Explore Our Play Grove
A garden enrichment program for 3 to 5 year olds
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Play Grove is a garden enrichment program designed for 3-5 year olds located here in San Luis Obispo at our central garden on Laureate Lane. As an extension of One Cool Earth’s seasoned learning model, we know that children grow best when learning outside through play. We are a nature-based and place-based enrichment program. This means we use the environment as our guide as we play, grow, create art, garden, and learn together. Play Grove allows young children to access this experience alongside enthusiastic playworkers in a nature-based environment.
Here are the details:
Interested in getting started with the Play Grove? Click the button down below! 
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Children will experience:
- Intentional, emergent curriculum that is guided by children's curiosity and exploration
- Nature-based connection in a beautiful garden setting at the base of Cerro San Luis
- High-quality, play-based curriculum with guidance from seasoned playworkers
- A low student to playworker ratio of 1:5
- Fun and joy - by infusing joy into all of our practices, children see the Play Grove as a fun and exciting place to be!
- Free play, prescribed games, intentional curriculum, art, and projects that are infused with laughter, curiosity and excitement.
- An introduction to gardening, harvesting, preserving, seed saving, preparing fruits and veggies, drying flowers and more!
Through nature-play they will develop:
- A deeper sense of curiosity as they ask questions to connect to plants and animals
- Confidence in their own sense of self
- Establishing a connection to a place overtime and connecting to the land which leads to a sense of belonging and trust in life needed to thrive
- The start of their learning process of recognizing letters, numbers, colors, and shapes (shapes found in the natural world, counting olives, etc)
- Language skills (in rhythms, rhymes, singing songs and storytelling) that prepare children for the next step in their learning journey
- Outdoor readiness skills (such as understanding hazards and looking out for each other) to prepare them for outdoor adventures
Our Curriculum Approach:
At the Play Grove, our days are centered around the children, using an emergent curriculum approach. Emergent curriculum is a process where our playworkers plan activities based on the specific needs of the children they are working with, taking into account their skills, needs, and interests. Children get the opportunity to engage in artistic play, imaginative play, risky play (with careful guidance of playworkers), musical play (with handmade instruments), collaborative play, and individual play. We encourage children to seek out new things and new experiences, such as getting their hands dirty, engaging in risky play, or tasting a new fruit or veggie. Our mornings might consist of making mud pies, saving seeds, watching birds, or creating art out of fallen leaves. Our wonderful garden space is part of our nature-based and place-based curriculum, allowing children to strengthen their connections with the environment.
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Pricing |
Daily Flow |
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For Pricing information, please go to our Pricing Page
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For more information about the daily Play Grove Schedule, go to our Daily Flow Page
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Meet our Playworkers!
Marly Miller
Lead Playworker
Marly hails from San Francisco, California where she saw the value of outdoor education in her schools and spent hours in Golden Gate park building forts. She attended Cal Poly SLO where she was the Chapter Director of Sprout Up, an environmental education program, and graduated with a degree in Liberal Studies and a minor in Child Development. During her time at Cal Poly she taught preschoolers at Camp EDMO, an art summer camp, for four summers. She went on to teach third grade for two years where she enjoyed raising butterflies with her class. Through teaching she earned her multiple subject teaching credential and focused on children’s social emotional learning. As a garden educator with One Cool Earth she has been developing gardening and outdoor education skills. This passion for learning with children outside has led her to the role of Lead Playworker with Playgrove. She is ecstatic to begin playing with children outdoors and finds children’s curiosity and creativity infectious. To Marly there is nothing better than trying fruits and veggies and making art outside with kiddos! She loves growing wildflowers, roller skating, reading, thrift shopping, playing with her cat, and is currently learning how to sew!
Lead Playworker
Marly hails from San Francisco, California where she saw the value of outdoor education in her schools and spent hours in Golden Gate park building forts. She attended Cal Poly SLO where she was the Chapter Director of Sprout Up, an environmental education program, and graduated with a degree in Liberal Studies and a minor in Child Development. During her time at Cal Poly she taught preschoolers at Camp EDMO, an art summer camp, for four summers. She went on to teach third grade for two years where she enjoyed raising butterflies with her class. Through teaching she earned her multiple subject teaching credential and focused on children’s social emotional learning. As a garden educator with One Cool Earth she has been developing gardening and outdoor education skills. This passion for learning with children outside has led her to the role of Lead Playworker with Playgrove. She is ecstatic to begin playing with children outdoors and finds children’s curiosity and creativity infectious. To Marly there is nothing better than trying fruits and veggies and making art outside with kiddos! She loves growing wildflowers, roller skating, reading, thrift shopping, playing with her cat, and is currently learning how to sew!
Leila Daniel
Director of Education, Co-Playworker
Leila Daniel comes from a multicultural background and speaks four languages. She was born in Cairo, Egypt and lived there for six years. She has family in Germany, Egypt, Guatemala, Colombia, and the US. Her love of travel and learning about new cultures brought her to the education world. After getting her Master's degree, she became a bilingual elementary teacher and taught for six years at two bilingual schools. She loves working with children and their families and believes that outdoor play and garden education go hand in hand. As one of the co-founders of the Play Grove program, she is passionate about fostering environmental stewardship and creating community. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, traveling, and gardening.
Director of Education, Co-Playworker
Leila Daniel comes from a multicultural background and speaks four languages. She was born in Cairo, Egypt and lived there for six years. She has family in Germany, Egypt, Guatemala, Colombia, and the US. Her love of travel and learning about new cultures brought her to the education world. After getting her Master's degree, she became a bilingual elementary teacher and taught for six years at two bilingual schools. She loves working with children and their families and believes that outdoor play and garden education go hand in hand. As one of the co-founders of the Play Grove program, she is passionate about fostering environmental stewardship and creating community. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, traveling, and gardening.
