The Gardner School Experience #GardnerChi #ChicagonistaLive

Lots of jokes are made about early childhood education lately, with the consensus being that lots of moms start looking for viable schooling options as soon as the pregnancy test renders a positive readout.  While I have never been in that group of women, I will tell you that finding quality schooling is indeed a chore in the larger cities where you’re not required to go to a certain school because it’s the only one. Last month, I and three other bloggers visited The Gardner School in Naperville for an immersion day with our little ones and a tour for us. It was a great experience, and my trifecta haven’t stopped talking about it since. 

The Gardner School takes children from ages 6 weeks to 6 years, and prepares them for transition to kindergarten and above.  The school day is full day, and includes several options of enrichment programs as well. There were little things around the school that let me know that the school really was committed to making sure that the parents AND the children were comfortable in their environment. The school has a closed circuit television that lets parents look in on their children in their classrooms to calm their separation anxiety. Yes, parents do indeed get separation anxiety, probably more than the children themselves. 

We started the day with a drop off of our children in the room that they would stay in for the better part of the day and to meet the Executive Director of the Naperville Branch of The Gardner School.  The room was large and inviting and full of every single combination of the primary colors that you could think of. It wasn’t off-putting though, and I loved that. My children went for the manipulatives as soon as they spotted them, and that was all she wrote.  The parents then moved on to tour the facilities and I was enamored with the layout and clean lines of the school. The infants were settled in the front of the school while the older children were housed in the back of the school where each classroom has a themed look on the outside. It literally looked like you were walking down a quaint Main Street. Among the buildings were a cafe, a farmer’s market, and a fire station. 

Above, were the letters that the children enjoyed sticking pegs in, and removing them. Sir Twizzler loved showing off his letter recognition, and sounded out the letters as he played with them. You can also see the musical instruments in the upper right hand corner that Lil Miss was enamored with. She is seen below with the drum set that didn’t seem to bother anyone as she was playing it. I will say that I was completely surprised that the noise level wasn’t nearly as bad as what I assumed it would be. 

Here is the ladybug sharing a very intricate story about the family that is standing atop the shelving unit. 

Sir Twizzler checking out the library selection in the room that he was in. 

Showing off his paint “brushes” from his Mouse Paint project. 

The Gardner School was opened in Tennessee, and has now moved to the Chicagoland area. We will be joining ChicagonistaLive at the Oak Brook location next week Tuesday (the 20th) for a live show and share of the new school opening! 

 

For those of you who are interested in hearing my thoughts on the school, you can check me out  (and hear my voice) and also watch ChicagonistaLive next Tuesday May, 20th, at  2pm CST! 

This post has been compensated by ChicagonistaLive, but all thoughts are genuinely mine and the trifecta’s. They had a great time, and we are comfortable sharing our thoughts and opinions with you!