The Garden Preschool and Infant Care
"A Caring Community of Lifelong Learners"

• Caring — safety, security, cleanliness, nourishment, love
  
• Community — partnership with families, communication
  
• Lifelong — nurturing readiness for success in school and life
  
• Learners — developing the whole child in all areas, celebrating the uniqueness of each individual

At The Garden Preschool and Infant Care, your children:

• Acquire essential skills for readiness for success in school and readiness for success in life.
  
• Develop increasing competence in all areas — intellectual, physical, social, emotional, and artistic — as they engage in meaningful and developmentally-appropriate learning experiences shaped by the best of research.
  
• Feel secure and loved — growing in confidence and self-esteem in a warm, affirming environment where safety and cleanliness are paramount.
  
• Grow as responsible members of a diverse community of learners — emerging in their ability to make positive choices of character, values, behavior, and health.
  
• Discover and develop their uniqueness and creativity in an enriching environment that celebrates individual differences and lovingly motivates each child to achieve full potential.
  

Overview — The Garden Preschool and Infant Care nurtures comprehensive readiness for success in school and life. In the critical first years, children at The Garden develop increasing competence in all areas — intellectual, physical, social, emotional, and artistic — as they are cared for by staff informed by the best of research in early childhood education. The program guides children to grow as responsible members of a caring community of lifelong learners — emerging in their ability to make positive choices of character, values, behavior, and health. In the kind, enriching environment of The Garden, children discover and develop their uniqueness and creativity. Opportunities for rich experiences in many art forms encourage creative expression through music, movement, language, an d visual arts. The Garden celebrates individual differences and lovingly motivates each child to achieve full potential — building confidence and self-esteem. The Garden’s safe and loving “family atmosphere” repeatedly receives acclaim as an outstanding hallmark.

Partnership with Families — The Garden Preschool and Infant Care closely partners with families to help you support your child’s learning and development and to enable us to achieve shared goals. Frequent communication with families underpins our collaborative partnership based on trust, respect, and positive regard. The Garden’s safe and loving “family atmosphere” repeatedly receives acclaim as an outstanding hallmark.

Character Education — Our staff partners with you to develop positive character traits in your child. We model and teach important social skills and character qualities such as kindness, honesty, generosity, and self-control. Our optional values-based training reinforces the values that are the foundation of our society.

Arts Enrichment — The Garden provides your child with unique opportunities for enrichment in the arts. We give children rich experiences in many art forms — encouraging creative expression through music, movement, language, an d visual art. Gifted teachers in the arts enhance your child’s learning experience. Our arts programs reflect application of research that shows the significant benefits of the arts on child development and academic achievement.

Research-based Practices — At The Garden, your child benefits from the best of research in early childhood education. Guidelines of the premier national early childhood education associations judiciously shape our curriculum and practices. We perform ongoing assessments of your child’s progress to allow us to effectively help your child during the critical first years of development.

Professional Development — The fully-qualified staff of The Garden engages in ongoing professional development to ensure the optimal care and education of your child. Our energetic and experienced teacher’s continual quest for excellence and our love of children elicits the finest in child care.

Licensed Child Care — The Garden Preschool and Infant Care, a division of Garden Pathways, Inc., is a fully-licensed child and infant care center (California Day Care Center License #153801972, 153801710) . The Garden welcomes both private clients and participants of CalWORKs and Community Connection for Child Care.

Hours

Find Us

Find us on Mapquest

Monday – Friday 7:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Location

900 22nd Street Bakersfield, CA 93301 entrance on P Street (661) 633-2302

Tuition

An outstanding value 10% family discount Community Connection for Child Care (CCCC) and CalWORKs welcome.

Meals

Home-cooked meals Nutritious snacks

Community Resources — Through our multifaceted divisions, Garden Pathways provides services for the whole family. Our extensive investment in partnership relationships with other community agencies enables us to assist parents in linking to resources and support services to build healthy families and cultivate lifelong learners.

Readiness for Success — The Best of Research ▪ Quality Standards
Children at The Garden Preschool and Infant Care benefit from the best of research in early childhood education. Guidelines of the premier national early childhood education associations judiciously shape the curriculum and practices of The Garden. The Garden embraces the program quality standards of the California Department of Education.

Program Quality Standards	The Garden
The program’s approach to child development and education is developmentally, linguistically, and culturally appropriate, recognizing that children have individual rates of development as well as individual interests, temperaments, languages, cultural backgrounds, and learning styles.	yes
The program is inclusive of children with exceptional needs, is consistent with their individualized family service plan or individualized education program, and promotes an environment of acceptance.	yes
The program encourages respect for the feelings and rights of others, supporting and respecting the gender, ethnicity, home language, culture, and family composition of each child in ways that support the child’s health and well-being.	yes
The program supports social and emotional development by building trust; fostering independence; encouraging self-control by setting clear, consistent limits; and having realistic expectations.	yes
The program supports social and emotional development by planning for routines and transitions so that they occur in a timely, predictable, and unhurried manner according to each child’s needs and provides a balanced daily program of child-initiated and adult-directed activities, including individual and small-group activities.	yes
The program helps children develop emotional security and facilitate social relationships.	yes
The program provides for the development of each child’s cognitive and language skills by using various strategies, including experimentation, inquiry, observation, play, and exploration.	yes
The program provides for the development of each child’s cognitive and language skills by ensuring opportunities for creative self-expression through activities such as art, music, movement, and dialogue.	yes
The program provides for the development of each child’s cognitive and language skills by promoting interaction and language use among children and between children and adults.	yes
The program provides for the development of each child’s cognitive and language skills by supporting emerging literacy and numeracy development through materials and activities suited to the developmental level of each child.	yes
The program promotes each child’s physical development by providing sufficient time, indoor and outdoor space, equipment, materials, and guidelines for active play and movement that support the development of gross motor skills. The program promotes each child’s physical development by providing appropriate time, space, equipment, materials, and adult guidance for the development of fine motor skills according to each child’s developmental level.	yes
The program maintains health and safety practices. The program includes a nutritional component that ensures that children have nutritious meals and snacks while they are in the program. Health and nutrition education is integrated into the program activities.	yes

Program Quality Standards and Standards Based on Exemplary Practice for Center-Based Programs and Family Child Care Home Network — Desired Results for Children and Families, California Department of Education, Oct. 2004.