Admissions
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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Careers
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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Let's play
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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    safety

  • We hold our school to the highest safety, cleanliness and maintenance standards. The building is accessible via a single-entry security system with keypad access. There's daily sign in and out for each child. And we follow strict parent/guardian identification procedures. We also regularly inspect our building and playground to ensure that your child is safe and secure with us.

  • inside

    outside

    safety

  • We designed our playground to appeal to your child’s boundless curiosity. There’s a greenhouse and raised beds for growing flowers and vegetables. Outdoor instruments like drums and marimbas for creating an imaginary band. A stage for putting on plays. And sand and shallow water areas for digging and making sand castles. All of our outdoor activities balance teacher-led instruction with plenty of free play.

  • inside

    outside

    safety

  • The Grove School's building was deliberately redesigned to foster increased learning while being environmentally conscious. We use natural light wherever possible, which improves concentration and conserves energy. Recycled rubber flooring, sustainably harvested materials and low-VOC paint make the school a healthy place to learn while reducing our impact on the planet. We also filter both the air and water.

 
 
 

This is video of Ms. Sue and some of her Pre-K students in our outdoor grove. The students have just completed two weeks of study on plants. On Tuesday, March 30, 10:30a-12p and 4p-6p, we are hosting our Spring Flower Round Up. Everyone is invited.  A schedule of the events can be found below the video.

Schedule for the Spring Flower Round Up
The following schedule will be used for both our 10:30a and 4p start times:

  • Gathering - songs, a book
  • Spring Flower Obstacle Course – the children will follow the course, collect the flower parts (roots, stems, leaves,blossoms) and then assemble them at the end.  Takes place in the outdoor grove.
  • Snack - fruit flowers made with fresh, organic fruit
  • Tissue paper sunflowers and flower holders
  • Closing - songs and info packet

We will also have opportunities for parents and friends to tour our facility.  This is also the last push for our “March Madness” registration fee incentive.  Ask for details!

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I am excited to let you know that on Tuesday, March 30th we are hosting the Spring Flower “Round Up” from 10:30a to 12:00p and from 4:00p to 6:00p.  This is fitting since our students have just finished their unit on plants.

Take advantage of this opportunity to visit the school, meet the teachers and to “plant your child” in a fresh, new early education program that supports the development of healthy minds, healthy bodies and a healthy planet.

At The Grove School of Cary, families who register in March can waive the one-time registration fee!

We provide for all of your child’s educational needs and values, all part of our program, with no additional fees applied.

Join us for our play dates as our teachers are prepared to welcome you and your child into their classrooms and to involve everyone in the activities, both inside and out.

We have immediate openings and we are also enrolling for The Grove School Summer Program, An Eco-Adventure and for our fall preschool program.

If you would like more information, please give us a call at 919-467-6494.   Bring your friends!   I sure hope to see you there.

 

 

***UPDATED 3/26 with new photos. ***

Spring is here. Not only are we excited because of the lovely weather, but we are thrilled because of the great teaching and learning going on in our classrooms.

This post shows photos and videos from our preschool classroom. They are in the middle of their PLANTS unit of study. As part of their work, they have been planting flowers, making a flower shop and studying the life cycle of plants.

They also have been planting and caring for the vegetables and herbs in our organic garden. This first photo shows an art project that they have worked on everyday during the unit. Look carefully and you will see the petals of a flower. When done, these petals will be peeled off, leaving behind their impression on the paper. The petals will then be posted as well.

The next photo shows the “flower shop” in the classroom. The remaining photos show a flannel board, a vase of flowers, the word wall that goes with this unit, and some organic carrots the students are growing.

The video that is at the bottom shows a student independently using the flannel board to describe the plant life cycle. Listen carefully and keep in mind the words and pronunciation are those of a three year old. Note how he works to sequence the components of the life cycle.

His description was based along activity in his class where Ms. Alli covered, in a variety of ways, the components of the plant’s life cycle. I visited one day when she was using the smart board to draw a cross section of what a plant looks like both above and below the ground. She had the students help her draw the roots which were under ground.

Check out the video too…remember to listen carefully.

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I found this interesting question on Ask Mr. Dad and thought I would share it with you. I have had this same experience, but never knew the science behind its cause. Ahh, the many wonders of diaper changing!!!!

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I had a busy Saturday today. First thing this morning, I attended the Push the Pace 5K run to support pediatric brain tumor research. It was well attended even though it was a soggy morning at the park. We provided organic fruit for the runners to enjoy. Of course, I took some video, so watch below.

The Grove School also participated in the Spring Garden Party hosted by the Garden Supply Company. This was a wonderful indoor and outdoor event that provided many fun activities. We were there with one of our sensory tables filled with sand and “fossils” for children to discover. We also provided a little planter with soil and some vegetable feeds. We will be there for the next week as well. Come by and see us. Also, take a look at the video below.

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Image from The Meadow's Edge

The air is warming, bright green fringes the trees and there’s a fresh, clean smell after it rains. Ah, spring! That means it’s time to get outside and celebrate new growth.

Join us at the Garden Supply Company from March 13 to 20th. Stop by for seeds, veggie starts and a chat with the staff of The Grove School.

We’ll be there every day from 11-3 to answer your questions about the school, our summer program, story times and play dates, gardening with children and whatever else is on your mind. We’ll also run a video of the school’s unique features like the smartboards, greenhouse, planter boxes and outdoor classroom area.

Plus there’s stuff for the kids to do. They can dig for fossils and take home a brightly decorated pot with seeds and soil to start a mini-garden on a sunny windowsill.

