play-based and child-led. Our yard provides ample opportunity for dramatic play, gross and fine motor activities, creative expression and discovery in a multi-age setting.

Art
Art Activities

The art projects are process- rather than product-oriented so that children may explore different mediums and express themselves freely.

Music
Music Together

Musical instruments are available throughout the day and a few days a week our Director, Lisa, leads a Music Together enrichment during circle time.

Sensory
Sensory Play

Our program includes a large variety of sensory activities for kids to explore.

Membership

Applications for Fall 2024 Enrollment are now closed for the 2024-2025 school year.

How to Apply for Fall 2025:

The Garden Nursery School serves children ages two through five (at least 2 by September 1st of the entering school year).

1) Attend one of our upcoming school tours in the Fall. 

September 27, 2024 | 2:00-3:00 PM

November 22, 2024 | 2:00 – 3:00 PM

January 24, 2025 | 2:00 – 3:00 PM

Register for a tour here.

2) If interested, complete and submit an application by January 31, 2025.

Click here for the application.

3) In February, we will follow up with an application fee and schedule an interview.

4) Offers of membership will be made in early March.

Please email Jen, membership chair, with any questions.

peeps@thegarden.la

Scholarships

Scholarships are available. Click here for the scholarship application.
If you submit a scholarship application, you must submit the main application as well to be considered for enrollment.

2024-2025 Tuition

Tuition Fees (Paid Sept. – July, 11 months)

$364 per month for three days per week
$411 per month for four days per week
$459 per month for five days per week

Afternoon Enrichment (second- and third-year students only): $86 for 1 day, $172 for 2 days

Tuition for siblings will be discounted 10% during the time both children are in attendance. The fundraising requirement remains per child.

 

Contact Us

The Garden Nursery School
3602 Eagle Rock Blvd.
Los Angeles CA 90065
424-319-0065

For Enrollment and Admission information: peeps@thegarden.la

Fundraising information: fundraising@thegarden.la

NOTICE OF NONDISCRIMINATORY POLICY AS TO STUDENTS The Garden Cooperative Nursery School admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs.