Little Hands Garden School

Our daughter loves this school and the wonderful teachers! She is excited to go everyday! She loves the garden, chickens and bunnies.

Our son went to Little Hands and loved it! It was everything we wanted for our 3 year old… socialization, play time, even chickens. He came home dirty and happy and that was just what we wanted. Erin let him help prepare snacks in her kitchen and the garden is great. He wasn’t 100% potty trained when he started and that wasn’t a problem. Can’t wait for our daughter to start in a few weeks!

Our family moved to OR mid March and it was easy for us to get into the Little Hands Garden School while other preschools were not accepting new kids until fall IF we were lucky enough to get through the wait list.
We love that the preschool is year round, allows and understands that children potty train at different ages so there was no pressure, and respects the child’s need to have a play based structured learning environment with an emphasis on outdoor play.

Our shy daughter began attending LHGS a few months ago, and she absolutely loves it! We had attended a coop in the past, and she had a hard time being dropped off, so we were cautiously hopeful that her first foray into preschool would be a positive one for her.
All of the teachers at Little Hands are so sweet with her, and take her into their fold as soon as we get there. Any clinginess she has dissipates within seconds of arriving. When I come back to pick her up, she’s all smiles, hugging and kissing her teachers.
The half day schedule is 4 hours long, which is perfect — long enough that I don’t have to turn around right after dropping her off to pick her up again. And they feed the kids snack AND lunch so I don’t have to worry about packing a lunch on top of trying to get everyone out of the door in the morning. BONUS.
The space is sweet — a large backyard with lots of play structures and toys, as well as chickens and bunnies. The kids help feed the chickens and sometimes collect eggs to use for lunch. They also have a plot at the community garden a few blocks away that they’ll go to sometimes for a picnic lunch.
Best of all, this is a place where my kid can get MESSY. I’m too anal to do those kinds of projects at home — the ones involving glue, glitter, paint, mud, gack… But I don’t want my kid to be anal like me, so I’m very happy to see her little feet and face covered in dirt and what-​not at the end of the day.
Huzzah for Erin and her wonderful teachers at Little Hands!

Our family has sent our kids to this little gem of a pre-​school since the very beginning. It has been a great facility with an amazing yard/​outdoor component as the name suggests. Erin Cowan runs the school with a lot of heart and compassion. It has created a great community of like minded families as well. Check this school out if you are looking for something in the SE. Our kids love it!

I am a stay at home mom and Garden school (as my girls call it) is perfect for me so I am guaranteed some free time a few mornings a week. And it’s guilt free because my girls love to go. They ask to go, even on the weekends! Erin treats them like they are one of hers. Erin has a masters in teaching and a friendly child of her own that attends the school. The children are free to roam the huge backyard full of swings, slides, chickens, rabbits, fairy gardens, sandbox and more. The front yard has the big garden that the kids get to help plant and harvest. And if that wasn’t enough, Erin also has a large community garden space nearby that they walk to occasionally for planting, harvesting, and story time. She also provides delicious, wholesome food for their snack and lunch. Her assistants are happy and have been with her for a long time. The children leave happy and dirty and well fed. Love it!