We hope to meet you there!

Details:

Garden Supply, Co. (map)
1421 Old Apex Road
Sat 3/13 thru Sat 3/20
11-3 PM every day

As our Education Manager in Cary, Sarah supports the teachers in implementing curriculum and individualizing instruction to meet the needs of every student. She's been a teacher trainer and curriculum specialist for the last 5 years, and in education as a teacher for 10. Her family includes a husband and 3 children. Sarah loves to garden, sing, and most of all, meet new people.

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We had our first sanitation inspection today since we’ve opened the doors. You may not know, but these inspections are unannounced. Our inspector came today around 1:00. He visited our kitchen, every classroom and even our outdoor classroom. He checked water temperatures, cleaning practices, safety of chemicals and equipment, and even inspected our composting bin.

He said we did very well and we received the highest rating of SUPERIOR. We almost had a perfect score. The only thing we lost 2 points on was for the spray bottles we use in our restrooms and diapering tables. It turns out that we mixed the bleach at the incorrect concentration. The good news about this is that he let us know of a new product that was approved by the state that does not contain bleach. Many of our parents have expressed concern over the use of bleach. I have recently discovered that I am allergic to bleach, so on a personal level, I am thrilled.

When he left, he said we have a wonderful facility and was very impressed with our school. I was just glad the inspection was over and that we performed well. We will have another one the last half of the year.

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In my daily interactions with the children in my care I often refer to the class as a “team”. The children respond to this in such a positive way.

We are a little family in our preschool classroom. A community of three, four and five year old boys and girls, learning through socialization how to be a friend, appreciate each other’s differences and similarities and respect the people and the world around us.

A child’s sense of self comes from the support of the adults in his or her life.

As a teacher, I know I play an important role in helping children deal with every day feelings in their world. I know that each child is an individual. I speak to each child with respect and interest, always addressing them by name and asking them to do the same for me. I happily greet each child as they walk into the room each day and follow up with friendly conversation with their parents too. While these gestures come naturally, I know too that I am modeling for the children the basics of socialization and communication each and every day.

I support the children in their efforts to communicate, helping with words and accepting their feelings as they develop the ability to grow and make sense of the world. The use of positive language, so crucial when speaking to children, builds a trusting relationship with each child.

In the preschool classroom, children learn to develop social skills to help them work and play, take the initiative and cooperate with those around them. Sharing, taking turns, respect for others and friendship is modeled by the adults in our school.

There are very simple and direct rules to follow in my preschool classroom…be kind, be safe and be the best friend you can be.

I assist the children in verbalizing their needs in a socially acceptable way. I encourage the children to be kind, caring and show empathy to all and thus find a room full of multi-tasking, problem solving children with a real sense of pride and accomplishment in who they are and what they can do.

For me, it is truly rewarding to see the mastering of skills in each and every child as they blossom and grow into bright and independent thinkers at The Grove School and beyond.

Susan has been married for 27 years to her husband, Barry, and is the mother of three daughters. Caring, teaching and loving them has reinforced her desire to be an educator of young children. She has over 20 years experience working with young children.

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Wow! What a fun day! I thoroughly enjoyed working with our two Pre-K students. I think they enjoyed it too. We spend a good portion of the day learning about video production, enunciation and communication. I hope you enjoy it. Leave a comment and let me know your thoughts.

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The last week in February marked our grand opening celebrations at both Cary and Plano. I had the privilege of attending both events, which made for an exciting, energetic, and (slightly) exhausting week! The schools were in top-notch shape, the faculty was energized, parents were wowed and children were laughing, playing, running, stretching, dancing, and posing (for yoga, that is).

The one word that truly embodies the spirit of that week for me is passion. Every single person who has become a part of our community has done so because they are passionately invested in what The Grove School stands for. Take Dr. Shefali Parmar for example, one of our parents who is also a pediatrician. She spoke at The Grove School of Cary about the importance of children’s health, and gave other parents a great list of things to do for their children to ensure an all-around healthy lifestyle. As I listened to her workshop, I found myself taking notes to use at home for my daughter.

Another great example is Stephanie from Stretch-n-Grow, who at The Grove School of Plano took children through a set of exercises and an obstacle course, all while teaching them the names of various muscle groups. I loved hearing the class of 3-year olds pronounce “trapezius” in unison!

Or, take Ms Ali at The Grove School of Cary, who I personally watched scrape the ORTs from her plate into a bin for composting, and then recycle her plastic plate. Talk about passion!

To me, meeting these folks just helped to reinforce that we’re all here not because it’s a job, or because it’s a convenient place to take our kids. We’re here because we all truly believe in a similar set of ideals, and are passionate about living them out (personally, professionally, or through our children). Of course, I’m no exception. While traveling, I managed to successfully adhere to my diet which consists of lean meats, fruits and veggies, and specific fats (and excludes grains, gluten, legumes, dairy, and heavy starches – check out the Paleo Diet). I also managed to seek out a local CrossFit affiliate, where I train back home 5 times per week. My coworkers gently kid that I’m obsessed.

It’s was great to spend a week amongst such passionate people. But most importantly, it was great to see children getting such a great educational experience at the school. When we sought out to build The Grove School, our goal was simply to create the best preschool a family could ask for. After being there and witnessing such amazing educational experiences, I can confidently label The Grove School “best” in any category.

Dan steers our business development. As the father of a toddler and a conscientious consumer, he's energized by The Grove School's focus on high-quality education and the triple-bottom line (social and environmental responsibility in tandem with profitability).

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