01
Play is the curriculum
Each day opens with a question the children asked yesterday. We chase it with paint, water, cardboard and a lot of patience.
Enrolling for autumn · Ages 6 wks – 5 yrs
Where little
ideas get loud.
Child's Play is a daycare and preschool on Marigold Lane. Muddy boots, long projects, small groups, and teachers who write down what your child says.
- 12
- years on Marigold Lane
- 1:4
- infant teacher ratio
- 58
- children, four rooms
- 2 hrs
- outdoors every day
Studio MondaysGarden clubMusic & movementStory circleKitchen-cooked lunchesField studyRest & quietBuilding cornerStudio MondaysGarden clubMusic & movementStory circleKitchen-cooked lunchesField studyRest & quietBuilding corner
Three things we never
compromise on
02
Outside, rain or shine
Two hours of outdoor time every day across the garden, the mud kitchen and the tree-shaded climbing yard.
03
Small groups, close attention
One teacher per four infants and one per seven preschoolers, so first steps and first jokes don't go unnoticed.
The rhythm
A day, roughly
Predictable rhythms, unpredictable ideas. The schedule bends around the children rather than the clock, but this is the shape of most days.
Compare programs →- 07:00Slow arrivals, low light, soft music
- 08:30Breakfast at the long table
- 09:15Morning meeting and the wonder wall
- 10:00Outdoor block — garden, yard, walk
- 12:00Family-style lunch
- 13:00Rest, books and lullabies
- 14:30Studio: art, music, building
- 16:00Free play and goodbyes
Inside the building
Photographs from an ordinary week — nothing staged, nothing tidied first.
From our families
Our daughter ran to the door every morning. By spring she was naming every bird in the garden and negotiating snack diplomacy.
The daily notes are so specific it feels like we never left. They noticed he loved pouring water and built a whole week around it.
Warm, loud in the best way, and genuinely organised. Moving up to kindergarten was a non-event — he was ready.
Come hear how loud
joy actually is.
Tours run Tuesdays and Thursdays at 9:30. Bring your child — they'll be busy within four minutes.
Book your tour